Wildcats Looking to Put a Halt to "October Grind"

For the Wildcat volleyball players, this stretch of the season has become known as the “October Grind.” Perhaps that is a perfect way to describe it.



The Wildcats are indeed in the middle of a brutal stretch, one that right now consists of two consecutive sweeps at home, courtesy of a tough Oklahoma team and a No. 11 ranked Texas squad. What’s worse is they both came inside what was once a comfortable Ahearn Field House.

But still, the road doesn’t get any easier. Tomorrow, the Wildcats continue the “October Grind” as they travel to Ames, Iowa to take on No. 13 Iowa State.

First serve is set for 7 p.m. from Hilton Coliseum, and the game will be broadcast on Metro Sports.

In preparation for the mid-week match, head coach Suzie Fritz has been preaching to her team that they need to be resilient in order get through this stretch.

“The word says it all,” Fritz said after practice on Monday. “I said after the match (on Saturday) that was a quality that we appreciated and embraced about this team early on. Somehow, over the course of the last few weeks we have lost that. We have lost our confidence a little bit, we have lost our resilience, we’ve lost our fight, however you want to describe it, it all means the same thing.”

The Wildcats’ chance to regroup in Ames wont be easy, but perhaps there is a sign of hope as the Cyclones recently dropped a match at Kansas on Saturday, marking their first loss to an unranked opponent in 54 matches.

The Wildcats defeated Kansas in four sets earlier this season.

Iowa State however, has only dropped one match inside the friendly confines of Hilton Coliseum, and that was to a No. 4 ranked Nebraska squad. Meanwhile, the Wildcats last win in Ames came in 2007.

The Cyclones are powered by outside hitter Victoria Henson. The 5-foot-11 senior leads the team with 4.2 kills per set ranking first in the Big 12.

For the young Wildcats it’s yet another difficult task.

“The more quickly we can get on track, the better we will be,” senior outside hitter JuliAnne Chisholm said. “When it takes a long time that is when we aren’t resilient. That’s when you see the big roller coaster ride.”

But through this stretch, sophomore outside hitter Kathleen Ludwig has been a bright spot for the Wildcats. The lefty recorded her first double-double of the season in a Wildcat sweep at Texas A&M October 7, recording 10 kills and 10 digs. She has also recorded at least five kills in 14 of the Wildcats last 15 matches.

“I’ve just had some really good film sessions with Suzie [Fritz],” Ludwig said. “I’ve worked a lot on rhythm with Caitlyn Donahue and our team and I’m just trying to be confident out there and have a short-term memory.”

Through the past few matches, Fritz has noticed Ludwig’s improvements.

“Ludwig has turned the corner,” Fritz said. “She is playing with a lot of confidence. She has had several good productive matches in a row and she is playing with a lot of positive energy. She is stepping up a little bit.”

Furthermore, the Wildcats are receiving a lot of offensive power through freshman middle blocker Kaitlynn Pelger. The Olathe South product has caught fire recently, averaging 3.43 kills per set and an impressive .415 hitting percentage during the last seven matches.

However with the tough match awaiting them, this Wildcat team is only concerned with finding that sense of resilience. If it can be found, this “October Grind” could soon come to a much-needed halt.

“It’s tough,” Ludwig said. “But I think we have the right personality and the right coaches to keep our minds in it and we just keep working hard everyday.”

-Photo K-State Sports Info.