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| Kansas Stae’s Rita Liliom follows through with a kill Saturday at Ahearn Field House against the Baylor Bears. Staff photo by Rod Mikinski |
Senior Stacey Spiegelberg served up six aces and set 46 assists on the Bears, and KSU attacked at 42 percent for the match with four players making at least nine kills.
Baylor, on the other hand, had only one player with as many as nine kills (middle blocker Anna Breyfogle), and the Bears attacked at just 15 percent overall.
"You'll probably never hear me say I feel that great about where we're at," Wildcat coach Suzie Fritz said, "but for mid-September, I think this team's doing a lot of good things right now. I'm not surprised we're playing this well all of a sudden.
"But we know we still have much to improve upon. I see this team everyday, so I know what they're capable of."
Spiegelberg and middle blocker Megan Farr were especially effective with a two-person game at the net, turning several Baylor attacks into quick kills the other way. Both Farr and Natalya Korobkova converted 53 percent of their attacks, with Farr notching 10 kills and Korobkova a match-high 13.
Kansas State spotted Baylor a 2-0 lead to start the day before tying the score at three and taking control from there. Farr made four kills in a matter of minutes off Spiegelberg sets, and an 11-6 Wildcat lead eventually swelled to 25-11 as Korobkova and Rita Liliom made four kills apiece.
The Bears had a half-dozen unforced errors in the first game, and K-State had a four-point run with Jenny Jantsch serving and later a 5-0 surge on Kelsey Chipman's serve. Jantsch then made back-to-back kills before Chipman ended the first game with a block.
"Our middles have been good from start to finish," Fritz said. "They've been our most consistent attackers, and establishing the middle has opened up the outside for Natalya and Rita."
Baylor grabbed another early lead in Game two, and back-to-back blocks from Breyfogle and Ashley Byrd tied the game at five before K-State began pulling away. KSU led 9-7 when Korobkova served seven straight points, including three consecutive aces and a big dig that led to a Chipman kill and a 16-7 lead.
Chipman made four more kills as the Cats sped off to another 14-point win and a 2-0 lead. Chipman and Liliom finished with nine kills apiece.
"We've been aggressive all year with our serves," Fritz said, "but today was the first day we were able to get most of them in. The difference was just the consistency and the rhythm, and it was nice to see Natalya get her serve going and give us the boost she gave us with those aces right in a row."
Baylor bounced back and once again took an early lead in the third and final game, but Kansas State once again took control. The Bears won a long point with an Ashley Christenson kill to pull within 11-9, but K-State answered with a 9-2 run that all but buried Baylor.
Spiegelberg served up three aces and assisted back-to-back kills by Farr as the Wildcats pulled ahead 20-11, and Farr fittingly ended the afternoon with a spike on match-point.
"We've been playing well late in games and late in matches recently, and I think that allows us to put teams away and get the sweeps we've been getting," Fritz said. "It's always nice to sweep teams from a physical standpoint, because it's a long season and we can save ourselves the wear and tear if we don't play a full five, but we don't care how many games it takes, we just want to win the match."
Fritz and the Wildcats will look to keep their brooms handy when they welcome Oklahoma to town Wednesday for a 7 p.m. start.
