🏐 Kansas Dominates Lipscomb, 3-0, in Nashville

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Kansas duo of super-senior Jenny Mosser and freshman Caroline Bien each recorded 11 kills to lead Kansas to a 3-0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-16) win at Lipscomb in the first round of the LUV Invitational in Nashville, Tennessee, Thursday night.

The win was Kansas’ first of the season as the Jayhawks improved to 1-2. Lipscomb, the host of the LUV Invitational, dropped to 1-2.

As a team, Kansas hit .387 for the match which included 35 kills on 75 attempts with just six errors. KU also posted 12 blocks limiting Lipscomb to just a .056 hitting percentage. The Jayhawks also combined for 10 aces against the Bisons.

“We played pretty well from start to finish,” KU head coach Ray Bechard said. “We felt like if we could make physicality part of the equation, that would give us a good chance. We won the blocking battle, 12-2, and that set the tone. We were aggressive from the serving line with 10 aces in three sets and we were low on the attack errors with only six errors on 75 swings. Put all those things together and it was a good win against a good team.”

Bien hit a blistering .526 with her 11 kills in 19 attempts with just one error. She also had eight digs for the match. Mosser recorded five service aces, including three consecutive in the third set. Junior Kennedy Farris led KU with 11 digs for the match, while redshirt-senior Anezka Szabo had eight block assists to go along with four kills. Senior Rachel Langs had seven total blocks and sophomore Caroline Crawford had five kills and four total blocks on the night.

Kansas dominated the first set winning 25-14. KU hit .455 for the set with 12 kills on 22 attacks. Mosser and Bien each had three kills for the set and Bien, Farris and senior Lacey Angello each recorded aces. The Jayhawks led 9-4 following an Angello ace and never looked back. KU led by seven at 20-13 when Crawford and Szabo combined for a block. Kansas scored the final five points of the set that included two kills by Mosser and a kill and an ace from Bien.

Kansas kept the pressure going in the second set and won running away, 25-15. With the set tied at 10-10, Kansas went on an 8-1 run highlighted by a kill and two aces from Mosser and Szabo combining for three blocks and a kill to put KU up 17-11. Up 20-14, Kansas would scored six of the final seven points of the set with Mosser and Bien recording two kills each. As a team, KU hit .345 for the second set with 12 kills in 29 attacks.

The third set followed suit to the theme of the match with KU winning 25-16. With the score tied at 9-9, Kansas went on a 7-2 run that included three straight aces by Mosser, a pair of kills by Bien and a block assist by Bien and Crawford. Kansas once again closed the set strong outscoring Lipscomb 5-1 to claim the nine-point set advantage and the match.

Kansas will play its second round-robin contest at the LUV Invitational at Allen Arena on Friday, Sept. 3, against Wake Forest at 4 p.m. (Central). The game can be followed via live stats at KUAthletics.com.