Jayhawks Lose Three-Set Battle at No. 12 Iowa State
AMES, Iowa – Despite upsetting a top 10 Iowa State team two weeks ago, Kansas volleyball could not repeat the feat here Saturday night as the Jayhawks lost a close battle to the now 12th-ranked Cyclones falling by scores of 25-20, 25-23 and 25-20.
Kansas fell to 13-9 overall and 4-7 in the Big 12 Conference. Iowa State picked up its fourth-straight win as it improved to 15-4 on the season, including 8-3 in league play.
Senior outside hitter Karina Garlington led the Jayhawks with 14 kills, her 11th consecutive match with double-digit kills. Redshirt freshman Caroline Jarmoc contributed eight kills in the effort on a team-best .438 attack percentage as KU was out-hit .290-.171 in the match. She also led the team with four total blocks.
Junior setter Nicole Tate led the defense with 11 digs to go along with 26 assists for her sixth double-double of the year. Freshman libero Brianne Riley and junior outside Allison Mayfield added eight digs apiece.
Twice the Jayhawks came within one point of the Cyclones in the opening set but could not find a way to pull ahead. Trailing 9-3, Jarmoc helped bring KU within 10-9 with three kills during a 6-1 run. Later in the set, kills from Garlington, Mayfield and senior Jenna Kaiser along with an ISU attack error made the score 17-16 but Iowa State scored the next three points to ruin Kansas’ momentum.
Set two was closely contested with 20 tied scores and neither team leading by more than two points. KU led at 9-7, its largest lead of the set, 11-10, 14-13 and 19-18. From there, ISU led the rest of the frame. Kansas did manage to knot the score at 23-23 after a kill by Jarmoc and then a huge solo block from Tate, but a KU service error and ISU ace closed the set.
Iowa State led from the start in set three and Kansas could not overcome the early deficit. The Jayhawks tied the score at 8-8 but it was as close as they would come falling 25-20 in the final frame. Garlington and Tate made it close again down the stretch as Garlington notched a kill followed by a Tate service ace to trail 22-20 but the Cyclones scored the final three points to end the threat.
Kansas will next travel to Border Showdown rival Missouri on Wednesday, Oct. 27 for a 6:30 p.m. match. The contest will be televised live on Metro Sports in Lawrence.
