No. 8 Kansas Falls in Five at Arizona

Friday, November 8

Tucson, Ariz.

7 PM

University of Kansas

20-3,11-2Big 12

Arizona

14-9,3-9Big 12

Kansas

Arizona

No. 8 Kansas Falls in Five at Arizona

11/8/2024 10:13:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

TUCSON, Ariz. - The No. 8 Kansas Jayhawks fell to the Arizona Wildcats in five sets on Friday night in the McKale Center.

Ayah Elnady had a career night with 28 kills, surpassing her previous best of 25 kills, which came at Iowa State in 2023. The senior out of Cairo, Egypt hit .424 while also posting 11 digs and two service aces.

The Jayhawks got off to a bit of a slow start in set one, going down 4-1 early and struggling to get on any sort of scoring run. Arizona continued to keep themselves at least three points ahead of the visiting Jayhawks. At one point, Kansas was down 11-6, looking to finally gain some momentum, but the Wildcats looked sturdy on their home floor. A three-point Raegan Burns serving run would ultimately close the gap for the Jayhawks, with an ace coming to make it 14-13.

Things would finally tie at 16-16, and with an Arizona attack error, Kansas took the lead at 17-16. Arizona flipped the script with some grit, however, and regained their lead at 19-18. Kansas' first timeout came down 20-18, but would only score one more point before Arizona got up 22-19. A backrow attack by Elnady helped the Jayhawks sideout, but an attack error right after helped the Wildcats keep rolling. A 25-22 home side victory would end the first set, and Kansas would look to improve on their .095 hitting percentage while cleaning up their 11 attack errors.

Kansas would start set two up 2-0, highlighted by another Burns ace, but Arizona came back and tied it up at 2's. With a 3-0 Arizona scoring run to follow, Kansas called their first timeout early. Arizona continued to roll, however, running up the score as far as 10-5 at one point. The Jayhawks' second timeout came as they were in a 14-8 deficit, looking to create more of a flow in the attack. Things would remain the same for many more points, with Arizona pulling away as far as 18-12 late in the set. Kansas seemed to find a second wind, however, closing things back up at 18-15 and pushing the home side to finally use their first timeout of the match.

Camryn Turner's serving run late in the set would be what tied things up once again for the Jayhawks, as the senior knocked down an ace and helped Kansas find their first real scoring run of the match (5-0). With the Jayhawks finally ahead 21-20, Arizona utilized their second timeout, trying to ice Turner out. Finally, a two-point Jayhawk lead would emerge at 23-21, and a London Davis kill followed by a Elnady's 11th kill of the match would bring it home for Kansas at 25-21.

The third set was much more back-and-forth, and neither team found much of a lead until Kansas got up two points at 13-11, then again at 15-13. Kansas would remain out in front for the majority of the set, but things got tighter once again late in the set, with ties coming at 20-20, 21-21 and 22-22.

When Arizona found the one-point lead at 23-22, Kansas called timeout, but eventually got back down 24-23. Then, Ellie Moore and Ellie Schneider checked in, and the Jayhawks gutted out one more point to tie it up 24-24. Things would go to 25-25, and an Arizona ball hit out gave Kansas the lead once again. The home side called their second timeout, and things would even once again at 26's. An Elnady kill gave the Jayhawks another one-point lead, but 27-27 came after. Caroline Bien's kill made it 28-27, and Kansas made it out of the set off an Arizona attack error.

Set four saw a similar flow to the first to start, with Arizona getting an early 7-4 lead on the Jayhawks, but Kansas answered with a five-point scoring run that included a Toyosi Onabanjo service ace that put Kansas up 9-7. A tie at 9's would come, but the Jayhawks pushed back out to a 12-9 lead, triggering an Arizona timeout. It proved to be successful, however, because the Wildcats found themselves a 4-0 scoring run that made Kansas call a timeout as well, trying to remedy the one-point deficit early on.

Davis answered with a kill, but the Wildcats responded with two more points of their own. A late challenge won by the home side would give them a 17-14 advantage, but the Jayhawks found their footing once again with Elnady's 25th kill. Arizona kept up their fight, however, pulling out to 20-16 deep in the set, and Kansas used their second timeout. Kansas would never find a way out of the rut, however, and Arizona would take the fourth set by fashion of a 25-20 victory.

Things were point-for-point until Arizona found a 6-4 lead that would turn into 7-5 until an Aisha Aiono kill got Kansas back in it. The Wildcats didn't look rattled, however, and were able to run it up to 10-7, to which Kansas answered with a timeout. Arizona kept their foot on the gas though, getting up 13-9 led by Jordan Wilson's 37-kill night, and Kansas called their second timeout. It was to no avail, however, as Arizona found match point at 14-10.

Kansas responded by fighting through a long rally, which ultimately resulted in a Wildcat attack error, and Bien notched her 16th kill of the match to make it 14-12, and Arizona called a timeout. An Elnady ace would be point 13 for Kansas, but Arizona found a way to win it, walking away with the 15-13 fifth-set victory.

Bien and Davis were the other two Jayhawks in double-digit kills with 16 and 15 respectively. Bien also led the team in digs with 22, which was a new-career high for the senior.

Turner was one assist away from tying her career high of 59, recording a new season high with 58 total on the night. She recorded another double-double with 11 digs.

Up next, Kansas will take on No. 18 TCU at home on Wednesday, November 13. First serve is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena, and the match will also be on ESPN+.