Kansas Volleyball Upsets No. 21 Baylor
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Junior Karina Garlington collected a match-high 19 kills, while sophomore Allison Mayfield chipped in 16 to help lead the Kansas volleyball team to a 3-1 upset versus No. 21 Baylor Saturday afternoon. KU won by scores of 25-18, 19-25, 25-20 and 25-20.
The Jayhawks recorded their first victory over a top 25 foe since defeating No. 18 Oklahoma on Nov. 3, 2007, while also earning their most victories since 2005.
Kansas improved to 15-11 overall and 7-9 in the Big 12, while Baylor dropped to 21-7 on the season and 10-7 in league play.
KU out-played the Bears in every statistical category during the match. BU ranks second in the Big 12 in blocks per set and attack percentage but the Jayhawks out-blocked Baylor 12.0-6.0 and recorded a .252 attack percentage compared to just .176 for the Bears.
In the fourth and final set, Kansas played from behind as it was unable to find a spark until senior Brittany Williams ignited a 5-1 run for the Jayhawks with one of her nine kills to tie the set at 16-16. Mayfield proceeded to tally three-straight kills and a Baylor service error put Kansas ahead 20-17.
From there, Garlington helped seal the victory with three kills to score three of KU’s final five points.
Kansas hit a match-best .333 attack in the fourth set and took advantage of five Baylor service errors. The Bears struggled from the service line throughout the match recording nine serving errors total.
The Jayhawks’ defense saw three players with double figure digs led by senior Melissa Grieb with 19. Sophomore setter Nicole Tate followed with 16 to go along with 45 assists in her 11th double-double of the season.
Senior Katie Martincich also finished with double-digit digs as she became the 11th Jayhawk in Kansas volleyball history to reach 1,000 career digs. Her 14 digs versus Baylor gave the setter turned defensive specialist 1,010 digs for her career so far.
KU’s defense also saw four players finish with at least four total blocks. Sophomore Lauren Hagan swatted a team-high five, while Williams, Garlington and freshman Tayler Tolefree each chipped in with four.
In the first set, Garlington and Mayfield tallied five kills a piece to pace KU to a 25-18 win. With the score knotted at 4-4, the Jayhawks went on a 9-1 run to pull out of reach. Baylor put on the pressure at the end scoring seven of the last 10 points but it was too late as Garlington capped the set with a kill.
Baylor took the lead at the first point in set two and never let go of its advantage using a team-best .237 attack to take a 25-19 win.
Following the break, both teams battled for momentum in a rollercoaster set three. The set featured 13 ties and four lead changes. KU took a lead three times, including 14-13 and 18-17, but it wasn’t until 19-18 that Kansas gained the upper hand and kept the advantage.
Two Baylor attack errors and kill from Garlington gave the Jayhawks their biggest lead of the set at 21-18. After giving up two more points to the Bears, Kansas scored the final four points to earn a 25-20 win.
Kansas will play its second of three-straight ranked opponents Wednesday, Nov. 18 when it travels to Iowa State. The Cyclones have been ranked in the top 10 the last three weeks and currently ranked No. 9.
