🏐 Jayhawks Lose Hard Fought Match at No. 11 Baylor
WACO, Texas – After winning the opening set, Kansas volleyball’s valiant effort fell short as No. 11 Baylor defeated KU 3-1 (26-24, 15-25, 22-25, 25-19) on Friday at the Ferrell Center.
Facing its fourth-straight match against a ranked opponent, Kansas dropped to 11-7 overall and 3-4 in Big 12 play, while Baylor improved to 11-4 and 5-1. KU will have an open week before hosting Oklahoma Oct. 29-30.
“It’s been a grind,” KU head coach Ray Bechard said of having four-straight matches against ranked foes. “Our kids fought hard tonight and we will welcome this upcoming break. We’re looking forward to what lies ahead.”
For the match, Baylor hit .321 to Kansas’ .185 and the Bears led the dig battle 51-28. KU was led by freshman Caroline Bien, who had 12 kills and a .300 hitting percentage with three errors in 30 attacks. Super-senior Jenny Mosser had 10 kills and six digs for the match, while redshirt senior Anezka Szabo added eight kills and a team-best .333 hitting percentage.
Sophomore Caroline Crawford had four blocks, including two solo, to go with her seven kills. Freshman Camryn Turner led the Jayhawks with 24 assists, while sophomore Elise McGhie had 14. Senior Lacey Angello led KU with nine digs.
Kansas was resilient in winning the opening set 26-24. KU built an 8-4 lead on two kills from Crawford and two more from Mosser. Junior Gracie Van Driel posted a couple of block assists in the run with Langs helping with one and Crawford another. Baylor came roaring back, scoring six-straight points to take a 10-8 lead. The Bears built a 20-15 lead before Kansas took over the set. Down 23-19, Kansas scored five-straight points to take a 24-23 lead. Included in the run were two aces from Bien and kills from Crawford and Mosser. With the scored tied at 24-24, a block by Van Driel and Crawford followed by an ace from Crawford would end the set in favor of the Jayhawks.
Baylor hit .400 to Kansas .071 in the second and tied the match with a 25-17 set decision. The set was tied at 9-9 before BU went on a 9-1 run to make it 18-10. Bien led KU with four kills in the set, while Mosser had three and Szabo two.
The third set went back and forth, with Baylor edging KU 25-22 to go up 2-1. Kansas jumped out to an 8-4 lead which included two kills from Bien and an ace from McGhie. The set was tied at 9-9 and from there the set had eight ties and six lead changes. Bien paced KU with seven kills in the third.
Baylor ended the match with a 25-19 decision in the fourth set. With the score tied at 4-4, the Bears took the lead for good scoring three straight and four of the next five points to make it 8-5. Back-to-back Szabo kills and an ace from sophomore Molly Schultz made the score 12-10 in favor of Baylor. A Mosser kill brought KU to within one at 15-14, but BU would then score three straight and five of the next seven points to build a 20-16 lead. The Bears ended the match scoring five of the final six points.
Kansas will next host Oklahoma, Oct. 29-30, at the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena, with both matches starting at 6:30 p.m. and televised on Big 12 NOW on ESPN+.
