Back at Morgan Family Arena, Kansas State volleyball went 1-1 in the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Classic over the weekend.
The Wildcats, whose record is 2-5 now, defeated Lipscomb 3-1 but fell facing North Carolina, spoiling the Wildcats’ homecoming with a 3-1 final.
The opening set against Lipscomb was rough for K-State. Errors plagued the Wildcats, as Lipscomb jumped out to an early 10-4. The Wildcats fought back to a 24-20 score, but Lipscomb finished victorious.
Seniors Aliyah Carter and Meg Brown got the ensuing set going early for K-State with two kills each, leading to a substantial 12-8 lead.
However, Lipscomb went on a 5-0 run to go up 19-16. Sophomore Aniya Clinton and Carter helped tie the game at 22 a piece and eventually allowed K-State to win the set with its back against the wall, 27-25.
“You know, the girls were excited to play in front of this crowd,” head coach Jason Mansfield said about the slow start. “It’s hard to control your emotions and I’m proud of them [for coming back].”
With momentum from Set 2, the Wildcats led Lipscomb early on. Brown and Carter kills and a service ace from Liz Gregorski gave K-State a 16-13 lead. Lipscomb would tie the set at 21 but late errors gave K-State the win, 25-22.
Set 4 saw K-State build another solid lead, up 14-9, but Lipscomb fought back again, taking a 19-18 lead. The Clinton-Carter duo stepped up and a late service error from Lipscomb helped K-State win the set 25-22 and the game 3-1.
Senior setter Izzi Szulczewski had a big set four, getting a kill, service ace and solo block in the win. Her 43 assists in the contest notched the 1,000-assist mark in her career.
“Izzi is special,” Mansfield said. “She did a really good job tonight and located a bunch of sets to Meg and Aliyah towards the end of each set.”
In her first home game as a Wildcat, Brown totaled 20 kills in the win, followed by Carter with 17 and Clinton with nine.
Set 1 against UNC saw the Clinton-Carter duo in force as well, combining for five kills early on. UNC took a late lead of 26-25 but Brown put the set away, getting the last two kills of the game for a 28-26 win.
North Carolina capitalized off K-State errors, building a 8-2 lead with five of the points coming from wildcat errors. UNC dominated all set, winning 25-13 flipping the momentum in the blink of an eye.
“They served us really well,” Mansfield said. “It was really hard for us to get into a rhythm and they serve really aggressive.”
Errors gave UNC control of Set 3 as well, proving to be the difference as UNC would win 25-23.
North Carolina had a 15-9 lead over the Wildcats in the final set. K-State showed life at the end, but North Carolina continued to be too much, winning the set 25-22 and the game 3-1.
Carter finished with 16 kills and Brown finished with 13. Senior Liz Gregorski totaled two service aces as well.
“She’s definitely someone that is a big part of our offense,” Manfield said of Brown, the transfer from Pepperdine. “She’s going to battle and compete.”
With Big 12 play approaching, the Wildcats host one more home tournament in the Wildcat Invitational. It starts with USCB at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19.
