🏐 Kansas Earns Four-Set Victory Over Texas Tech

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Behind 15 kills from freshman Ayah Elnady and 10 from freshman Caroline Crawford, Kansas volleyball (4-9) defeated Texas Tech (5-10) at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena Thursday evening.

With the win Kansas improved to 4-9 on the season and the Jayhawks have won two of their last three matches. Texas Tech fell to 5-10 in 2020 with KU ending a Red Raider two-match winning streak.

The first set was evenly matched as no team led by more than three points until the Jayhawks pulled away toward the end. Knotted at 19, Kansas outscored Texas Tech 6-2 down the stretch to win the set 25-21. Kills from junior Rachel Langs and redshirt-junior Anezka Szabo started the culminating run for the Jayhawks.

Led by graduate student Jenny Mosser and Elnady, Kansas dominated the second set winning 25-13. The Jayhawks jumped out to a 5-1 lead which included three kills from Elnady. Mosser then added four kills as KU kept its cushion leading 17-13. With two more kills from Elnady, KU scored the final eight points of the set. Mosser and Elnady combined for nine of the Jayhawks’ 11 kills for the second set.

Texas Tech edged Kansas 26-24 in the third set. With the score tied at 16-16, TTU went on a 7-2 run only to see the Jayhawks fight back and tie the set at 23-23. Two kills by Elnady and another by freshman Elise McGhie highlighted the run by KU.

Kansas jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the fourth set which included a block and kill from Crawford. Texas Tech fought back to tie the set at 8-8 only to see the Jayhawks go on a 6-1 run with a kill and block from Elnady leading the way. The Jayhawks kept their cushion en route to the 25-20 match clincher with a Crawford kill and block assist, with McGhie, to give the home team a 23-19 lead.

NOTES

  • Kansas improved to 2-1 in four-set matches this season.
  • Kansas won the first set 25-21. The Jayhawks have won the opening set in four of their last five matches and five matches total this season.
  • KU’s 20 block assists marked the third time this season the Jayhawks have posted 20 or more block assists.
  • Ayah Elnady posted a team-high 15 kills. It was Elnady’s fourth match with 15 or more kills and her fifth with 10 or more kills.
  • Freshman Caroline Crawford’s 10 kills marked her fourth match this season with 10 or more kills. Crawford’s nine block assists were the second most by a Jayhawk this season with her 10 against West Virginia (10/9) being the most.
  • Sophomore Kennedy Farris recorded a career-high 25 digs for the match surpassing her 20 at Iowa State set Nov. 13, 2020. Farris has 73 digs in her last four matches.
  • Freshman Elise McGhie had a season-high five kills besting her three kills set three times earlier this season. Her 36 assists marked the fifth-straight, 30-plus assist match of the season. McGhie’s six block assists were a career-best.

UP NEXT

Kansas and Texas Tech conclude their two-game series at the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena Friday, Nov. 20, at 6:30 p.m. for the final match of 2020. The contest will be televised on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.