Despite having a rare opportunity to play in a packed gym in front of a raucous home crowd, the Kansas University volleyball team fell to 19th-ranked Kansas State, 30-20, 30-21 and 30-26, in the Big 12 opener for both squads Wednesday night at Horejsi Center.
The Jayhawks (7-4, 0-1) trailed for the majority of the first game, but it appeared they were ready to make it tough for the Wildcats (9-2, 1-0) to leave Lawrence with a victory in the second game, which Kansas led 11-3.
However, Kansas State battled back and overcame a 21-18 Jayhawk lead by ending the second game with 12 straight points – perhaps breaking the Jayhawks’ backs.
“It was a disappointing way to end game two,” Kansas coach Ray Bechard said. “We’ve got to be better longer.”
Junior Savannah Noyes, who had 11 kills for the Jayhawks, said the team couldn’t afford to blow leads if it wanted to win in the Big 12.
“If we get up that far, we need to finish the game,” Noyes said.
Bechard said the Wildcats’ 12-point, game-ending rally in the second could have been avoided.
“(The Wildcats) just elevated their play, got a couple breaks, and we didn’t take a big swing like we needed to,” Bechard said. “A play here and there that could break that early makes all the difference in the world.”
The loss was especially disheartening for the Jayhawks because the gym, which seats 1,300, was packed for the rivalry game.
“The atmosphere was ripe for us to make some things happen,” said Bechard, noting that the Wildcats, however, weren’t intimidated.
“It’s nice to have our fans behind us, and we’re trying to win so we can get more fans,” Noyes said.
Crowd-pleasers for the Jayhawks on Wednesday included Noyes, Katie Martincich (10 assists), Emily Brown (22 assists, eight digs) and Melissa Manda (14 digs).
Bechard saw flashes that pleased him, despite the sweep.
“I was really encouraged by a portion of each game, especially game two,” Bechard said, adding that the Jayhawks trouble breaking the Wildcats’ serves at times made it difficult to upset the road-favorite.
The 10th-year coach said his team could have played Kansas State tougher if it had executed on a more consistent basis.
“It all starts with our first pass. I think that broke down a little bit,” Bechard said. “When we were passing the ball to our setter I thought we were as effective as we’d been all year.”
The Wildcats were led throughout the sweep by Kelsey Chipman (14 kills), Megan Farr (13 kills) and 6-foot-3 Nataly Korobkova (nine kills, four service aces).
Noyes said, in the future, the Jayhawks need to identify the talented players for the opposition and keep tabs on them during play.
“We need to talk to each other about where they are exactly on the court because sometimes we don’t realize,” she said.
Bechard said the Jayhawks also need to do a better job of setting up their big hitters.
“When we got the ball to Noyes and (Brittany) Williams in the middle-to-right-hand side of the floor, we looked very effective,” he said.
The players learned more than that from the loss.
“We need to just put the ball away when we can and if we’re up we need to stay up and not let someone catch up to us,” Noyes said.
Kansas next plays at Oklahoma on Saturday at 11 a.m.