MANHATTAN, Kan. – A classic match in the first meeting between Texas State and Kansas State concluded with a five-set (19-25, 15-25, 25-20, 25-22, 15-9) comeback victory for the Bobcats on Thursday night at the Bramlage Coliseum. 

With the victory, the Bobcats (27-3, 15-1 Sun Belt) improve to 6-0 this season in five-set matches and pulled off their third reverse sweep this season, all on the road. 

The Wildcats (10-7, 10-6 Big 12) won the battle in numerous statistical categories including hitting percentage (.207-.177), kills (68-50), assists (65-48), aces (8-5), and digs (89-85). But TXST did win at the net with 11 blocks to K-State's seven, and won the battle with grit, fighting set after set by holding the Wildcats below a .120 hitting percentage in the final three sets. 

"That was a huge team win," said head coach Sean Huiet. "I am so proud of the fight and resilience we showed tonight. I was disappointed with how we started because I thought we were playing timid. During the break, I told them we are beating ourselves with our mindsets and playing scared. Once we changed that, I knew we would battle. That is a great win against a good Kansas State team." 

Sophomore outside hitter Caitlan Buettner logged her second double-double this season with a team-high 13 kills (.136) and added 13 digs, two assists, and two blocks. Senior middle blocker followed with 10 kills (.258), a match-high six blocks (one solo), and also had two kills. Junior setter Emily DeWalt was a kill shy of a triple-double as she gathered 34 assists, 11 digs, nine kills (.533), and four blocks. It is DeWalt's 18th double-double this season and 50th double-double in her career. Junior middle blocker Jillian Slaughter and sophomore outside Lauren Teske both had six kills. Slaughter turned in five blocks and two aces, and Teske had nine digs and three assists. Junior libero Kayla Granado and senior setter Brooke Johnson both paced the team with 15 digs. Granado matched a team-best two aces and had four assists. Johnson also had one ace. 

The young Wildcat players put up numbers, beginning with freshman outside hitter Aliyah Carter's career-high 27 kills (.235) and registered a match-high four aces to go along with five digs, and three blocks. Freshman middle blocker Kadye Fernholz finished with 13 kills (.333), four blocks, four digs, and two assists, while sophomore outside hitter Holly Bonde contributed 12 kills (.189), two blocks, and two assists. Sophomore setter Tean Adams-Kaonohi had a double-double of her own with 59 assists and 17 digs. She was one of four players who had double-digit digs including freshman libero Mackenzie Morris (24, match-high), sophomore defensive specialist Loren Hinkle (18), and junior defensive specialist Jacque Smith (13).

Set 1
The Wildcats jumped out to a 7-2 lead, highlighted by a 5-0 scoring run to force an early Bobcat timeout. KSU's lead grew 10-4, but the visiting team scored the next four points to trim the margin 10-8 and forced a Wildcat timeout. Both teams continued to trade points and although the Bobcats found themselves down by two points late (19-17), the Wildcats increased their lead with a 3-0 run and ultimately took the set 25-19. TXST hit .141 in the set compared to KSU's .353 hitting percentage. Buettner led the Bobcats with four kills and a block, and Scott was behind her with three kills and a block.  

Set 2
The Bobcats struck first, but the Wildcats reeled off five consecutive kills to ignite a 7-0 run and pressured the Bobcats into another early timeout. Texas State pulled within four points with the score reading 14-10, but K-State closed the set strong with an 11-5 run to win the set 25-15. 

Set 3
K-State had another fast start and led 5-1, but Texas State responded with a massive 15-6 run, including a 6-0 burst to take a 16-11 lead, forcing the home team to use a timeout. Although it was an even match after the timeout with each team scoring nine points, the Bobcats won the frame 25-20 as they held K-State to a .109 hitting percentage.   

Set 4
Texas State and Kansas State traded runs early, but the visitors forced a Wildcat timeout as they built a 10-9 lead behind a 4-0 run. TXST made it a 5-0 run out of the timeout with DeWalt's seventh kill of the match, but a K-State 9-5 scoring margin gave them an 18-16 lead, forcing a TXST timeout. A kill from Teske followed by an ace by Johnson tied the set at 18, and an attack error by KSU gave TXST a 19-18 advantage. K-State's Carter responded with her 21st and 22nd kill of the night to regain the lead for the Wildcats 20-19, but TXST regained the advantage 22-20 with a 3-0 run highlighted by a kill from Buettner. KSU used its final timeout of the set to stop the run, but it did not help as the Bobcats held on to their lead and forced a fifth set with a 25-22 win.

Set 5
Texas State used a 5-0 run to contribute to a 9-5 advantage and held on to the lead at 12-7 thanks to another 3-0 run. After two points by the Wildcats, Scott found the floor to spark a 3-0 run to close the set, with a 15-9 victory. 

UP NEXT
Texas State concludes the weekend with a match against Kansas at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, March 5 at the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena in Lawrence, Kan. 

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