🏐 Jayhawks Drop Second Five-Set Match To Mountaineers
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The No. 10 Kansas Jayhawks (1-5) dropped their second match in the series against West Virginia Mountaineers (3-3) in five sets on Saturday night in the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.
Three freshman led Kansas posting career-high numbers on the night. Karli Schmidt led the Kansas attack, tallying a career-high 17 kills and 2 blocks, while fellow first-year Caroline Crawford tallied a career-high 13 kills and 6 blocks. Meanwhile, Molly Schultz led the defense with 26 digs, marking a career-high.
In the first set, the Jayhawks tried to contain the red-hot Mountaineers attack. The Jayhawks battled late to be within single digits. However, WVU was able to keep its composure as the Jayhawks dropped the first frame.
West Virginia came out strong again at the beginning of the second set, gaining an early 5-1 lead. The young Jayhawks’ defense was able to slow down WVU’s momentum. Crawford led KU with three blocks to tie the set at 7-7. Kansas’ energy helped rally a win in the second set, 25-22.
The third set came down to the wire, as Kansas kept the momentum going and battled with West Virginia. They were able to edge out the Mountaineers, 25-22.
West Virginia won the back-and-forth battle in the fourth set, 25-21, despite Kansas applying pressure to the very end.
In the fifth winner takes all set, KU came out with authority, but West Virginia rallied late to win the fifth set, 15-12.
BECHARD QUOTE
On the opportunity to play West Virginia this weekend …
It was great to see a lot of our newcomers experience Big 12 play, and they responded to the opportunity. Kim Whetstone and Karli Schmidt both had good moments throughout both matches. We changed to a two-setter system, allowing Elise (McGhie) to get an opportunity too, while Molly Schultz recorded 25-plus digs both nights. You can’t replicate the plays and live atmosphere in practice that you can by playing a match and it was a good experience for our team.
UP NEXT
The Jayhawks travel to Norman, Oklahoma to face the Oklahoma Sooners in a two-match series Oct. 16-17. The first match between the Big 12 rival is on Friday, Oct. 16 at 6 p.m.
