No. 11 Kansas Falls to BYU in Four

Wednesday, November 27

Lawrence, Kan.

6:30 PM

University of Kansas

BYU

11/27/2024 10:19:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

LAWRENCE, Kan. - The No. 11 Jayhawks dropped a four-set heartbreaker to the BYU Cougars on Wednesday night in the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.

With the loss, Kansas moved to 23-4 overall and 14-3 in Big 12 play with one final regular season match to play. Before and after the match, the team celebrated seniors Camryn Turner, Caroline Bien, Ayah Elnady, London Davis, Toyosi Onabanjo, and Bryn McGehe.

"We ran into a team tonight which was very efficient offensively," said Kansas Head Coach Ray Bechard. "It was disappointing for our seniors, because they know we could have been better. We have a quick turnaround, and we will be ready for Friday night."

In the first set, BYU started hot taking a 6-2 lead early on in the set. The Jayhawks kept battling but BYU would extend their lead to 11-5 and force a Kansas timeout. After the timeout, Kansas kept battling and would narrow the Cougar lead down to five after a Davis kill. Kansas called a timeout after BYU regained a 7-point lead after the Jayhawks cut the lead down to four. Kansas couldn't get closer than four and would drop the first set 25-17.

To start the second, it was a back-and-forth; the Jayhawks would then take their first lead on the match at 7-5 after an attack error on the BYU side. BYU came back and took a 15-13 after a failed Kansas Challenge. BYU would extend their lead out to 19-14 and would force a Kansas Timeout. After the Jayhawk timeout, BYU would continue to stay ahead but Kansas would battle back and cut the BYU lead to four and force a Cougar timeout. Despite the Jayhawks narrowing the gap to 24-20, BYU held their ground and secured the set with a final score of 25-20.

The third set would start the same as the previous set, BYU would take a slight lead 5-3 early on. Kansas would fight back and take the lead 7-6. Both teams continued to battle back and forth before the Cougars called their first timeout of the set, with Kansas maintaining a steady 11-8 lead. After the BYU timeout the Jayhawks extended their lead out to 16-10. Kansas continued to build on their momentum, extending their lead to eight points following a key block by Turner and Onabanjo. Kansas would be able to take the third with a solid 25-19 victory.

The match would extend into a fourth set in which BYU would find themselves holding an early 6-2 lead. The Jayhawks managed to cut the lead to two after an Elnady block, prompting a Cougars timeout with BYU holding a narrow 12-10 advantage. Kansas would battle back to and cut the BYU lead down to one. Kansas would take a timeout after BYU would extend their lead back out to a 18-15 advantage. Out of the Cougar timeout, the Jayhawks fought back, chipping away at BYU's lead and cutting it to just one several times. Despite the Jayhawks' efforts, BYU managed to scrape together a 3-0 run, edging ahead 24-20. Refusing to back down, the Jayhawks made a final push, surging on a 4-0 run to tie the set at 24-24 and put the pressure back on the Cougars. After going through 8 match points BYU would eventually take the fourth and final set 29-27.

Up next, Kansas will travel to Iowa State for one more Big 12 matchup on Friday night inside Hilton Coliseum. First serve is set for 5 p.m. and fans can follow along through ESPN+, as well as streaming the live stats on StatBroadcast.