K-State volleyball fell to Cincinnati in straight sets Thursday, Oct. 22, losing 25-23, 25-16 and 25-22 to extend its losing streak to seven matches.
The Wildcats came out strong in the opening set, building a 15-11 lead behind freshman Addison Massey, who hit six of nine swings. The purple and white controlled the pace and extended their lead to 17-12, putting early pressure on the Bearcats.
Cincinnati responded with a run of its own, cutting the deficit to 19-18 and forcing a K-State timeout. The teams kept trading points until the score tied at 21. Skylar Brady connected on a pass from Fuka Sekita to give the Wildcats the lead, but the Bearcats rallied late, scoring 4 of the final 6 points to take the opening set, 25-23.
Massey led K-State with eight kills, while Brady added four. The Wildcats recorded 18 kills compared with Cincinnati’s 13, but the Bearcats held the advantage in hitting percentage, .400 to .256.
Cincinnati carried its momentum into the second set, looking to extend its lead. K-State attempted to close the gap, cutting the deficit to 15-11 with a kill from Cadence Lundgren. Lundgren and Brady followed with a block to keep the Wildcats within reach.
The Bearcats took control of the set, closing with a 10-5 run to secure the 25-16 win and move within one set of the sweep. Cincinnati kept finding openings in the Wildcats’ defense, recording 13 kills and just two errors on 30 attempts, for a .400 hitting percentage.
Sydney Nolan led the Bearcats with six kills on 14 swings and no errors. K-State struggled to match Cincinnati’s efficiency, finishing with 12 kills and six errors on 40 attempts for a .150 hitting percentage. Massey and Lundgren led the Wildcats with three kills apiece.
Facing a sweep, K-State battled to keep the match alive in the third set. The Wildcats trailed 15-13 before Brady’s sixth kill of the night and a service ace from Emerson Van Lannen, her 25th of the season, tied the score.
The teams continued exchanging points, reaching a 20-20 tie late in the set. Cincinnati then built a 3-point lead, including kills from Nolan and Nina Scrucca, putting the Bearcats within reach of closing out the match.
Brady answered with back-to-back kills to bring K-State within one point, but Cincinnati held off the late push. Nolan and Scrucca finished the match with the final attacks to secure the 25-22 win and complete the three-set sweep. Brady and Lundgren each finished with eight kills for the Wildcats. Van Lannen and Camdyn Stucky combined for 32 assists, with Stucky recording 18 assists and two service aces. Fuka Sekita led K-State with nine digs.
“Congrats to Cincinnati, I thought they were really good offensively tonight,” head coach Jason Mansfield said. “We needed to put a lot more pressure on them. When a team hits .425 for the match, that’s a tough hill to climb.”
The loss extended K-State’s losing streak to seven matches, its longest since 2017.
The Wildcats return to Morgan Family Arena on Sunday to host Texas Tech (8-11, 0-7 Big 12). First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m., and the match will stream on ESPN+.
