Tuesday night marked the 2018 season home opener for the Kansas State volleyball team. The Wildcats started off strong on their home court, sweeping the Missouri State Bears in three sets.
With this win, K-State improved to 5-1, while Missouri State dropped to 3-4 overall. The Wildcats held the Bears to just 37 points in the match and collected nine aces to go along with 10 blocks. This match was the first time Missouri State lost 3-0 in the regular season since Sept. 17, 2016.
Kylee Zumach led the stats sheet with 10 kills and four blocks. Devan Fairfield totaled 13 digs and Sarah Dixon finished with 32 assists. Zsofia Gyimes had four service aces on the night.
For Missouri State, Amelia Flynn collected a season-high 15 kills on a .357 hitting percentage. Emily Butters had 14 digs on the night, making it the 102nd time that she reached double figures in that category in her career. Daniele Messa had 15 assists against the Wildcats.
The Wildcats beat the Bears in the first set 25-18, with 13 kills and a .237 hitting percentage. The Bears had no blocks but had eight attack errors to the Wildcats’s four. The score was tied six times before K-State went ahead 13-9, then later 16-11, followed by a 3-0 scoring run. The Wildcats ended with five straight points to claim the first set.
The second set was much closer in all scoring categories as the Wildcats scored the match point to win 26-24. The Bears recorded back to back blocks to go ahead 14-12 and again led 24-23 after a kill by Ashley Ophoven. K-State was able to rally back and score three times to seal the win.
The third and final set of the match was all K-State as they opened up with a 6-0 run before Missouri State took a timeout. K-State cruised to a 25-8 win against a Missouri State team who only lost one set in three matches over the weekend. The Wildcats had twice as many kills with 10 and a hitting percentage of .364.
The Wildcats will play Friday and Saturday as they host the K-State Invitational in Manhattan at Ahearn Field House. The first match for K-State is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. against North Texas and the next match at 7:30 p.m. against Oregon State.
