By Chris Kutz, K-State Athletics Communications
AUSTIN, Texas – Despite taking the first set against No. 5 Texas, K-State could not slow the Longhorn offense as it had its six-match winning streak snapped in a 3-1 loss (31-33, 25-12, 25-19, 25-12) on Saturday in Gregory Gym.
The Wildcats (17-9, 9-5 Big 12), who fought off four set points by Texas (24-2, 14-1 Big 12) in their longest set in four years, allowed the Longhorns to hit .386 in the match. It was the first time a K-State opponent hit above .300 this season.
The loss not only halted K-State’s overall six-match winning streak but its three-match road winning stretch as well.
Junior Brooke Sassin had a quarter of the Wildcats’ 48 kills as the outside hitter paced the team with 12 on a .179 clip. She also added 13 digs to record her 13th double-double of the season.
Freshman Alyssa Schultejans and redshirt junior Katie Reininger each added nine kills while sophomore Bryna Vogel contributed seven along with 11 digs.
Redshirt junior Katie Brand notched her Big 12-best 17th double-double of the campaign with 40 assists and 12 digs. The setter also had five kills and three blocks.
The two teams matched each other in blocks, with eight apiece, while Texas out-dug K-State by one, 68-67. Freshman Macy Flowers led K-State in stuffs for the fourth straight match with seven, falling one short of her career-high. Junior Kersten Kober paced the Wildcats in digs with 16.
The first set, K-State’s longest since September 28, 2011 at Missouri, featured 24 ties, 10 lead changes and nine set points. The Wildcats had to fight four Texas set points, including the first at 24-23 and last at 29-28, while it took until their fifth to convert for the win.
Down four points through the middle of the first, K-State used kills by Reininger, Brand and Schultejans to help even it at 12-all. Neither side led by more than two points after that moment in the set, with Texas getting up to the first set point following a K-State service error. Back-to-back kills from Sassin flipped it in K-State’s favor, 25-24, but a kill by Texas’ Molly McCage evened it once again. Later, the Wildcats trailed 29-28 before a kill and an ace by Vogel moved K-State to set point at 30-29. With the score at 31-31, back-to-back Texas errors, one in service and the other on the attack following a long rally, gave K-State the early lead in the match.
K-State had no answer for Texas in the second as the Wildcats allowed the Longhorns to hit .583 while only registering a .000 clip offensively. Texas led the entire way as its 15 kills, including a combined eight by Amy Neal and Chiaka Ogbogu, were too much for K-State’s six. Neal and Ogbogu finished the night with 18 kills each.
The Wildcats raced out to grab the first three points in the third, but after the score was knotted at 5-5, the Longhorns scored 13 of the next 19 points to take an 18-11 lead. Texas went on to hold a 22-14 advantage, but a 4-1 run by the Wildcats, capped by consecutive kills from Sassin, cut the deficit to 23-18. Following a momentum-slowing timeout by Texas and back-to-back service errors, Ogbogu gave the Longhorns the set and the lead in the match.
The Wildcats improved to hit .273 in the third, but the Texas attack turned in a .390 clip.
K-State was unable to tie or hold a lead in the fourth as it was out-hit by Texas, .400-.081. The Wildcats were as close as 11-7 after a kill by Reininger, but Texas soared ahead with an 8-2 run while it scored 14 of the final 19 points to close out the match.
The Wildcats now enter the final week of the regular season, facing rival KU to start the week. The Sunflower Showdown match on Wednesday, November 25 is set for 7 p.m. in Ahearn Field House.
