MANHATTAN, Kan. – Brynn Carlson's match-high 19 kills helped K-State wipe away a two-set deficit and push Iowa State to a winner-take-all fifth set Friday night, but the Cyclones came away with a 25-22, 25-20, 19-25, 15-25, 16-14 decision in the season opener at Bramlage Coliseum.
Carlson's kill total lifted K-State (0-1, 0-1 Big 12) to a 68-56 edge in total kill production, including a 44-31 advantage after the second set. Carlson, who tallied her 500th career kill in the match, hit .300 to spearhead a Wildcat offense that saw four players reach double-digit kills.
"Being able to be down two and come back and put yourself in a position to win a match is very, very difficult in this league," head coach Suzie Fritz said. "I think that shows a lot about what's inside of them.
"From Game 3 on, we settled in. We anticipated, with three freshmen and two sophomores on the floor, that we would have to ride some ebbs and flows. They're going to get better as they go. That's their first collegiate match, in a Big 12 match, against historically one of the best teams in the league. So, I think we anticipated that we would need to ride that out a little bit, and we did."
Senior transfer setter Shelby Martin recorded a double-double in her first match in a K-State uniform, handing out a career-high 60 assists to go along with 12 digs. Martin, who was the 2017 American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year at East Carolina, now has 29 double-doubles in her career.
"I was really proud of her for how well she managed the floor, not just how she played and how she performed," added Fritz of Martin. "Now that's more difficult: To step into a new team and take on that type of a leadership role, and I think she has done a tremendous job there."
Freshman Aliyah Carter chipped in 14 kills in her Wildcat debut and redshirt sophomore Holly Bonde added 13 while hitting .370. Redshirt sophomore Abigail Archibong registered a career-high 11 kills on 16 swings and led the team in hitting efficiency at .562. Archibong, a middle blocker, paced the Cats with five blocks.
"I thought Shelby (Martin), Holly (Bonde) and I thought Brynn Carlson did what we need veteran returners to do, which is kind of stabilize us a little bit," Fritz said. "And I thought Abby Archibong, for really her first [Big 12] start, played just incredibly well. There were enough really positive things that, I think, if we can put a few more pieces in there, by the end of this thing we will be doing some special things.
"I think this team could be pretty special."
In total, four players made their Wildcat debut Friday night, including freshman libero Mackenzie Morris who registered 15 digs to lead the Cats. Middle blocker Kadye Fernholz posted eight kills, five digs, two blocks and an ace.
After falling in its 0-2 hole, K-State broke from the media timeout in the third set tied 15-15. From there, the Cats closed on a 10-5 run to avoid a sweep and take a 25-19 set victory. Carlson picked up six kills on 17 attacks without an error, hitting .353 and closing the set with back-to-back kills.
A 6-1 spurt and a five-point scoring run helped the Wildcats open a 10-point lead in the fourth set. The Cats' offense clicked for a match-high .429 hitting efficiency in forcing a fifth set, this time led by Carter's five kills. K-State limited ISU to just 10 kills at a .179 clip behind three team blocks.
K-State responded after the Cyclones claimed the first three points of the fifth set and later fended off match point, tying the score at 14 following Carter's final kill of the night. The Cats battled to level the score six different times in the final set.
Defensive specialists Jacque Smith (13), Dru Kuck (11) and Loren Hinkle (11) each reached double-digit digs, helping K-State to a 76-71 advantage in total digs. Smith served up a career-high three aces.
"In all honesty, there's very little you're going to do between now and 6:30 tomorrow night. You're not going to change your schemes or all of a sudden flip something on its head. We were two points away from winning the match, so I think we feel pretty good if we just start playing a little bit better, a little bit sooner."
ISU (1-0, 1-0 Big 12) was led by Eleanor Holthaus' 17 kills and .316 hitting efficiency. Libero Izzy Enna led all players with 17 digs.
Iowa State earned its eighth straight win in the series. It marked the first five-set match between the conference rivals since 2008.
The Wildcats and Cyclones conclude the two-match series Saturday at Bramlage Coliseum, with first serve set for 6:30 p.m. The match will stream live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app. Rob Voelker will have the call on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) with free, live audio available at K-StateSports.com/watch.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- K-State hit .267 as a team (68 kills, 22 errors, 172 attacks).
- Iowa State turned in a .214 hitting percentage (56 kills, 20 errors, 168 swings).
- Four Wildcats reached double-digit kills, led by Carlson with 19.
- Carter tallied 14 kills in her K-State debut.
- Archibong registered a career-best 11 kills and led K-State with her .562 hitting percentage and five blocks.
- Four players made their Wildcat debut in Carter, Fernholz, Martin and Morris.
- Martin, a senior transfer, set a career-high with 60 assists.
- Martin collected her 29th career double-double (12 digs).
- Morris led K-State with 15 digs.
- Smith served a career-high three aces to go with 13 digs.
- K-State led in total kills, hitting percentage, assists, digs and blocks.
- Iowa State leads the all-time series, 56-41.
- The Cats are 22-22 at home in the series.
- Fritz is 17-21 in her career against ISU.
- The Cyclones have won the last eight meetings in the series.
- The match marked the first five-set match between the teams since 2008.
- The Cats are now 4-10 in five-set matches vs. Iowa State.
- Carlson eclipsed her 500th career kill in the match and now has 505 career kills.
"five" - Google News
September 26, 2020 at 12:03PM
https://ift.tt/365oqBY
Cats Push Cyclones to Five Sets in Season Opener - Kansas State University Athletics - K-StateSports.com
"five" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2YnPDf8
https://ift.tt/2SxXq6o
No comments:
Post a Comment