LAWRENCE, Kan. (K-State Sports) – Sophomore outside hitter Alyssa Schultejans came off the bench to record a season-high 14 kills but the Kansas State volleyball team was unable to overcome an early deficit, falling to No. 6 Kansas in three sets (25-15, 25-20, 25-23) Wednesday night at Horejsi Family Athletics Center.
“We got better as the match went,” said head coach Suzie Fritz. “We did gain some momentum as the match went on but we can’t allow three hitters to hit over .350 and have any expectations of being in a match. We weren’t good enough offensively or defensively. We weren’t purposeful with our swings.
“I thought we had two bright spots,” Fritz added. “Alyssa Schultejans came in and played really well and Bryna Vogel did a nice job digging balls and being efficient.”
K-State (14-5, 3-3 Big 12) fell behind early in the first set after Kansas (16-2, 5-1) rattled off nine straight points, including four consecutive blocks, and held a 9-1 advantage. The Jayhawks would coast to a 25-15 first-set win in which it held K-State to its lowest single-set attacking percentage of the season (.000; 9k-9e-30ta).
Behind Schultejans, the Cats gained traction as the match wore on, each set hitting at a higher efficiency than the prior one. K-State was within a point in the second set at 20-19 before the Jayhawks scored five of the final six points to close out the frame. The Silver Lake, Kansas, native recorded five of her 14 kills in the second set. Vogel, a junior right-side hitter, added four kills on nine swings without an error (.444).
Late in the match, K-State fought off two match points and brought the score to 24-23 before KU closed out the straight-set victory.
Schultejans registered her Big 12 career-high 14 kills on a .310 attacking percentage (5e-29ta). Vogel finished with eight kills without an error on 20 attempts (.400) and tied for the team lead with libero Kersten Kober with 12 digs.
Setter Katie Brand, the conference’s leader in assists, handed out 30 to go along with six digs. Middle blockers Zsofia Gyimes and Macy Flowers, along with Vogel, each tallied a pair of blocks on the night.
Kansas, who owns the NCAA’s third-best hitting defense, held K-State to a .190 hitting efficiency while hitting .340. It was only the second time in the last 13 matches that the Wildcats hit below .200. The Jayhawks out-blocked K-State, 9.0-5.0.
KU has now won the last four meetings in the Sunflower Showdown and eight of the last nine in the series.
K-State will travel to Norman, Oklahoma, to take on the Oklahoma Sooners for its second straight conference road match. First serve is slated for 6 p.m.
