K-State and No. 17 TCU matched up at Morgan Family Arena for the battle of the two purples in the Big 12. It was a competitive back-and-forth night that resulted in the Wildcats falling short (25-16, 20-25, 25-27, 15-25) against the Horned Frogs.
The ‘Cats started set one with aggression. Skylar Brady was the star for K-State, reaching a career-high kill count, while hitting .351 at the net with 19 kills over 37 total attempts.
“She’s [Skylar Brady] definitely one of the X factors for us,” head coach Jason Mansfield said. “When she plays, I mean, this was her best match, but when she plays anywhere close to this, we’re a really good offense with her and [Addison Massey] on the left.”
Addison Massey also contributed to many of the Wildcats’ moments, putting down 16 kills along with her 20th match reaching 10 or more kills.
K-State got the kill count started early as Sydney Maue gave the Wildcats their first point, along with Addison Massey adding two kills herself to start the game up 5-3.
Brady recorded three straight kills, extending K-State’s lead to 10-6 and forcing TCU into a timeout.
The Horned Frogs went to Becca Kelley whenever they could, often resulting in a kill or offsetting the Wildcat rotation.
Despite the effort, K-State held its ground, taking the first set, 25-16.
TCU entered set two with a chip on its shoulder, starting with the lead and keeping it throughout the whole set. Early Wildcat attack errors and service errors put them in a deficit, one that the Horned Frogs capitalized on.
Going on a 5-point run, TCU’s Kelly had back-to-back kills, making the score 11-6 before K-State took a timeout to reassess.
The Wildcats continued to close the deficit and went on a 4-0 run, ending the spurt with a Brady kill.
The latter half of the set consisted of exchanges of kills between both purples until TCU closed out the set with a Kelly kill to seal a 25-20 win.
Setting the matches evenly at 1-1, both teams remained vigilant.
K-State got out early and often in the third set, beginning with a Massey kill. Soon after, a Lauren Latham service ace and a Massey kill put the Wildcats up 6-2.
TCU responded with a 3-point run itself to make the score 15-11, and an ace put the Horned Frogs within 2 after being down as much as 7, forcing K-State into a timeout. The Wildcats saw the light at the end of the tunnel, but not before TCU tied the game at 24.
Sydney Maue got K-State to set point with a kill, sending the Horned Frogs into a timeout to regroup. The tempo change disrupted the Wildcats and allowed TCU to go on a 3-point swing, finishing out the third set 27-25.
“I think we just stopped being aggressive,” Brady said. “We got a little bit inconsistent in things, and we just needed to keep applying pressure and pushing.”
Momentum carried for the Horned Frogs as they took control of the fourth set, going up 11-7. The ‘Cats called a timeout in hopes of stalling the Horned Frogs’ consistency — but TCU kept enduring.
The give-and-take continued until the Horned Frogs went on multiple 2-point runs in the second half of the set. Even with four service errors to K-State’s two, the Horned Frogs closed out the match 25-15.
“I think we just started making too many errors,” Massey said. “Then when we got down, we started being very cautious, and then we weren’t making smart decisions. … I also think our passing started struggling a little bit. I think we just started hesitating too much.”
K-State’s next matchup is on the road against Texas Tech at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 19. After the trip to the Lone Star State, the Wildcats return home to compete against West Virginia for senior day on Nov. 22.
