Kansas State volleyball ended its final weekend before conference play getting swept by the University of California Santa Barbara and Oklahoma.
With Big 12 competition knocking on the door, K-State has a record of 2-7.
In the final match against Oklahoma, senior Aliyah Carter became the program leader for career kills in the rally-scoring era.
“I am proud of myself for doing it but we have to put [wins] behind this,” Carter said. “Sure it’s nice to think about being one of the best at K-State, but I want to leave a longer impression, like [being] the winning team at K-State.”
The Wildcats, led by Carter, should be more than motivated to get back on track after a sour start to the season.
Game 1 vs. UCSB
In Set 1, the Wildcats went on a 6-0 run against UCSB to grab a 13-7 lead. Outside hitter Liz Gergorski led the scoring run with three kills. Huge blocks from middle blockers Brenna Schmidt and Meg Brown helped keep the game tied at 23. The Gauchos responded with a 3-1 run to win the set, 26-24.
Set 2 was competitive, as four lead changes occurred. UCSB led 22-19 but a late 3-0 Wildcat run kept it close. But UCSB responded and ended the set victorious, 25-22.
K-State overcame a three-point deficit, eventually taking a 12-10 lead in the final set. The game was tied at 21, but USCB once again finished the set with ease. The Gauchos went on a 6-2 run to close out the set and complete the sweep, winning 25-23.
Carter finished with 10 kills. Gregorski and outside hitter Shaylee Myers both turned in eight kills. Outside hitter Aniya Clinton had seven kills.
Game 2 vs. Oklahoma
The Wildcats had the Sooners trailing most of the opening set. Oklahoma eventually dug itself out of the hole, tying the game at 18 apiece. A kill from Gregorski and a service ace from libero Ella Larkin put K-State up 20-18. Oklahoma retaliated with a 7-0 run mostly caused by K-State errors, leading to a 25-20 Sooner set.
Set 2 was all Oklahoma, which won 25-21. Leading from start to finish, the Sooners had a hitting percentage of .333, while holding K-State to a percentage of .100.
In Set 3, OU finished with a hitting percentage of .485 and 19 kills. Despite the killer performance from the Sooners, K-State tied the game at 15 apiece and took a lead 18-17 but the Sooners finished the job, 25-23.
Clinton led the team in kills, totaling 10. Carter, Gregorski, and Myers all had 7 kills.
The season ramps up for the Wildcats with its first conference game at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, hosting Houston at the Morgan Family Arena.