(Courtesy K-State Sports Information)
LUBBOCK, Texas – The Kansas State volleyball team put on a block part on the road against Texas Tech on Saturday as the Wildcats got the sweep with a team total of 15 blocks. The front line of the Wildcats kept the Red Raiders at bay hitting just .115 while K-State rolled to the sweep 25-22, 25-16, 25-19.
K-State (14-5, 3-2) was led by sophomore middle blocker Kaitlynn Pelger as she rebounded from an off night against Iowa State with 13 kills, eight digs and eight blocks. Lilla Porubek continued her hot hitting with nine kills on 25 swings to also go with five blocks. Alex Muff had her best match of the season as she posted a season-high eight kills on an impressive .538 hitting percentage. She also played a major role at the net with five block assists. Ashley Kelican got the start again at setter and tallied 32 assists and also was big at the net with seven block assists. Kelican also added a pair of aces to keep Tech off balance.
Tech (14-5, 0-4) was again led by its go-to player Amanda Dowdy with 15 kills. She also posted five digs in the loss. She was joined in double digits by Miara Cave with 11 kills. The Raiders had 10 blocks on the day, but it was not enough to slow the Wildcats down as they hit .280 for the match.
The Wildcats jumped on the Red Raiders early on in the set storming out to a 16-8 lead, but Tech would fight back. The Raiders would go on a 9-2 run to pull within one point and even take the lead 22-21 on a block on an attack by Pelger.
K-State responded in grand fashion with a series of its own blocks. The Wildcats stuffed the Raiders four times in a row to close the set and grab the momentum with the 25-22 win in the opening frame.
In the second set, the Wildcats rolled with to the win 25-16 with Pelger finding her stroke with seven kills in the frame. The Wildcats went on multiple runs to open up the large lead, and it was a red card that brought the set to an end. Tech Head Coach Don Flora had received two yellow cards during the closing stretch and then was issued a red card following a kill by Dowdy to make the score 24-16 in favor of K-State. With the red card, a point was awarded to the Wildcats and the set ended to put the Wildcats up 2-0 heading into the break.
It was Tech that brought the heat to open the third set as the Raiders went on a 6-0 run to claim an early 9-5 lead. K-State would chip away at the lead and use a 4-0 run of its own to tie the set at 15-15. Tech answered with a kill but the Wildcats would not be prevented from getting the sweep responding with another five straight points. K-State continued to add points and eventually got the sweep with an ace by Tristan McCarty.
The Wildcats will be off this Wednesday as they have another one of their mid-week byes. That will give them a full week to prepare for the No. 10 Texas Longhorns at home on Saturday. The match is slated for a 3 p.m. start from Ahearn Field House.
