K-State was able to hold off Texas Tech in five sets Wednesday night at Bramlage Coliseum, getting 21 kills apiece from Holly Bonde and Aliyah Carter as the Wildcats took the series opener, 25-23, 25-20, 24-26, 18-25, 15-12.
Bonde and Carter helped K-State (13-7, 4-5 Big 12) to a 70-58 edge in total kills while Carter picked up three kills during a match-ending 5-1 run in the final set. Bonde’s kill total set a career high and Carter recorded her fifth 20-kill performance of the season.
“That’s a big win for us,” said head coach Suzie Fritz. “There are a number of teams fighting for position within the league. Texas Tech is a really, really good volleyball team. They play a lot of juniors and seniors, and they don’t make a lot of errors. They dig like crazy and make you play long and are just really gritty and tough. I think they’re really talented and so we felt like it was an opportunity at home for us.”
The Cats and Texas Tech (13-9, 3-6 Big 12) entered the night in a five-way tie for fourth place in the Big 12 standings. K-State raced out to a two-set lead, recording a higher hitting efficiency in each set while stacking up a 31-22 advantage in kills.
“I’m thrilled about getting off to a good start and being up 2-0, clearly not as thrilled about not being able to maybe finish it a little bit sooner,” added Fritz. “But having said that, it’s very, very difficult to beat a good volleyball team in three. It’s very rare, and it’s very difficult.”
In the final set, K-State found itself down 11-10 after a 5-2 Red Raider run. Carter responded by collecting back-to-back kills, sandwiched between a pair of Kadye Fernholz kills, to push the contest to match point. Carter’s 21st kill of the night ended the match, as she picked up five in the decisive frame.
The Wildcats recorded 11 kills to Tech’s five in the fifth set. Fernholz, who ended the night with 10 kills, added three while Bonde put down a pair.
TTU did not hit above .200 in sets one and two, but managed a hitting percentage over .250 in both the third and fourth sets while suppressing K-State under .200.
Bonde put down 10 of her 21 kills in the night’s first two frames, with six coming in the second set at a .357 pace. The redshirt junior carded her second career match with 20 or more kills.
“Savvy and smart,” Fritz said of Bonde. “She was hitting it where they weren’t and not trying to necessarily always overpower, but her skillset and her strength is in her ability to hit with a tremendous amount of range, and it doesn’t always have a lot of gas on it. Sometimes it does and she’s capable of doing that, but I thought savvy and smart and really just great swing management by her.”
K-State looked to finish off a sweep of TTU, leading 18-14 in the latter stages of the third set. However, the Red Raiders battled their way to a 22-20 lead courtesy of an 8-2 spurt that included six unanswered points.
Reagan Cooper tallied back-to-back kills to fend off match point and TTU scored the final three points to earn its first set victory. The third set held 11 tie scores and eight lead changes.
Setter Teana Adams-Kaonohi handed out a career-high 61 assists and equaled her career-best dig output with 17 for her sixth double-double of the season.
Adams-Kaonohi was one of five Wildcats to reach double-figure digs, led by Mackenzie Morris’ 19. Loreen Hinkle and Jacque Smith each added a dozen while Carter finished with 10.
Hinkle and Morris turned in three service aces apiece, helping the Cats to eight aces on the night.
Haley Warner joined Bonde, Carter and Fernholz in double-digit kills with 10. Sydney Bolding chipped in seven with a pair of blocks.
TTU registered 90 digs on the night to K-State’s 80. Libero KJ Adams accounted for 30 digs, a match high, while setter Alex Kirby had 19 to go with 39 assists.
Caitlin Dugan and Kenna Sauer paced the Texas Tech offense with 13 kills each while Cooper added a dozen.
The Cats and Red Raiders conclude the two-match series Thursday 6:30 p.m. at Bramlage Coliseum. Rob Voelker will have the call on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) and online at K-StateSports.com/Watch.