Kansas Falls To No. 1 Texas In Four Sets

AUSTIN, Texas – Despite winning the first set over No. 1 Texas, Kansas fell to the Longhorns in four sets at Gregory Gymnasium.

Texas held an early advantage in the first set, and were up 8-3 before a Kansas timeout seemed to snap the Longhorn momentum. Following the timeout, the Jayhawks rallied back to tie the score at 11-all.

UT then was forced to call a timeout of its own, but it did little to stop the Jayhawk attack. Kansas moved into the lead and relinquished it at 16-17, before capturing the lead for good.

An attack error by Texas gave Kansas the first set victory, 25-22.

The second set again had Texas out to an early advantage, but Kansas again rallied and held the lead at 7-6. It would be the last time KU held an edge in the set. Texas recaptured the lead and won the second set 25-17.

The third set was nearly all the Longhorns, but KU put up a fight late. Kansas opened the set with a two-point advantage, but Texas held a 10-5 edge through the first 15 points of the set.

The Longhorns earned the third set victory 25-18 and captured the final three points after KU was within five.

The final set of the match was again a back-and-forth battle between the two Big 12 schools. KU and UT were tied at 12-12 after the Jayhawks mounted yet another comeback attempt. A coach’s challenge seemed to swing the momentum Texas’ way.

The Longhorns would outscore the Jayhawks 13-6 out of the break to claim the set and the match victory.

The Kansas offense was led by Ashley Smith, who finished with a team-high 16 kills, while Sara Nielsen logged a double-double performance with 34 assists and 11 digs. Allie Nelson led the KU defense with 16 digs.

UP NEXT

Kansas returns to the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena for Senior Day against Iowa State Nov. 27 at 6:30 p.m.