Despite the loss, K-State head coach Suzie Fritz said she saw some positive aspects of her team's play during the match. The Wildcats dropped the match 24-26, 25-22, 15-25, 25-20, 12-15.
"Even though we lost, I feel pretty good about some things we needed to work on and some things we needed to get better at and we did," Fritz said. "Unfortunately, it just didn't go our way."
After tying the match at one set a-piece, the Wildcats put themselves in position to take the lead in the third set. Trailing by just two points at 16-14, Purdue took the momentum straight out of K-State's hands as they went on a 9-1 run to end the set, silencing an Ahearn Field House crowd of over 1,200.
Following the third set, K-State found itself chasing the Boilermakers for the remainder of the match, winning game four in their most productive offensive set of the night.
However, the Wildcats ran out of steam in the fifth and final set, falling to Purdue 15-12.
"We weren't as aggressive as I would have liked to be in game five," Fritz said. "I think we really needed to go after them and I just didn't feel like we kept on it."
The Wildcats finished the Varney's Invitational with a 1-2 record after dropping the opening match to Kentucky in four sets on the opening day.
Following the final preseason tournament, K-State now stands with an overall record of 6-4, with Big 12 play opening on Wednesday as Oklahoma will make its way to Manhattan for a 7 p.m. start.
Fritz said her team still has work to do in terms of preparation for the Big 12 schedule, despite seeing significant improvement throughout the non-conference portion of the season.
"I think we are where we thought we would be at the end of preseason," Fritz said. "Not necessarily in terms of wins and losses but in terms of improvement. We have made improvement in a lot of areas, it is just not showing in the wins and losses column."
