MANHATTAN, Kan. – In the second meeting of the season with Oklahoma, K-State was unable to repeat the reverse sweep as the Sooners came away with a four-set victory at Bramlage Coliseum Wednesday night, 15-25, 23-25, 25-23, 23-25.
K-State (14-12, 5-8 Big 12) had three Wildcats in double-figure kills, led by junior Aliyah Carter with 18 and followed by seniors Elena Baka and Sydney Bolding with 11 each. Baka swung at a .562 hitting efficiency and picked up eight digs as Bolding tallied a match-high seven block assists.
Mackenzie Morris logged her third-straight match with double-digit digs, collecting 18 to lead all players. Molly Ramsey inked her second-highest output of the season with 11 digs while Loren Hinkle notched her fourth match with 50 assists or more (52).
The Wildcats finished with seven aces, with a match-leading three coming from Carter. Hinkle contributed two as Baka and Morris tallied one apiece.
Oklahoma (15-11, 5-9 Big 12) gto 15 kills from Morgan Perkins at a .667 pace. Alexis Shelton record 14 kills as Megan Wilson hit a double-double with 13 kills and ten digs.
The Sooners hit .295 to the Cats' .194 though K-State held a 56-54 edge in total kills. The Wildcats hit below .200 in three of four sets while Oklahoma hit above .300 twice.
FROM THE HEAD COACH
Head coach Suzie Fritz
Overall thoughts from the match…
"It wasn't a bad night for us offensively once we got our serve and pass going. We gave up too many point scoring runs that Oklahoma was terminal with. That was the difference. We would have one really good play and then miss the next one. We have to make plays when it matters. When you get two really good teams playing against each other, a lot of the matches are going to be two-point differences. There were some points in there that we would like to get back."
On player performances that stood out…
"Mackenzie Morris continues to be really special, especially from a ball-control perspective. Elena Baka came in and gave the team a good boost as well. Sydney Bolding was terminal when we could get her the ball. I thought she was really good."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set One – Oklahoma 25, K-State 15
The two teams traded points until Shaylee Myers' back-to-back kills put the Wildcats up 6-4.
Oklahoma responded with a 9-2 run in which Megan Wilson racked up two kills and a block assist. Callie Kemohah recorded an ace to put the Sooners up by five points.
Another four point spurt helped OU finalize the set at 25-15.
Myers and Kayde Fernholz combined for eight of the Wildcats' 13 kills. Loren Hinkle donned 13 assists as Mackenzie Morris led both teams with five digs.
Wilson led all attackers with five kills (.556) as the Sooners collected 16 total (.533). Payton Chamberlain tallied 13 assists while Morgan Perkins notched four kills and two block assists.
Set Two – Oklahoma 25, K-State 23
The second set was a tighter game with 11 tie scores and five lead changes. Myers' kill pushed K-State to its first lead of the set at 16-15.
Oklahoma came back with a 4-1 run as Perkins gained a kill and block in the train.
Two service aces and two Aliyah Carter kills in a 5-1 spurt put the Wildcats up , 23-21. Unfortunately, the team could not close as OU posted four consecutive points to take the set 25-23.
The Cats collected 14 kills and Carter led the way with five kills at a .364 clip. Sydney Bolding followed with four kills and block.
Oklahoma put together a 14 kill set at a .214 pace with Taylor Preston and Alexis Shelton combining for eight kills. Chloe Kaminski recorded two aces for the Sooners.
Set Three – K-State 25, Oklahoma 23
The Wildcats opened set three on a hot streak, earning a 9-2 lead as Carter collected two kills and an ace.
OU was back within two after a 6-1 run on five K-State errors. The Cats collected another 6-1 spurt in which Hinkle tallied an ace. This gave the home side an 18-11 advantage.
Oklahoma earned four consecutive points on K-State attack errors which cut the lead to four. The Wildcats finished the set on a kill by Carter and claimed the 25-23 score.
K-State earned 14 kills at a .081 pace, the lowest of the night. Carter boasted seven kills and an ace while Elena Baka chipped in four kills. Hinkle collected 15 assists.
Oklahoma donned just eight kills at a .040 hitting percentage as Wilson tagged four kills. Chamberlain and Kemohah grabbed two digs each.
Set Four – Oklahoma 25, K-State 23
The final set was another battle with ten tie score and six lead changes. It started with an early 6-1 run for the Cats as Baka clinched three kills and a block assist in the train. K-State held a 9-5 advantage.
Five consecutive points from the Sooners turned the tide. Perkins' three kills gave the visitors a two point lead.
Bolding bought back the lead with two kills until Taylor's back-to-back aces saw OU ahead, 18-16. Baka helped the team respond with three kills in a 4-1 run. Her ace also tied the match at 22-22.
From there, Oklahoma secured the set as Shelton's kills earned two of the final three points.
The Wildcats gathered 15 kills (.343) as Baka lead with seven at a .600 clip. Carter collected two aces as Morris found five digs. Bolding was good for three block assists.
OU tallied 17 kills at a .371 pace. Perkins found seven kills while Shelton registered six. Kemohah donned seven digs.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- K-State swung at a .194 pace with 56 kills.
- Carter led the Wildcats on 18 kills (.149) and 22.5 points.
- She added three aces and eight digs.
- Baka and Bolding tallied 11 kills each.
- Baka swung at a .562 hitting percentage and added eight digs.
- Bolding collected a match-high seven blocks of K-State's 8.5 total.
- Morris led both teams with 18 digs.
- Hinkle posted 52 assists, her third-highest output of the season.
- Fernholz notched eight kills and Myers added seven.
- Oklahoma totaled 54 kills at a .295 clip.
- Perkins led with 15 kills on a match-best .667 hitting percentage.
- She added four block assists as OU tallied six team blocks.
- Wilson landed a double-double with 13 kills and ten digs.
- Shelton added 14 kills while Kemohah notched 14 digs.
- Chamberlain gathered 46 assists and seven digs.
- Both teams collected seven aces.
NOTES
- Oklahoma leads the all-time series K-State leads the all-time series 59-38-1, which began in 1975.
- The Wildcats are 20-22 at home against the Sooners.
- The Wildcats are 4-6 in the last ten matches versus the. Sooners.
- Head coach Suzie Fritz is 25-19 in her career against the Sooners.
- K-State is 8-26 in four set matches in the series with Oklahoma.
- This is the team's first loss when leading in digs this season (6-1).
- K-State is now 6-2 when leading in kills.
UP NEXT
Kansas State turns around for a short road trip as TCU hosts the Wildcats on Saturday, November 19 in Fort Worth, Texas. The Big 12 match kicks off at 2 p.m. with Rob Voelker will be on the call online at K-StateSports.com/watch and the K-State Sports app.