Jayhawks Extend Match Versus No. 8 Texas But Fall in Four Sets
AUSTIN, Texas – After falling behind two sets to none, the Kansas volleyball team battled back to win set three but was edged 25-23 in the fourth frame by No. 8 Texas Friday evening.
Following its 3-1 loss (25-16, 25-23, 24-26, 25-23), Kansas dropped to 16-13 overall, including 7-11 in the Big 12 Conference. UT improved to 21-5 with the win and 16-2 in the conference.
The Jayhawks opened set three with four-straight points to take an early lead. KU held the advantage until Texas knotted the score at 20-all and then scored the next point to lead by one. The teams tied again four more times until finally, with the set at 24-24, Garlington picked up back-to-back kills to earn Kansas a 26-24 win. Jarmoc was helpful at the net down the stretch collecting two blocks, including a solo, to account for two of the last four KU points.
Kansas used a match-best .342 attack percentage in set three behind five kills from both Allison Mayfield and Jenna Kaiser. The pair led the Jayhawks with 18 and 17 kills, respectively, on the night. Mayfield collected her 18 tallies on an impressive .341 hitting percentage.
Senior Karina Garlington also finished with double-digit kills as she added 11 in the effort. Junior setter Nicole Tate guided KU to a .300-plus attack percentage in each of the last three sets and finished the match with 49 assists, three service aces and three blocks. Jarmoc led all blockers with six, including two solo rejections.
KU was able to carry its momentum from set three into the fourth frame as it again jumped out to an early lead. Texas soon answered with five-straight points to even the score at 8-8 but it wouldn’t take the lead as Kansas stayed ahead, expanding its advantage to 17-12. The Longhorns soon rallied for another 5-0 run to make the score 20-all but this time they were able to take over the lead in the next play.
Sophomore Tayler Tolefree recorded a solo block to keep KU within one at 22-21 and Mayfield and Kaiser each had a kill to do the same but as the teams traded points down the stretch, Texas beat Kansas to match point to win 25-23.
Early in set one, Kansas used a 5-1 run to lead the Longhorns 8-5. UT responded with six unanswered points take over at 11-8 and never trailed again. The Jayhawks were limited to seven kills in the frame, while Texas hit with a .314 attack percentage.
Despite coming within one point at 24-23 and improving its offense to a .308 clip, Texas edged Kansas 25-23 in set two. Down 24-21, Kaiser tallied a kill followed by a solo block from Jarmoc to put Kansas within a point but the Longhorns collected a kill in the following play for the win. KU also tied the set at 18-18 and trailed by one point at 22-21 but could not find a way to push ahead of Texas.
Kansas will play its final home match of the season when it hosts in-state rival Kansas State on Wednesday, Nov. 24. Following the contest, KU will honor seniors Karina Garlington, Jenna Kaiser, Melissa Manda and Mel Townsend.
