K-State volleyball defeated Texas A&M – Corpus Christi in their season opener Friday night in straight sets, but not without adversity.
Adrenaline flowed through both teams early, with the first three points of the game coming from attacks or service errors. The Wildcats then settled in quickly after back-to-back service aces from Emerson Van Lannen, going on a quick 5-0 run to jump out ahead 6-2. Exploding on another 6-0 run, highlighted by a solo block from Skylar Brady, K-State took a commanding 14-5 lead early in the first set.
The Islanders rallied back, though, taking advantage of five Wildcat errors throughout the rest of the set to gain momentum. By the end of the first set, K-State had seven errors, most of them from kill attempts sailing out of bounds.
Despite the Wildcats’ errors, they didn’t stop producing. Corpus Christi made a few service and attacking errors of their own, allowing K-State to steal points.
The highlight of the set, though, was the Wildcats’ blocks, as key players like Addison Massey and Cadence Lundgren tallied multiple blocks throughout the first set to give K-State a major advantage. Capping off the first set, Lundgren recorded another block and a kill, sealing the set win for the Wildcats, 25-15.
With two dazzling kills early, Reagan Fox wasted no time in the second set, as the purple and white jumped out to a 5-2 lead. K-State continued to rack up points, some with the help of the libero Fuka Sekita, who laid out for a one-handed dig, setting up a kill for Ellah Derrer.
Sekita wasn’t the only playmaker for the Wildcats, as Massey shined in her first collegiate game. K-State traded points with the Islanders until Massey recorded back-to-back-to-back blocks, giving the Wildcats an 11-5 lead. The defensive showing would help start a 5-1 run, putting K-State ahead 15-6.
Corpus Christi wasn’t done yet, as the team came out of the 15-point media timeout firing on all cylinders. The Islanders made good use of four K-State errors, putting a few kills right through the Wildcat defense and going on a 4-0 run — enough to draw a timeout from head coach Jason Mansfield.
The break boded well, as the ‘Cats came out with a breakaway 5-0 run, highlighted by back-to-back solo blocks from Derrer, and capped off by Van Lannen’s fourth ace of the day to put K-State up 22-12. The Wildcats would control the rest of the set, winning 25-14 off of a Caleigh Ponn ace.
The start of the third set was the Massey show, accumulating K-State’s first three points. She got right back to business following up with a solo block to put the ‘Cats up 3-1.
Corpus Christi roared back, playing fast and organized as Virginia Van Der Werff led the charge with two kills and two assists. Van Der Werff then logged her fourth assist of the set to lead the Islanders on a 5-1 run and go up 11-6. Multiple Wildcat errors gave Corpus Christi more momentum, extending its lead to 18-11.
Mansfield called his second and final timeout of the third set, trying to get the ‘Cats to regroup, move faster and get momentum. Coming out of the timeout, K-State finished an offensive possession with a thundering kill from Skylar Brady, looking reenergized as the purple and white tried to build on their new momentum.
The Wildcats scratched and clawed back point by point, taking advantage of a timely Corpus Christi error, allowing Brady to get another big momentum kill to bring the score to 19-14. Brady wasn’t done there, as she tallied a service ace to cap off a 5-1 run for K-State.
The Islanders responded with a quick Van Der Werff kill, which K-State nearly pancaked. Mansfield challenged the call that the ball hit the floor, but the call was upheld, giving Corpus Christi a 21-17 lead and a little momentum to try and win the third set.
K-State needed a hero, down 22-18 late in the set, to which Massey answered the call. Massey went on a tear, going on her own 5-1 run with four kills and a solo block to give the ‘Cats a 24-23 lead and match point after an Islander error.
Corpus Christi fought back, though, tying the game at 24 with a Tatum Mason kill. K-State responded with two back-to-back Sydney Maue kills, both of which Camdyn Stucky assisted, allowing the Wildcats to come back from a 7-point deficit to win the third set.
K-State rallied behind Massey and Fox throughout the game, hitting the Islanders hard with 14 and 8 kills, respectively. Massey was the hero, with six kills in the third set and a takeover late to help the Wildcats pull off a gritty third-set win.
Defense was firm for K-State, holding Corpus Christi to a .090 hitting percentage, along with 10 blocks to the Islanders’ one. The blocks weren’t the only massive advantage the ‘Cats held, as they had 40 digs to Corpus Christi’s 29, highlighted by Sekita’s 12 digs — a lot of which came at pivotal points of the game to keep K-State within striking distance in the third set. Van Lannen also played a massive role, with four aces throughout the game and a team-leading 16 assists.
The Wildcats will match up against Campbell at 12:30 p.m. tomorrow to finish up the K-State Invitational.
