🏐 Elnady’s Offense Aids in Sweep Against Sooners

NORMAN, Okla. – In the second conference road match of the season, Kansas Volleyball swept the Oklahoma Sooners 3-0 (25-13, 25-17, 25-17) on Wednesday evening in Howard McCasland Field House.

Kansas moves to 12-3 (2-1 Big 12) on the year while Oklahoma drops to 10-4 (0-2 Big 12).

Set One

A Jayhawk kill by redshirt freshman Ayah Elnady kicked off the match, allowing Kansas to take an early lead 1-0. Sophomore Molly Schultz had the first ace of the match as KU advanced to 3-1. A surprise attack by sophomore setter Camryn Turner threw the Sooners off and Kansas continued to lead 6-3. Oklahoma was able to come back and tie up the set at six, but sophomore Caroline Bien tallied a kill of her own to take the lead back 7-6. Elnady came out defensively with a solo block to put the Jayhawks ahead 9-8. Oklahoma tried to keep close, but back-to-back kills by Elnady and sophomore London Davis followed by a block from super-senior Rachel Langs and Davis Kansas moved to 13-9, forcing an OU timeout. Turner and Langs teamed up to stop the Oklahoma offense with a block. Shortly after, Elnady recorded another ace, taking KU to 22-11. The Jayhawks were able to close out set one with a victory 25-13 following a kill by graduate transfer Lauren Dooley.

Set Two

Elnady opened set two the same way she did in set one, with a kill. Oklahoma came back to take the lead 5-2, but a service error by the Sooners stopped their four-point run. Langs and Turner tied up the set at five with a block to put Kansas back in the game 5-5. Bien blocked Oklahoma and pushed KU to a 9-8 lead. The Sooners took the lead once again, but Turner put the ball past the Oklahoma defense to tie up set two at 11. OU was the first one to 15, allowing for a media timeout and a chance for the Jayhawks to regroup. Coming out of the timeout, Kansas recorded back-to-back kills by Dooley and Langs.  Kansas found its groove and would go on an 8-0 scoring run to lead the set. A service ace by Schultz advanced the Jayhawks to set point 23-16. Kansas finished set two 25-17.

Set Three

A solo block by Elnady put Kansas on the board first, 1-0, in set three. KU led 6-4 before the Sooners were able to come back and take the lead, 7-6. A three-point run by OU was halted after Bien recorded a kill for herself, followed by a service ace to tie up the set at 10. Oklahoma seemed to have taken the lead again after an error by the Jayhawks, but a challenge by KU calling for a touch on the block reversed the call by officials and progressed the Jayhawks to 11-10. The reversal helped the Jayhawks in their 5-0 scoring run. OU eventually called for a timeout once Kansas reached an 18-14 lead. Right after the timeout, Elnady collected a service ace, her second of the match. Kansas was too far gone for the Sooners to attempt a comeback as KU led at 21-16. A backhanded dump by Turner helped Kansas to 22-17. Bien and Dooley blocked the Sooners and required OU to use their final timeout of the set. Not long after the timeout, the Jayhawks were victorious in set three 25-17.

"I thought we were really solid in all phases of the game tonight. We set the tone with our serving and our defense, then offensively, we were very efficient. This was a really impressive effort in all phases against a good opponent on the road."

Head Coach Ray Bechard

Notables

  • The Jayhawks are undefeated (9-0) on the road thus far in the season.
  • Redshirt freshman Ayah Elnady led the Kansas offense with 14 kills, hitting .481.
  • Sophomore Camryn Turner collected 33 assists and five digs.
  • Three Jayhawks recorded double digit kills, Elnady (14), sophomore Caroline Bien (11) and super-senior Rachel Langs (10).
  • Junior Kennedy Farris tallied 13 digs and three assists.
  • Langs had five total blocks in the three sets.

Up Next

Kansas will continue conference play and return to Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena on Saturday, Oct. 1 to take on No. 13 Baylor at 11 a.m. CT. The match will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.