When the Kansas State volleyball team returns home from Texas this Saturday, it will have entered what coachSuzie Fritz refers to as the last leg of the season.
The Wildcats face-off tonight 6:30 against a powerful Texas team, and in doing so enters the second round of Big 12 play.
But if the previous leg of the season was any indication, the Wildcats will most likely return to Manhattan on the heels of another loss. Not because they're facing Texas — a team that swept K-State just two weeks ago. No, the problems this volleyball team is facing go much deeper at this point.
They go back to Oct. 2, the last time the Wildcats actually won a set.
Since then, this team has been headed in a quick downward spiral, falling from the midst of a congested tie for second place in the league, to wondering what it felt like to win a match.
But that's OK.
It's time to regroup, reset, and hit the refresh button on the season. Luckily, in volleyball, you get a second chance in conference play, and this team needs it.
When they return home, the Wildcats need to take a breath, and start over.
In fact when looking at the season thus far, it's difficult to even put it into perspective whether or not the Wildcats have been getting better over time — a measuring stick by which Fritz often judges her teams.
At first glance, the obvious answer would be no. How could they be? They enter a hostile environment tonight in Austin riding a five-match losing streak, and haven't won a single set since Oct. 2 at A&M, their last victory.
But see, this team is young-extremely young. The Wildcats have just two upperclassmen, both seniors. The rest? Well, they are getting a taste of just how competitive the Big 12 is. That taste has come in the form of facing three Top-15 teams in the previous two weeks.
And so, as this final leg of the season begins tonight, it's pivotal the Wildcats learn to be resilient and learn to grow together.
They players say they have a short-term memory. Now it's time to show it.
It's perhaps the best lesson a young team can learn. And if they can do that, this season just may be salvaged.
While Fritz typically remains quiet on the mood of her team, she admitted before leaving for Texas earlier this week that she has grown slightly concerned.
"There's a sense of urgency that we can get it together," she said.
Well, the final leg of the season provides the perfect opportunity to "get it together."
Yes, K-State faces the same powerful teams that's handed the Cats five straight sweeps, but this team has showed signs of quick growth and resiliency earlier this year during a tough nonconference schedule.
Now it's time to do that yet again — when it matters most.
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