The Kansas State volleyball team will look to bounce back after a heartbreaking five-set loss to No. 4 Texas Saturday night.
The team returns to the court to take on Texas Tech today in Lubbock, Texas, at 6 p.m.
“It’s a hard situation because we know we fought so hard and played really well against Texas,” senior outside hitter Brooke Sassin said. “It still hurts because we were so close and play your best and still come up short. When we get over this feeling, we will be able to take the good from it and be able to build on that.”
The loss to Texas on Saturday marked the 26th-straight loss to the Longhorns dating back to the 2003 season.
“We know how good of an opportunity that was on,” Sassin said. “There’s nothing we can do about it now, so being a senior we have to have a short mindset and move on.”
The Wildcats have lost their last two matches after winning 10 in a row.
Despite that, K-State is 12-4 this season and 1-2 in conference play and is still receiving votes in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association rankings.
Sassin said the team is ready to get back on the floor against the Red Raiders.
“There are more good teams in this conference so we need to be ready,” Sassin said. “This is a road match so it’ll be tough, coach Fritz always says good teams win on the road and we need to do that (today).”
It has been an up and down season for Texas Tech. The Red Raiders began the year losing their first two, and then won their next 10, followed by a current six-game losing streak.
They are 10-8 on the season and 0-3 in conference play with losses to TCU, West Virginia and Baylor.
The player to watch for from the Red Raiders is redshirt senior middle blocker Lauren Douglass who has 199 kills, is hitting nearly .400 and averages 1.19 blocks per set.
Last season, K-State didn’t drop a set to the Red Raiders in the two matches played in Lubbock and Manhattan.
The last time Texas Tech defeated K-State was in the 2013 season when the Red Raiders won in four sets at home.
After tonight’s match, the Wildcats will return home on Saturday when they host TCU at 1 p.m. inside Ahearn Field House. The Horned Frogs are 3-1 in conference play and 10-4 overall.
