Kansas State swept Wichita State on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA volleyball tournament (25-18, 25-22, 25-17) at the Nebraska Coliseum in Lincoln, Neb.
The Wildcats’ reward? They’ll have to play Nebraska on its home court.K-State, 21-10, will take on the Huskers, who beat Jackson State (25-10, 25-16, 25-13), at 7 tonight with a berth in the Sweet 16 on the line. “We’ve been working on getting more balance in our offense,” Kansas State coach Suzie Fritz said. “We didn’t have that a month ago when we were setting two or three hitters too much. Now, we seem to have a few more people in a good offensive rhythm and our setter, Caitlyn Donahue, has done a nice job of working hard to make good setting choices and making good sets.”Five Wildcats had at least seven kills, led by Kaitlynn Pelger’s 15. Alex Muff added 10, Lilla Porubek had nine, and Courtney Traxson and Kathleen Ludwig each had seven. Mules fall in quartersThe Central Missouri volleyball team lost in the NCAA Division II national quarterfinals in San Bernardino, Calif. The Jennies, who were swept in three games by defending national champion Concordia-St. Paul, made their second straight trip to the championship round and finished 30-5.Central Missouri had three players — seniors Allie Huffman and Paula Harris and sophomore Julia Bates — chosen to the All-America first team.MidAmerica’s final winMidAmerica Nazarene beat Missouri Baptist in four sets (25-23, 25-22, 22-25, 25-17) in its third and final pool-play game at the NAIA tournament in Sioux City, Iowa. The Pioneers, who finished their season 30-9, did not qualify for the final elimination bracket.
MU starts tourney today
With two sophomores and three freshmen in the lineup, Missouri enters NCAA Tournament play with one of the youngest teams in the field. To coach Wayne Kreklow, the pressure is off.“To me, it feels really good and I’m really happy for the kids because they’re so young, and this is really hard to do,” Kreklow said.Mizzou, 21-12, meets No. 17 Florida, 24-5, at 5 p.m. today in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
With two sophomores and three freshmen in the lineup, Missouri enters NCAA Tournament play with one of the youngest teams in the field. To coach Wayne Kreklow, the pressure is off.“To me, it feels really good and I’m really happy for the kids because they’re so young, and this is really hard to do,” Kreklow said.Mizzou, 21-12, meets No. 17 Florida, 24-5, at 5 p.m. today in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
