Jayhawk Volleyball Falls At No. 4 Texas

AUSTIN, Texas – Kansas volleyball nearly took a set three victory to extends its match at No. 4 Texas, but the Longhorns came out victorious sweeping the Jayhawks 25-18, 25-11 and 27-25.

With the loss, Kansas falls to 12-15 overall and 6-12 in the Big 12, while Texas improved its mark to 23-3 and 16-2 in Big 12 action.

Junior outside hitter Brittany Williams led the Jayhawk attack with nine kills behind a team-best .467 hitting percentage. Sophomores Karina Garlington and Jenna Kaiser added eight a piece.

Sophomore Melissa Manda paced KU on defense digging up eight balls. The 5-9 libero also picked up a service ace for the Jayhawks.

In the opening frame, Kansas trailed close behind the Longhorns early on. Down at 10-8 though, Texas rattled off five unanswered points to widen the gap. UT then tacked on a 7-1 run to bring the set to match point at 24-12. However, KU made a strong push at the end holding off set point for six straight points, but Texas’ Lauren Paolini tallied the final kill to earn the Longhorns a 25-18 win.

UT used a 19-10 advantage in kills in the first set along with a .389 clip compared to KU’s .207 attack percentage.

The Longhorns notched a 25-11 win in set two behind a match-high .478 attack. KU struggled to match UT’s offense doubling its errors from the first set with eight.

The third time was almost a charm for the Jayhawks, who forced an extended set three. After 18 ties and four lead changes, KU was down 24-23 with no more subs left. Williams knotted the score at 24 with a kill, then teamed up with freshman setter Nicole Tate to block a Longhorn attack and tie the tally at 25. Unfortunately for the Jayhawks, Texas proceeded with back-to-back kills to finish the match with a 27-25 victory despite being edged by KU in attack percentage, .341-.326,

Garlington and Williams led KU with five kills a piece in the final set.

Kansas will return to the Horejsi Family Athletics Center for its final home game of the regular season when it hosts Baylor for senior night on Wednesday, Nov. 26 at 7 p.m. KU seniors Savannah Noyes and Natalie Uhart will be honored in a brief recognition ceremony following the match.