Kansas falls in four sets for first loss
ORLANDO, Fla. – Kansas volleyball fell 3-1 to South Carolina on Saturday in the second match of the three-day UCF Challenge in The Venue at UCF.
After a back-and-forth first set, the Jayhawks fought to a 27-25 victory after a kill by junior Sara Nielsen and a block by Nielsen and redshirt-freshman Kailea Carrier.
Ashley Smith and Zoe Hill did their best to keep the Jayhawks within striking distance of the Gamecocks as Smith finished with a team-high 14 kills and Hill added 13. Freshman Gracie Van Driel notched 11 kills on the night for her third match of the season in double digits.
Kansas will complete the UCF Challenge against tournament-host UCF on Sunday (Sept. 8) at 3 p.m. in The Venue at UCF.
S4 | Hill with a kill to bring the Jayhawks to double figures in the set.
KU: 10 | SC: 17#RockChalk pic.twitter.com/2bNjeB09N6
— Kansas Volleyball (@KUVolleyball) September 7, 2019
STAT LEADERS THROUGH SET THREE
KILLS | Zoe Hill and Ashley Smith with 12
DIGS | Ashley Smith with 11
ASSISTS |Sara Nielsen with 38
WITH THE BLOCK AND KILL!
Zoe Hill comes up with the huge defensive play and then turns it into a Kansas point.
ZOE HILL LEADING THE WAY
The senior has a team-high 12 kills midway through the third set.
S3 | Smith with a kill to bring the Jayhawks within two points of the Gamecocks.
KU: 6 | SC: 8#RockChalk pic.twitter.com/QrqfcDaGWP
— Kansas Volleyball (@KUVolleyball) September 7, 2019
STAT LEADERS THROUGH SET TWO
KILLS | Zoe Hill with 10
DIGS | Ashley Smith with eight
ASSISTS |Sara Nielsen with 29
S3 | Hill with her ninth ππππ of the match!
KU: 21 | SC: 18#RockChalk pic.twitter.com/kcpjn3nELL
— Kansas Volleyball (@KUVolleyball) September 7, 2019
S2 | ππ²π΅π΅ with a ππ²π΅π΅!
KU: 17 | SC: 11#RockChalk pic.twitter.com/6N9kRyomVH
— Kansas Volleyball (@KUVolleyball) September 7, 2019
S2 | FIVE ποΈ 5β£ #KUvball with FIVE-STRAIGHT points to start the second set!
KU: 5 | SC: 0 #RockChalk pic.twitter.com/YeM3Jh8FAG
— Kansas Volleyball (@KUVolleyball) September 7, 2019
STAT LEADERS THROUGH SET ONE
KILLS | Ashley Smith with five
DIGS | Rachel Hickman and Allie Nelson with five
ASSISTS |Sara Nielsen with 15
BALANCED ATTACK
The Jayhawks already have three players (Ashley Smith, Gracie Van Driel and Zoe Hill) who have at least three kills in the first set.
JAYHAWKS AND GAMECOCKS TIED
Kansas and South Carolina find themselves in a tight first set that is going down to the wire. Both teams are tied at 17.
S1 | BLOCK! Hill, Nielsen team up for a block to cut the South Carolina lead to two!
KU: 8 | SC: 10#RockChalk pic.twitter.com/mhijbYR8ct
— Kansas Volleyball (@KUVolleyball) September 7, 2019
PREGAME VS. SOUTH CAROLINA
After beating Albany in the first match of the UCF Challenge, Kansas returns to The Venue at UCF for its second match of the tournament against South Carolina at 4 p.m. (CT).
ALLIE NELSON | LIBERO
Allie Nelson led KU in its first match of the UCF Challenge with 16 digs and has a team-high 105 digs on the season.
