After dropping the first set to Creighton, the Kansas State volleyball team rallied and defeated the Blue Jays in four sets inside Ahearn Field House on Tuesday night.
The Wildcats are now 8-2 on the season and have a six-game winning streak under their belt, which matches the longest streak they had all of last season. In their 10 nonconference games so far this season, four of the 10 teams are receiving votes or are ranked in the top 25 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association poll.
“All you can ask of them is to keep playing hard,” head coach Suzie Fritz said after the match. “I told them they have to keep fighting to get better and that’s exactly what they did.”Related:
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K-State was dominated in the first set 25-18, but Fritz said she was happy with the way her team fought back in the match.
“I thought that was about as poorly as we’ve played all year,” she said. “We had far too many errors, but after that, each set we got a little better.”
K-State responded, winning the next two sets by very narrow margins 25-23 and 28-26. Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Kylee Zumach had three kills down the stretch in the third and capped it with an ace.
“When we needed big plays, she came through,” Fritz said. “She was taking big swings and cracks and that’s a very hard job. They have to go hit all the stuff that nobody else wants to hit and bail you out of some situations. She did a tremendous job for us.”
The Wildcats played well in the fourth set, winning 25-21 and securing their sixth-straight win to cap out a seven-game home stretch.
Sophomore middle blocker Macy Flowers had eight kills and hit over .300 in the match for the Wildcats.
“I really liked how she played for us and thought she was getting more pop on her hits tonight,” Fritz said.
It was a career night for junior opposite hitter Bryna Vogel, who had 18 kills, the most for her in a match in her career as a Wildcat. She led all players in this category and hit a solid .375 in the winning effort, too.
The Wildcats will travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas, this weekend to take on UMKC, Arkansas and Southern Miss to close out the nonconference portion of their schedule.
The Wildcats will return home for the Big 12 opener Sept. 21 when they host Iowa State in Ahearn Field House.
