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Volleyball
K-State hosted the No. 3 Texas Longhorn last night in Ahearn Fieldhouse. The Cats jumped out to a big, and surprising, 2-0 lead over the Longhorns - who were undefeated in conference play - but couldn’t hang on, falling to Texas in five sets, 25-21, 26-24, 18-25, 15-25, 11-15. With the loss the Cats fall to 9-15, 2-9 in the Big 12. The Wildcats already have a rough path to the postseason, and last night’s loss doesn’t help dispel the gloom any (Woods, Mercury). The Cats get a bye this weekend to regroup, but there’s no true rest for the weary as the VolleyCats will head east next Wednesday to face the No. 12 Kansas Jayhawks (19-4, 8-2 Big 12) in the second installment of the Sunflower Showdown; the Wildcats dropped the first game to the Jayhawks 2-3 back in late September in Manhattan.
Football
K-State football’s bowl game hopes may very well hinge on Saturday’s game against Texas Tech, as the Cats are quickly running out of opportunities to become bowl eligible (Robinett, Eagle).
Through eight games of the season, the Wildcats are still trying to figure things out on offense after needing three Matt McCrane field goals and a kickoff return touchdown by D.J. Reed to help put away the struggling Jayhawks last weekend (Corbitt, C-J).
From the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, Carlos Silva takes a look at Texas HS product, and starting linebacker for the Wildcats, Jayd Kirby, who helped hone his skills working on the ranch with his dad.
Other
In some sad news for the local sports world, former Lawrence Journal-World sports editor Chuck Woodling passed away yesterday at the age of 76. Woodling, a Kansas City native and a University of Missouri graduate, worked around the state of Kansas and Nebraska before settling in Lawrence in 1968 to become the sports editor at LJW, a post he held for 37 years.