Sept. 2, 2001

Stats

Honolulu, Hawai'i - The 19th-ranked Kansas State women's volleyball team ended two days of frustration and gave first-year head coach Suzie Fritz her first career victory on Sunday, as the Wildcats eased past Michigan, 30-25, 30-22, 30-21, in the final match of the 14th annual Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic held at the Stan Sheriff Center.

With the win, Kansas State gains its first victory of the season, while Michigan falls to 0-3.

"I think we have been playing well all weekend and we finally put everything together tonight," head coach Suzie Fritz said. "I feel like we are inches away from challenging some of the best teams in the country day in and day out. I'm just proud of the way this team fought through some things this weekend. I thought we played as well as we have all weekend. We were just the better volleyball team on the court tonight."

In the opening set, the two teams battled through seven ties before Kansas State broke through with two straight points at 12-all. Michigan would close to within one at 14-13 before the Wildcats rattled off six of the next seven points for a convincing 20-14 advantage. K-State pushed the lead to seven points on two occasions then withstood a late Wolverine rally for a 30-25 win. Liz Wegner led all attackers with five kills, while Laura Downey added four digs.

The two teams kept the second game extremely tight until Kansas State was able to collect four straight points with the game knotted at 12-all. After Michigan closed within one at 16-15, the Wildcat quickly put the game away with six consecutive points for a convincing 22-15. The Wolverines would get no closer than five points, as K-State won on its first game point, 30-22. Wegner tallied five kills and five digs in the game.

After the collapse against Hawaii on opening night, Kansas State made sure to put away Michigan quickly in game three, as the Wildcats raced out to an 18-10 lead. After Michigan closed within five points at 20-15, K-State scored six of the next eight points en route to a 30-21 victory. Wegner again led the team with six kills in the game, while setter Laura Downey added a game-high six digs.

Wegner led the Wildcats across the board, as the senior tallied her third straight double-double with 16 kills on .314 hitting and 10 digs. She also added three service aces and two blocks. Sophomore Lauren Goehring and senior Lisa Mimick each contributed seven kills to the winning effort, while first-year setter Laura Downey compiled her first career double-double with 35 assists and 11 digs.

Chantel Reedus was the lone Michigan player in double-digit kills with 10 kills, while Erin Moore added nine in the losing effort. Carrie Ritchie led the team with 10 digs.

Kansas State will next be in action on Sept. 7-8 when the team hosts the second annual Wildcat Classic at Ahearn Field House. The Wildcats open the tournament against Arkansas on Friday beginning at 7:30 p.m. before playing matches against Houston and Washington State on Saturday.