K-State volleyball pushed No. 17 Kansas to the wire in the third set Thursday night. However, the Wildcats couldn’t overcome the Jayhawks’ early control and fell 3-0 in the first Dillons Sunflower Showdown of the season at Morgan Family Area.
The Jayhawks took the match 25-20, 25-15, 25-23, continuing K-State’s troubles in Big 12 play. The Wildcats (9-6, 1-6 Big 12) struggled to find consistency offensively, hitting .149 with 25 kills, while KU (12-4, 5-1 Big 12) hit .340 and recorded 50 kills.
“They were the more aggressive team from the beginning, and they continued it pretty much throughout the whole match,” head coach Jason Mansfield said. “Their serving was really aggressive. They definitely got to our passers early, and their offense was really good. They took really aggressive swings. They challenged our defenders, and we just didn’t step up to the challenge.”
Skylar Brady’s consecutive kills gave K-State an early 10-8 lead, but KU answered with a 9-2 run to seize control of the set. The Wildcats capitalized on a pair of Jayhawk errors to cut the deficit to 3 at 19-16, but KU scored six of the final 10 points to close out the set. The Jayhawks hit .353 in the opening frame, recording 17 kills on 34 attempts.
KU carried that momentum into the second set, jumping out to an 8-4 lead with a 4-0 scoring run. K-State struggled to find answers offensively, recording six kills while hitting .031 in the set.
The Jayhawks’ defense added to the Wildcats’ difficulties, forcing five attack errors while collecting 17 digs and two blocks. KU took the set 25-15 to move within one set of the match victory.
Mansfield said the team’s struggles after dropping the first set have become a recurring issue for the ‘Cats.
“This isn’t the first time where we’ve lost the first set and then kind of played worse in the second set, and that’s a problem,” Mansfield said. “We’re not competing in those moments.”
K-State struggled to contain the Jayhawks’ offense throughout the match, finishing with 30 digs compared to KU’s 40. The red and blue held a 3-2 blocking advantage, yet the Wildcats struggled to keep the Jayhawks from finding open space.
“Their [the Jayhawks’] game plan was clearly to avoid the block and challenge our defenders,” Mansfield said. “So, they and us did a good job avoiding the block and hitting high and challenging the defenders.”
The Wildcats found more energy in the third set, trading points with KU in a frame that featured 16 ties and four lead changes. Reese Resmer recorded her second service ace of the match and her collegiate career to give K-State a 17-14 lead, but the Jayhawks rallied to tie the set at 23.
Two K-State attack errors handed KU the final points and the straight-set sweep.
Although the Wildcats showed more fight late in the match, Mansfield said the purple and white need to find that level of competition earlier.
“This is something that this team has been doing for about a month now where we’re getting down, and they’re showing good fight in the third set, and so I expect that from us,” Mansfield said. “I expect us to play with some grit and some determination, and some pride. I just wish it would happen earlier.”
Addison Massey led K-State with eight kills, while Brady added six. Resmer led the Wildcats with three blocks and recorded two service aces. For KU, Taylor Stanley led all players with 16 kills, and Grace Nelson added 10. Reese Messer ended the night with 40 assists.
The loss dropped K-State to 1-6 in Big 12 play, while KU improved to 5-1 in conference action. The Wildcats still hold a 68-64-1 all-time series advantage dating to 1974, but have gone 1-6 against the Jayhawks during Mansfield’s tenure.
The rivalry will continue later this season when the Wildcats travel to Lawrence to face the Jayhawks again, at 7 p.m. on Oct. 30, nationally televised on FS1. Mansfield said he expects the rivalry’s intensity to grow as his players gain more experience with the matchup.
“Me being here for four years, I felt it in year one, and I’m sure they feel it a lot more now,” Mansfield said. “And in a couple weeks, when we play them again, they’ll feel it even more at Allen [Fieldhouse].”
Before that rematch, K-State will have time to regroup and work toward finding more consistency across all three sets.
“We’ve got to get back to work, and we’ve got to figure out ways to be better,” Mansfield said. “We’ve got to figure out ways to be more connected; whatever lineup is out there, people have to play well together.”
Up next:
Oct. 22: K-State at Cincinnati — 5:30 p.m. CT, ESPN+
Oct. 25: Texas Tech at K-State — 1 p.m. CT, ESPN+
Oct. 30: K-State at Kansas — 7 p.m. CT, FS1
