Kansas State Volleyball began its season at the Purdue Stacey Clark Classic, going head-to-head with Purdue, UC Davis, and UMBC. After dropping the opening two, the Wildcats topped UMBC in straight sets. 

Purdue, which is ranked No. 8 in the nation, was first on the Wildcats’ schedule on Friday, and K-State went blow for blow with the Boilermakers, falling 21-25, 25-18, 22-25, 23-25.

Kills from outside hitter Aliyah Carter and middle blocker Meg Brown kept the first set close before late errors allowed Purdue to pull away. The Wildcats totaled 10 turnovers in Set 1. 

Set 2 saw fewer errors from K-State. The Wildcats grabbed an early lead before Purdue stormed back. Tied at 11, Purdue errors and kills from Carter and setter Izzi Szulczewski allowed K-State to tie the game at 1-1 after winning Set 2, 25-18. 

In Set 3, K-State had another solid lead early at 10-6, but fell behind shortly after. K-State tied it at 18 before Purdue outside hitter Chloe Chicoine killed her way to victory. Chicoine brought Purdue four of its final six points, winning the set 25-22. 

Set 4 was back-and-forth until Purdue led 16-13 midway through the set. The Wildcats could not muster up the kills to tie the game again as Purdue won the set 25-23 and the match 3-1. 

UC Davis was next on Saturday. Outside hitter Shaylee Myers and middle blocker Jordyn Williams had kills all over the court. Williams finished with five kills total as K-State won the first set 25-20. 

Set 2 was explosive for Myers as kills flourished, racking up six to lead the Wildcats on a 12-3 run. The Wildcats held a 16-9 lead, but the Aggies had some fight left. UC Davis took the lead back and held K-State to a .032 hitting efficiency to end the game. The Aggies won 25-20. 

Although Set 3 saw efficient blocking from the Wildcats, UC Davis had an 18-12 advantage in kills. Two 5-0 runs from the Aggies allowed them to hold K-State off, giving them a 2-1 set lead going into Set 4. 

Backs against the wall, K-State created the biggest lead of the game, 19-7. Three straight points came from Williams and four kills total from Carter. The Wildcats’ defense held the Aggies to a dismal .029 hitting efficiency, winning 25-14.  

The stage was now set for Set 5. After a late five-point run, including three service errors by K-State, the Aggies pulled off the upset, winning the game 3-2. 

Coming off back-to-back losses, the Wildcats faced UMBC on Sunday. The Wildcats jumped out to a 17-8 lead in Set 1. UMBC would cut the lead down, but eight kills from Carter and her astounding .889 hitting efficiency propelled K-State to a 25-14 win.  

Set 2 was utter domination by the Wildcats. UMBC notched nine points total, as K-State scored 11 consecutive points with only one error in the set. UMBC had a hitting efficiency of -.069, easily giving K-State a 25-9 win, leading the match 2-0. 

Kills continued to flow for the Wildcats. K-State racked up an early season-high 16 kills to complete the sweep against UMBC, earning its first win. The Wildcats took Set 3, scoring 25-14. 

K-State continues the road trip, as its next destination is Omaha, Nebraska for the Creighton Classic. The Wildcats take on No. 21 ranked USC at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6.