Kansas Outlasts K-State for 3-2 Dillon's Sunflower Showdown Victory

Thursday, October 17

Lawrence, Kan.

6:30 PM

University of Kansas

15-1,6-0Big 12

Kansas State

6-10,4-3Big 12

Kansas St.

Kansas

Kansas Outlasts K-State for 3-2 Dillon's Sunflower Showdown Victory

10/17/2024 6:44:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Highlights Photo Gallery

LAWRENCE, Kan. - The No. 8 Kansas Jayhawks beat the Kansas State Wildcats in a five-set thriller on Thursday night in the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.

"You know, we talk about grit and grace," said Kansas Head Coach Ray Bechard. "We haven't had to play with a lot of great issues. But tonight, when it got muddied, and K-State was doing what they wanted to do, it took us finding a different way. I think that's going to add some competitive confidence early in the season."

In the first set, Kansas jumped to an early 4-1 lead, thanks to a successful challenge and an ace from Bryn McGehe. However, Kansas State fought back, narrowing the gap to 9-8 after the Jayhawks' fast start. By the first media timeout, the Wildcats had taken a 15-13 lead. Out of the break, Kansas State extended their lead to 17-13, prompting a Kansas timeout. Although the Jayhawks cut the deficit to two, a series of attack errors allowed Kansas State to widen their lead to eight, and KU was unable to recover.

The second set started opposite from the first, as the Jayhawks and Wildcats split the opening 10 points. After a back-and-forth battle, Kansas pulled ahead with a 12-10 lead following a long rally. The Jayhawks then found their rhythm, extending their lead to 18-14 and forcing Kansas State to call a timeout after back-to-back plays by Caroline Bien. Following the timeout, Kansas continued their aggressive offense, widening the gap to 20-14 and prompting another Wildcats timeout. The Jayhawks reached their largest lead of the set at 10 points and closed the second set on an 8-1 scoring run.

In the third, Kansas came out swinging and took a 4-2 lead and would extend it out to a 7-3 lead early on. Kansas State would come back and tie the set up at 9 apiece. After a successful Kansas challenge, the set was tied back up again at 13, and at the media timeout, the Wildcats would hold a 15-13 lead. The Jayhawks battled back and would take a 17-16 lead after the media timeout. Kansas took a timeout after Kansas State took a 21-19 lead. After the timeout, the Jayhawks tied it back up at 21 and forced a Wildcat timeout after a Camryn Turner slam. Kansas took another timeout as Kansas State took back the lead 23-21. The Wildcats took a hard-fought back-and-forth third set 25-22.

Kansas would open up the fourth in back-and-forth fashion, with five ties in the early stages of the set. The Jayhawks would continue to battle on the court and would hold a 15-14 lead into the media timeout following an attacking error on the Wildcats. The Jayhawks would hold their largest lead of the set 21-19 after a Bien ace and a Kansas State attack error forcing a Wildcat timeout. Reese Ptacek would deliver a huge kill to push KU ahead 22-20 and would ultimately help maintain the momentum for the Jayhawks. Kansas would finally be able to close out the fourth set 25-20 to force a tie-breaking fifth set.

"We felt like we were trending in a good direction, and we were getting a little bit more organized," said Bechard. "If you're not attacking a ball, if you're not blocking the ball, get off blocker defense and help your teammates. So, we started, I think, creating an opportunity for the team to move kind of as one unit and work together."

In the decisive fifth set, Kansas built on their momentum from the previous set, coming out strong with a 7-3 lead. This early surge forced Kansas State to call an early timeout. The Wildcats couldn't find a way to respond, and with the help of a successful Kansas challenge, the Jayhawks extended their lead to 14-8. Kansas sealed the fifth set with a powerful kill from Ayah Elnady, closing it out 15-10 to secure the win and claim victory in the Dillon's Sunflower Showdown.

Ptacek ended the night with a double-double, posting 11 total kills as well as 11 blocks. The freshman out of Prescott, Wisconsin hit .533 to add to her impressive stat line. Toyosi Onabanjo was the kills leader for the Jayhawks, posting 14 kills on a .571 hitting percentage. Rhian Swanson was also in double-digit kills with 12 total.

Turner had an impact on both sides of the ball, posting 46 assists and a team-leading 21 total digs. The senior setter tallied six kills as well, hitting .462 and also jumping in on four block assists.

Up next, Kansas travels on the road to Orlando to face off against the UCF Knights on Saturday, October 19th at 12:00 PM CST on ESPN+.

Gallery: (10-17-2024) Volleyball vs. Kansas State