With an attack that saw four players reach double-figure kills to pair with 11 total blocks, K-State ousted Texas Tech in four sets Thursday night at Bramlage Coliseum, 21-25, 25-18, 25-19, 25-19, to earn a two-match series sweep.
K-State (14-7, 5-5 Big 12) finished with a higher hitting percentage in addition to more kills, assists, aces, digs and blocks than the Red Raiders (13-10, 3-7 Big 12). The Wildcats pick up their first conference series sweep of the season and push their winning streak to three matches overall.
Aliyah Carter paced the Wildcats’ offense with 13 kills to go with 12 digs. Holly Bonde finished with a dozen kills while Sydney Bolding put down 11 kills at a career-best .556 efficiency. Haley Warner added 10 kills and five blocks.
“Really pleased. I thought we were better tonight in a lot of ways than we were last night from about late in game one on,” said head coach Suzie Fritz. “That’s a good volleyball team in Texas Tech. They’re gritty. They dig like crazy. You think you’re going to put a ball down, and then it comes back again. You’ve gotta be really patient, and I was just thrilled. I thought Te (Adams-Kaonohi) was terrific in terms of making great set choices. She got Sidney Bolding involved and did a nice job with Sydney.”
Bolding was one kill shy of her season high, as the junior middle blocker committed just one error on 18 attacks in her turning in her match-high hitting percentage. She logged five kills on seven attempts without in error in the night’s final set, while defensively she picked up five blocks in set three alone.
“The connection is starting to develop, .556 is smoking,” Fritz said of Bolding. “There were times where she was pretty unstoppable. The key to being able to set an M2, which she plays, is to be able to handle the ball well enough that you don’t have to force the quick and you can set her in rhythm. When she’s in rhythm, she’s moving the ball around nicely and I think her and Te have found a nice connection.”
“I feel like Teana and I have connected on a whole other level,” Bolding said. “We’ve been communicating a lot more in practice and it’s really shown in the games now. And we’re just starting to click. So yeah, it was a really good night for both of us.”
Teana Adams-Kaonohi dished out 47 assists, with five players recording at least eight kills. The Cats finished with a .223 team hitting percentage to Tech’s .194.
The back row flew around to the tune of 67 digs, led by 22 from libero Mackenzie Morris. Morris turned in her fifth 20-dig performance of the season and spearheaded a group of five players with at least five digs. Jacque Smith added 11 digs and an ace while Loren Hinkle ended with nine digs and three aces.
“We can’t do any of that other stuff without them,” added Fritz of her back row. “I thought the small ball stuff, the stuff that nobody notices but allows us to kill it and block it. I thought the combination of their defensive effort and what they were accomplishing with their serving. You saw Loren (Hinkle) go back there and put together a really nice run, and Jacque (Smith) and Mack (Morris), I thought they were terrific, just a really good match for that whole core.”
Hinkle, who recorded three aces for the second straight night, served up back-to-back aces in the third set as part of a seven-point K-State run.
Smith’s ace keyed a late three-point burst in the second set, helping the Cats even the match at a set apiece. Smith, a redshirt senior, powered a 4-0 run in the closing set, propelling the Cats from a one-point deficit to a three-point lead midway through set four.
Morris rattled off five unanswered points at the service line midway through set two, including her ace.
In total, six Cats recorded a service ace as K-State ended the night with eight to TTU’s two.
Texas Tech made a switch at setter, going with sophomore Reese Rhodes instead of senior Alex Kirby who started the match Wednesday. Rhodes helped the Red Raiders steal the opening set behind a .455 team efficiency. TTU committed just one error in the first set while tallying 16 kills.
The K-State defense responded by holding Texas Tech under a .175 mark in the next three frames, not allowing Tech over .055 in sets two and three. Nine of the Cats’ 11 blocks came in the middle two sets.
Bolding, Kadye Fernholz and Warner led the front line with five blocks apiece.
Conversely, the Cats hit north of .200 in three of four sets.
Bolding (5), Bonde (5) and Carter (4) combined for 14 of the team’s 15 kills in the fourth set.
TTU’s Kenna Sauer carded a double-double with a match-high 17 kills to go with her 19 digs. Reagan Cooper added 14 kills, as the duo accounted for 31 of the Red Raiders’ 50 kills.
Rhodes also turned in a double-double with her 40 assists and 11 digs.
K-State has swept the season series with Texas Tech for the second straight season and extended its winning streak over the Red Raiders to five matches overall.
The Cats head into their final bye week of the season and will next take the court at Iowa State on November 11 and 13 at Hilton Coliseum. Both matches with the Cyclones will air on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.
