K-State won the first game of the championship match at Charles Koch Arena 30-26, then lost the second 30-25, but came back to win the final games 30-28 and 30-18.
It was the Wildcats' first road win at WSU since 1995.
Four of the Cats finished in double-digit kills, with junior transfer Nataly Korobkova knocking down 19 and K-State having a large effort from the middle with Kelsey Chipman putting down 14 and Megan Farr adding 10. Korobkova also had 12 digs to earn her second double-double of the year.
On the defensive end, Angie Lastra finished with a team-high 19 digs. Chipman led all Cats with eight blocks including one solo, while Farr had two solo and five block assists.
After the Shockers scored the first point of the match, K-State went up 3-1 before WSU responded with three points of their own to regain the lead at 4-3.
With back and forth play, Kansas State tied the game at 10 all with a Korobkova kill and went on a 5-1 run to take their largest lead of the game at 15-11. From then on, the Shockers were unable to control the K-State attack as WSU did not lead again in the game.
As K-State fought for the two-game advantage, the Shockers looked to win a competitive game two and eventually built a 12-9 lead before the Cats burned their first timeout. KSU came within one at 13-12 on an attack error by WSU, but the Shockers responded with a 6-2 run to pull ahead by five at 19-14. After a second KSU timeout, the Wildcats returned and outscored WSU 7-3 to come within one at 22-21. The Shockers tied the game at one apiece as they maintained their early force by going 8-4, including a four-point run, to win 30-25.
In the pivotal third game, the Wildcats began with a strong showing from all attackers — including five kills from the middle (Chipman and Farr) — to put KSU up 21-14. The Shockers went on an 11-4 run after a timeout to tie the game. K-State rallied back to regain energy and capture the game with a 30-28 score, despite being outhit .233 to .143.
Early in the fourth game, both teams battled for points as there were nine ties before K-State took a commanding lead at 23-14, including six unanswered points. In a last effort to save the game and match, the Shockers called a timeout. Continuing with their strong pace, the Wildcats sought help from all angles as kills from Korobkova, Chipman and Farr along with a final point from a Stacey Spiegelberg ace put away the Shockers 30-18.
K-State defeated North Texas 30-19, 30-17, and 30-6 to move its record to 2-0 to open the season, early Saturday.
Wildcats junior Jenny Jantsch had 13 kills in the match, while Farr and Chipman had seven apiece.
Lastra continued her climb up the K-State record book for career digs with 12 against the Mean Green.
Spiegelberg finished the match with 37 assists and nine digs.
K-State's tourney-opening win came in five games against the Mustangs of Cal Poly. (30-25, 20-30, 23-30, 30-25, 15-11).
It was the Wildcats' first victory against a ranked squad since defeating then-No. 23 Notre Dame on Sept. 9 of last year.
Korobkova, who was voted the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year, finished with a double-double — including a team-high 26 kills on 63 attempts.
Lastra had a match high 24 digs to notch her 21st match of 20 or more digs — tying for the lead with Laura Downey in K-State history.
The Wildcats' first home match of the season is this Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Ahearn Field House against the Houston Cougars.
