Cats are bowl eligible; volleyball wins

Football

Kansas State beat Oklahoma State 45-40 in a nail biter where the Wildcats nearly grabbed defeat from the jaws of victory. With the win, Kansas State is now bowl eligible for the eighth straight season, and for the 19th time under Bill Snyder.

As always, the score only tells so much of the story, and for more, here’s Jon Morse with the official BotC recap: Kansas State escapes Oklahoma State.

This was Kansas State’s first win in Stillwater since a come-from-behind victory in 1999, and also ended a 14-game losing streak to ranked opponents that goes back to 2012.

The day belonged, without a doubt, to Byron Pringle. The wide receiver caught three touchdown passes and had an 89-yard kickoff return to boot, and became the first player in the Big 12 to achieve the feat.

Pringle’s achievement was at least partially due to some stellar play from quarterback Skylar Thompson. Starting for the first time on the road, Thompson not only showed some skill in the passing game, but also poise and confidence. He finished 10/13 for 204 yards and three touchdowns, adding another 93 yards on the ground (adjusted for sacks).

The defense, considered the team’s glaring weakness going into this game, stood tall when it mattered. The yardage totals might not suggest it, but Kansas State’s defense was stout in the first half and again in the waning minutes as they held off a furious late rally by the Cowboys.

Afterwards, Snyder was mostly complimentary of the defense:

At the end of the day they made the stop that won the ballgame. Being able to hold them on four downs, that’s a major task with that much on the line.

And now, on to Farmageddon, now set for a 2:30 PM kickoff on ESPN2. The game might play out just a bit differently this year, with Iowa State on the rise. Then again, it’s Senior Day in Manhattan and strange things happen to the Cyclones against Bill Snyder.

Volleyball

If one win over a team from Oklahoma wasn’t enough to satisfy Kansas State fans, the volleyball team was more than happy to provide a second. The Wildcats beat Oklahoma in straight sets 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-14) to sweep the series with the Sooners. The win also ended the team’s nine-match losing streak.

Peyton Williams (.467) and Kylee Zumach (.389) were among five Wildcats hitting higher than .250 for the match. Zumach also had eight kills along with teammate Elle Sandbothe. The team also held Oklahoma to just .085 hitting percentage, thanks in part to 12 blocks, with Macy Flowers tallying seven. Riley Killeen had 10 digs, the only VolleyCat in double digits in that category.

Up next, Kansas State hosts West Virginia in the final regular season match. It will be Senior Night at Ahearn Field House, and as the only senior on the squad, it will be Bryna Vogel in the spotlight.