Match Stats
After a slow first set, the K-State Wildcats rallied back to defeat Oklahoma in four sets.
Wildcat Setter Katie Brand recorded a double-double with 52 assists and 10 digs, while Brooke Sassin put down 17 kills and picking up 10 digs for a double-double. Alyssa Schultejans added 15 kills. Libero Kersten Kober picked up a match-best 15 digs.
For the Sooners, Marion Hazelwood put down 16 kills on a .500 hitting percentage and six blocks. Alyssa Enneking added 12 kills and Rachel Manriquez picked up 14 digs. Setter Audrey Alford contributed 52 assists and 10 digs for a double-double.
Press Release
Courtesy of Kansas State Athletics
NORMAN, Okla. – The Kansas State volleyball team fought off four set points in the fourth set and rebounded from an opening-set loss to seal a 13-25, 25-19, 25-21, 28-26 win over Oklahoma Saturday night at McCasland Field House.
The match looked to be headed to a fifth set as K-State (15-5, 4-3 Big 12) trailed Oklahoma (12-8, 3-4) 24-22 in the fourth, but the Wildcats responded by taking six of the final eight points, including a 3-0 run to end the match when trailing 26-25. The Cats trailed by as many as six points at 18-12 and junior oppositeBryna Vogel tallied five of her 10 kills in the final set.
“No one panicked,” said senior setter Katie Brand. “We just kept fighting. We knew what we needed to do and just took each point as it came. We got contributions from everyone. Zsofia Gyimes came in and played awesome, maybe her best game of the season. Alyssa Schultejans came up big for us again, too.”
Schultejans, a sophomore outside hitter, set a new season high in kills for the second straight match with 15 against the Sooners while Gyimes, a sophomore middle blocker, recorded a season-best seven kills on 12 swings (.583) and added four blocks.
K-State posted season lows in both points scored (13) and hitting percentage (-.053) in the opening set, finishing with 11 attacking errors compared to just nine kills as a team. The Wildcats fell behind early after Oklahoma was able to rattle off eight consecutive points to take an 11-3 lead. OU hit .323 (14k-4e-31ta) as a team in the frame
“We played about as poorly as we have all season in that first set,” added Brand, who finished with 52 assists and 10 digs. “But we are a veteran team and we’ve been in these situations before. Whether you lose a set by two or by 10, it ultimately doesn’t matter. We made the adjustments we needed and just kept working.”
The Wildcats bounced back in the second set by hitting .556 (17k-2e-27ta), led by senior outside hitter Brooke Sassin with seven kills on nine swings with only one error (.667) in the set. Schultejans added half a dozen kills with no errors on nine attempts (.667).
K-State was efficient again in the third set, hitting .436 (21k-4e-39ta) while Sassin and Schultejans again added seven and six kills, respectively. Schultejans ended the third game by scoring four consecutive points for the Cats – two kills and two service aces – giving K-State the 25-21 win.
Sassin finished the night with a match-high 17 kills to go with 10 digs for her third double-double of the season. Brand (52 assists, 10 digs) collected her conference-leading 11th double-double of the season.
Senior libero Kersten Kober registered a match-best 15 digs, the 17th time this season reaching at least 10 digs.
Kansas State finished the match hitting .262 while Oklahoma hit .265. K-State out-blocked OU, 11.0-9.0.
After two consecutive road matches, Kansas State will return to Ahearn Field House on Saturday, October 22 as it hosts West Virginia. First serve is slated for 6 p.m., and will be broadcast world-wide on K-StateHD.TV. Fans can listen to the match on local radio at 1350 KMAN and at k-statesports.com.
NOTES
· K-State has won five of the last six matches against Oklahoma, including three straight.
· K-State has won back-to-back matches at Oklahoma for the first time since 2004-05.
· OU now leads the all-time series, 53-31-1.
· Head coach Suzie Fritz is now 18-13 all-time vs. OU.
· Schultejans’ 15 kills set a new season and conference career high. It is the third time this season and 15th time in her career that she has reached 10 or more kills in a match.
· This was the ninth match this season in which K-State has reached double digit blocks (8-1 in those matches).
· The .556 attacking percentage in the second set was the fourth-best the Cats have posted in a single set this season.
· K-State’s 21 kills in the third set were the second-most in a set this season.
· Brand reached 50+ assists for the eighth time this year.
· This marked the fifth time this season that Wildcat teammates have recorded a double-double in the same match.
Press Release
Courtesy of Oklahoma Athletics
NORMAN, Okla. – The University of Oklahoma volleyball team had its three-match win streak snapped in a 3-1 loss to Kansas State at McCasland Field House on Saturday night. The Sooners dropped to 12-8 overall and 3-4 in the Big 12, while the Wildcats, who are receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches’ Poll, improved to 15-5 and 4-3.
Oklahoma came out of the gates on fire with a 25-13 win in the first. K-State took the next two by scores of 25-19 and 25-21. The Sooners then held a 22-18 lead in the fourth with a chance to force a fifth set, but the Wildcats finished the night on a 10-4 run to win the set, 28-26, and claim the match.
“It’s momentum swings, that’s what happened,” explained head coach Santiago Restrepo. “We started really high and couldn’t keep up that momentum. I thought, in the fourth set we woke up. The set bounced their way. We’ve just got to play better in crunch time.”
The first set opened with OU taking an early 7-3 advantage that forced a Kansas State timeout. The Wildcats burned two early timeouts and lost a pair of challenges as the Sooners hit .323 and held the Wildcats to -.053 for the set.
The action on the floor went back-and-forth in the third with neither side able to grab hold of the momentum. Leading 22-21, Kansas State got back-to-back service aces off the net from Alyssa Schultejans to gain set-point.
K-State’s Brooke Sassin led all players with 17 kills and added 10 digs for the double-double. Schultejans and Bryna Vogel joined Sassin in double figures with 15 and 10, respectively. Setter Katie Brand dished out 52 asssists, while Kersten Kiber picked up 15 digs.
Four Sooners finished the night in double figures for kills. Junior middle blocker Marion Hazelwood (Beach City, Texas) hit .500 with a team-high 16 to go with six blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Madison Drescher (Southlake, Texas) was second on the team at 15. Sophomore outside hitter Alyssa Enneking (League City, Texas) chipped in with 12 and senior middle blocker Micaela Spann (Carrollton, Texas) added 10 with a .412 attack rate.
Sophomore setter Audrey Alford (Norman, Okla.)collected 52 digs and 10 digs for her fourth double-double of the season. Redshirt-sophomore libero Rachel Manriquez (Edmond, Okla.) added a team-high 14 digs.
Oklahoma returns to action next Saturday, October 22 with a match at Baylor.
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