LAWRENCE, Kan. (Kansas State Athletics) – In the second Sunflower Showdown of the season, Kansas State was unable to overcome rival Kansas on the road, falling in straight sets (23-25, 16-15, 15-25) Wednesday night at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.
K-State (12-11, 3-7 Big 12) struggled offensively, gathering 35 kills at a .183 pace. The Wildcats were led by seniors Elena Baka and Haley Warner with nine kills each. Warner earned her fourth-best hitting percentage at .316 efficiency. Baka contributed nine digs on the defensive end.
Loren Hinkle posted a 27-assist night and notched nine digs in the process. The setter and Shaylee Myers collected one ace each. Myers also saw six kills and four digs on the night.
Kansas (16-7, 6-5 Big 12) collected 52 kills at a .394 pace, the highest of any opponent the Wildcats have faced thus far in the season. Anezka Szabo turned in 12 kills (.435) and Rachel Langs followed with ten (.529) and three blocks.
Setter Camryn Turner notched a double-double on 41 assists and 13 digs, leading the match in both categories. Molly Schultz registered the Jayhawks’ only ace on the night.
FROM THE HEAD COACH
Head coach Suzie Fritz
Overall thoughts from the match…
“It’s a disappointing night for us. We have felt as though we’ve been improving over the past several weeks, so it’s frustrating that we were not the best version of ourselves. I know the team wants more and we will continue to fight to become the team we are capable of becoming. We have an opportunity to make a late run in the second half of league play and that’s what we intend to do.”
On players that stood out…
“Mack Morris continues to be an elite defender as she keeps us in rallies. That’s a testament to her hard work. It was also good to see Haley Warner put up good production offensively tonight. She made some good connections on the ball.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set One – KU 25, K-State 23
Kansas took off on a 6-2 spurt to start the match, fueled by Rachel Langs’ two kills. The Jayhawks pushed the lead to as far as seven points.
Shaylee Myers’ back-to-back kill and ace combo spurred the Wildcats in a 5-1 run. The team closed the gap to 20-17 and clinched five consecutive points to tie the set at 22-22.
KU rebounded and closed the 25-23 set on Langs’ fifth kill. The Jayhawks swung at .244 hitting percentage with Brynn Kirsch picking up six digs.
Myers led the set with six kills (.400) as the Wildcats donned a .233 clip. Elena Baka and Loren Hinkle collected six kills each.
Set Two – KU 25, K-State 16
Kansas got a hot start again, this time with a 4-1 run. Lauren Dooley contributed two kills and one block in the train. The Cats got points back on two consecutive Jayhawk errors.
The home team then found 10-1 point spurt with seven straight points. Szabo and Ayah Elnday each notched back-to-back kills in the spurt. This helped KU lead by as much as 11 points at a 19-8 score.
K-State was able to knock it down to a seven point divide with help from two Baka kills and a Hinkle ace. Kansas clinched the set 25-16 on Dooley’s third kill.
KU posted 17 kills (.457) and was led by Elnady with four. Dooley added two block assists and three kills (1.000). K-State saw 12 kills (.156) with Baka claiming six (.333).
Set Three – KU 25, K-State 15
The home side opened the final set with a 5-1 run, turned by Lang’s three blocks. KU steadily built the lead to eight points as Szabo popped three of her five total kills.
The match point was propelled by five straight scores by the Jayhawks. Caroline Bien grabbed two kills in the run.
K-State tried to battle back with help from Warner’s two kills followed by a block assist but could not avail. Warner led all attackers with six kills. Ava LeGrand earned two assists and four digs. K-State’s hitting percentage landed at .148 for the set.
Szabo posted five kills as Bien added four (.667). Elnady totaled five digs as Turner completed 14 assists. The Jayhawks swung at a .552 pace to finish the match.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- K-State swung at a .183 pace, with the best hitting percentage in set one (.233).
- The team gathered 35 kills, one of the second lowest totals on the season.
- Baka and Warner each collected nine kills.
- Warner’s .316 clip is the fourth-higest of the season.
- Baka and Hinkle combined for 18 digs.
- Hinkle tallied 27 assists while upping her career ace count to 103.
- Myers donned six kills at a .250 hitting percentage.
- The freshman added four digs and an ace.
- Morris and Ramsey pocketed seven and five digs apiece.
- Bolding notched two of the team’s four block assists for two total team stops.
- The senior registered her second lowest output (-.091) of the year.
- KU hit at a .394 clip, the highest of any Wildcat opponent (52 kills).
- Szabo led all attackers with 12 kills (.435).
- Langs followed with ten kills while Bien and Elnady donned nine each.
- Langs and Bien pocketed a .529 clip.
- Turner posted a double-double for the Jayhawks (13 digs, 41 assists).
- Schultz tallied the Kansas’ only ace.
- KU walked away with five blocks.
NOTES
- K-State leads the series with the Jayhawks, 67-58-1.
- KU took both matches in this year’s series.
- K-State is 31-19 when playing in Lawrence.
- The Jayhawks have claimed six of the last seven meetings and 13 of the last 17, spanning back to 2014.
- Additionally, Kansas is 17-5 in the rivalry since the 2012 season.
- The Cats last picked up an away win over Kansas in 2020, winning in five sets (Oct. 30).
- There has not been a straight-set victory for either side since the 2016 season (11 matches).
- Head coach Suzie Fritz is 23-21 in her career against KU.
UP NEXT
Kansas State finishes the week on the road in Ames to take on Iowa State. The Wildcats and the Cyclones go head-to-head on Friday, November 4, with the Big 12 contest kicking off at 6:30 p.m. The match will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ while Rob Voelker will be on the call online at K-StateSports.com/watch and the K-State Sports app.
