Kansas State Volleyball rallies to defeat San Diego in the first round of the NCAA Tournament

K-State volleyball players celebrate in a huddle. Courtesy: Ashton Todd

A K-State volleyball player spikes the ball. Courtesy: Ashton Hall

K-State volleyball players celebrate after winning a set. Courtesy: Ashton Todd

A K-State volleyball player jumps and prepares to spike the ball. Courtesy: Ashton Todd

K-State volleyball players huddle together at midcourt. Courtesy: Ashton Todd

Coach Mansfield crouches down on the sideline and claps. Courtesy: Ashton Todd

The Kansas State Wildcats found themselves down 2-1 after three sets against the 8-seed San Diego Toreros, but came back to win the final two sets and secure a 3-2 victory in the first round of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament on Dec. 4 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln, Neb. 

The first set started with four ties and a lead change, but San Diego would proceed to go on a 4-0 run to take a 13-8 lead before Kansas State used their first timeout. The Wildcats got within one point three times but could not retake the lead and the Toreros won the first set 25-21. 

San Diego scored the first two points of the next set, but Kansas State eventually retook the lead at 9-8 after they tied the Toreros five times. The Wildcats would lead for the remainder of the second set, winning it 25-17, which was the largest margin out of the five sets played. 

Set #3 was very competitive to start as the Wildcats and the Toreros were tied after scoring their first four points. It wasn’t until the score became 6-4 in Kansas State’s favor that either team would be ahead by two or more points, and Kansas State held onto that lead at 15-12 going into a media timeout. San Diego would eventually fight back to tie the game 16-16 and eventually found themselves leading 24-21. The Toreros would end up getting the last point, but Kansas State challenged the play that gave San Diego the set, and the call was reversed. Momentum shifted into the Wildcats favor after that and they tied the set at 25-25, but San Diego would eventually win the extended play 28-26. Overall, the third set had 13 ties and seven lead changes.  

The Toreros forced Kansas State to take a timeout at the start of the fourth set after they took a 9-4 lead, but the Wildcats did not let the game get away from them as they came storming back by tying the game on multiple occasions, and they took their first lead of the set when the score was 18-17. Kansas State would close out the fourth set by winning it 25-22 and forcing a fifth set. 

The Wildcats took control of the final set early thanks to some kills and Torero errors to take a 5-0 lead at the start of the set. Kansas State eventually built their lead to 10-5, but San Diego would go on a 5-0 run to tie the set score at 10-10. Despite their run, the Toreros were unable to take the lead, and Kansas State scored five of the last seven points in the set to claim the victory and advance to the second round. 

Shaylee Myers played a big role for the Wildcats as she led the team with 26 kills, which gives her over 1,000 in her collegiate career. Aniya Clinton also had 19 kills as the only other Wildcat to reach double-digits in that category. Ava LeGrand continued to add to her season assist totals after accounting for 49 of the team’s 59 assists. Kansas State’s other statistical leaders included Symone Sims who had 17 digs, and Jordyn Williams who finished with 7 blocks. 

San Diego also had two players that recorded double-digit kills as Nemo Beach led the way with 22, and Isabel Clark followed right behind her with 20. Beach also finished with a team-high three service aces. Kylie Munday led the Toreros with 55 assists, and Olivia Bennett finished with 25 digs. San Diego also had two players tie for the most blocks as Kali Engeman and Baylea Sparks both recorded four. 

San Diego sees their season end at 25-5, and the loss also ends their 18-game win streak that started on Sept. 25. Kansas State is now 18-9 on the season and is set to face the #1 overall seed Nebraska Cornhuskers who advanced after sweeping the Long Island Sharks to keep their record perfect at 31-0. The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center and fans can also tune in to the game on ESPN+ or Wildcat 91.9.