NORMAN, Okla. (Kansas State Athletics) – After dropping four consecutive five-set matches, Kansa State was able to turn the tables and overcome Oklahoma 20-25, 15-25, 25-22, 25-15, 15-13, at McCasland Field House on Wednesday night.
K-State (12-8, 3-4) tallied 53 kills (.227) in Norman, led by Aliyah Carter who boasted 16 kills in her highest output since Sept. 24. The junior outside hitter swung at a .297 hitting percentage while completing two aces and seven digs for 19 points.
Mackenzie Morris led both squads with 29 digs, a career-best for the junior libero. Senior setter Loren Hinkle was just shy of another double-double with 43 assists and nine digs. Hinkle tallied her 99th career ace against the Sooners.
Shaylee Myers and Sydney Bolding add 13 and 11 kills to the Cats’ total as Bolding paced both teams at a .381 clip. Bolding also adds four block assists along with fellow senior Haley Warner.
Oklahoma (11-8, 1-6) posted 58 kills in five sets and led K-State with ten team blocks. Megan Wilson and Adria Oliver tallied five block assists each.
The Sooners were led offensively by Savannah Davison who notched a career-high 17 kills at a .289 pace. Wilson followed with 15 smacks (.156) and eight digs.
Payton Chamberlain collected her second double-double of the season on 44 assists and 19 digs while Callie Kemohah sent a career-high seven aces. The sophomore libero added nine digs.
FROM THE HEAD COACH
Head coach Suzie Fritz
On overall thoughts from the match…
“We are thrilled with the end results and the grit and tenacity that we showed in the latter part of the match. I thought we came out of the break far more aggressively and we controlled the ball on our side well. It was hard because we came out slow that we had to put ourselves in that position, but in the end, we responded well.”
On who stood out in the match…
“Sydney Bolding did with hitting well and creating problems at the net for them. She is really doing some special things as a middle. And our lefts, Shay and Aliyah, both hitting high .200s is a really good night. In the end, our left side was better than theirs and that dictated the match.”
On completing the comeback win…
“We have been in a lot of close matches and battled in many five-set matches. To be in a position where you are down two sets and it goes five where you can figure out a way to win and play well is special. This was very meaningful to us and we needed that kind of a breakthrough.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set One – OU 25, K-State 20
Following a 1-1 tie, Oklahoma found a four-point run before K-State fought back to even the score at 10 on consecutive Sooner errors.
OU rebounded with a 6-1 stunt, propelled by two Alexis Shelton kills, to gain a six-point lead at 21-15.
Savannah Davison concluded the set on her fouth kill, swinging at a .250 pace. Adria Oliver also collected four kills for the Sooners while Payton Chamberlain tallied nine assists and six digs.
Aliyah Carter led all hitters with five kills (.143) and notched an ace. The Wildcats had eight team kills at a .108 pace.
Oklahoma grabbed 15 kills on 46 total attacks and added 24 digs.
Set Two – OU 25, K-State 15
The home side started set two on a hot 6-1 run, which was fueled by four consecutive Callie Kemohah aces. Kayde Fernholz’s second kill of the match and the Cats’ first kill of the set ended the streak at 7-2.
K-State was able to climb back within four at 13-9 on Shaylee Myers’ first putdown of the game. The freshman tallied two kills at a .250 clip for the set.
Cats fight back three points on Loren Hinkle’s first ace of the match, but a three-point stretch leads OU to the final 25-15 score.
The Sooners held the Wildcats to seven kills at a .095 hitting percentage. Carter, Myers, and Sydney Bolding had two kills apiece, with Bolding going two for two. K-State did not have any blocks in set two.
OU tallied 11 kills at a .474 clip, its best pace of the match. Davison led with four kills (.600) and Kemohah secured five aces for Oklahoma.
Set Three – K-State 25, OU 22
The Wildcats started strong in set three. After taking the first point, K-State found the lead again at 7-6 on Hinkle’s third ace of the game. Kills by Bolding, Myers and Haley Warner pushed a five-point run for the visitors to take the 12-7 lead.
Megan Wilson had two kills in Oklahoma’s 6-2 stretch to bring the score to 17-15. The two teams traded points until the Cats walked away with the 25-22 victory.
Bolding collected five kills at a .833 pace and added two blocks while Morris tabbed ten digs from the back line. Hinkle saw 14 assists and two blocks in the set.
Wilson and Davison drew five kills each and Chamberlain had 13 assists and seven digs.
The Wildcats’ .375 hitting percentage in the third was the best of the match while the Sooners swung at a .229 pace.
Set Four – K-State 25, OU 15
The Cats continued the push in set four as they led the entirety of the set sans two tie scores. Myers brought two kills and an ace in the team’s first six points.
Back-to-back kills by Carter gave K-State a four-point lead at 11-7 Oklahoma caught back within two on Wildcat errors and a kill by Wilson.
K-State held off the Sooners with an 8-2 run in which Morris banked the last point on her first service ace since Oct. 5. Bolding concluded the set with her second kill.
The Cats continued to swing high at a .360 pace while keeping the Sooners at a match low .100 hitting percentage. Carter and Myers combined for six kills as Wilson led OU with four.
Set Five – K-State 15, OU 13
The fifth set was comprised of six ties and three lead changes. The Sooners had made three consecutive errors to give K-State an early lead.
They responded with a 6-1 spurt. Wilson pushed the run on two kills and a block to give the home side an 8-4 lead.
The Wildcats came back with a 5-1 run of their own to take the tie at 9-9. Carter notched two kills in the train. Carter added another kill along with Baka’s ace to give K-State the two-point lead that would take them to the set and match win.
Myers and Carter again combined for eight kills with Carter hitting at a .667 pace. As a team, the Cats swung at a .148 clip and stopped the Sooners at a .120 hitting percentage.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- K-State hit .227 as a team, the best of any five-set match this season.
- The Wildcats collected 53 kills.
- The team had 17 kills in set three, more than the first two sets combined.
- This is the Wildcats’ third win this season when traling in blocks (3-5).
- Carter led the Cats with 16 kills (.297).
- This is the fifth time that Carter topped the team in kills.
- Bolding paced the team at a .381 hitting percentage.
- Morris collected a career-high 29 digs.
- 29 digs is the fourth-highest single-match dig total in the Big 12.
- Hinkle tied her career-best with three aces.
- She posted the 99th ace of her career.
- She added 43 assists and was one dig away from a double-double.
- Baka had one kill in her lowest output of the season.
- Oklahoma tallied 58 kills (.201).
- Davison led both teams with 17 kills at a .289 clip.
- Davison (17 kills, 10 digs) and Chamberlain (44 assists, 19 digs) collected double-doubles for the Sooners.
- All seven of OU’s aces were by Callie Kemohah.
- This is the most aces scored by one individual against K-State this season.
- Oliver and Wilson each bagged a match-high five block assists.
NOTES
- Oklahoma leads the all-time series 58-38-1 and is 28-16 at home against K-State.
- This is the Wildcats’ second road win in Big 12 play.
- Fritz is 25-18 in her career against OU.
- The Cats are 2-4 in five-set matches this season.
- This is the first reverse sweep.
- The Wildcats are 5-0 when they wear grey jerseys.
UP NEXT
K-State returns to Manhattan, Kansas, for the first of a two-match home stretch. The Wildcats take on #14 Baylor on Saturday, Oct. 22, to conclude the first half of Big 12 play. The conference contest is set for 1 p.m. at Bramlage Coliseum. The match will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ while Emma Wiley will be on the call online at K-StateSports.com/watch and the K-State Sports app.
