No. 18 Kansas Edges No. 15 Baylor in Five Sets For Ranked Road Win

Friday, October 3

Waco, Texas

7 p.m. CT

University of Kansas

11-7,2-2Big 12

Baylor

9-4,4-1Big 12

Kansas

Baylor

No. 18 Kansas Edges No. 15 Baylor in Five Sets For Ranked Road Win

10/3/2025 10:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 10.3 Season Stats Box Score (PDF)

WACO, Texas — No. 18 Kansas earned its first five-set victory of the season Friday night, knocking off No. 15 Baylor, 3-2 (19-25, 25-19, 25-13, 25-27, 15-13) to hand the Bears their first conference loss of the year.

The Jayhawks recorded a season-high 17.5 blocks and leaned on standout performances from Jovana Zelenovic and Reese Ptacek in the win. Zelenovic finished with 16 kills and six blocks, while Ptacek added 14 kills and a season-high nine block assists.

The Jayhawks improve to 11-7 overall and 2-2 in conference play, while dropping Baylor to 9-4 (4-1 Big 12) on the year. Kansas returns to action with two home matches next week, hosting Texas Tech (Oct. 8) and Iowa State (Oct. 10) at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.

"I am really happy for our group. We executed at a high level in a lot of different phases of the game," head coach Matt Ulmer said. "Baylor is a great team and raised its level in both the fourth and fifth sets. That was an excellent team win for us."

Kansas traded points early with Baylor, as Grace Nelson and Ptacek sparked the Jayhawks' attack to keep the score tight at 6-4. Kills from Zelenovic and Rhian Swanson helped Kansas erase the deficit, and back-to-back swings from Zelenovic capped a 4-0 run that gave KU its first lead of the frame at 10-8, forcing Baylor to burn an early timeout. The Bears answered with a service run to regain control, but Kansas kept battling. Ptacek, Swanson, and Selena Leban each delivered kills to keep KU within striking distance, narrowing the margin to 19-21 after a block and a strong finish at the net. Despite the late push, Baylor closed the set with four of the final five points to take it 25-19.

To open the second set, the teams traded scoring runs. Kansas struck first with a kill to get on the board, but Baylor answered quickly with a 3-0 burst. The Jayhawks responded as Zelenovic powered down a kill to spark a 3-0 run of their own and regain momentum. Baylor countered once again with a 4-0 stretch to push ahead 6-4. Swanson provided a spark off the bench with three early kills, helping Kansas erase a deficit and tie the set at 7. Blocks from Aurora Papac and Nelson, along with kills from Zelenovic and Ptacek, pushed the Jayhawks in front 15-12 and forced a Baylor timeout. Kansas kept momentum after the media timeout, with Zelenovic and Katie Dalton pushing the lead to 20-15 before Baylor burned another timeout. The Bears cut the margin to 22-18, but blocks from Swanson, Papac and Nelson kept KU in control. Logan Bell added a late kill, and Kansas clinched the set 25-19 on a block from Nelson and Ptacek to even the match at 1–1.

Kansas carried momentum into the third set, trading points early before leaning on Ptacek's hot hand. Ptacek tallied three quick kills to help KU grab a slim edge, while blocks from Dalton, Swanson, and Ptacek fueled a 4-0 run that pushed the Jayhawks in front 14-10. Baylor called timeout to regroup, but Kansas kept rolling as Ptacek struck again to make it 15-10. The Jayhawks kept the pressure on after the timeout, extending their surge into a 7-0 run capped by three more KU points, making the score 17-10. Despite the Bears closing the gap with two points, Kansas responded with a 5-0 run capped by a Ptacek ace to surge ahead 22-12. Kansas remained unfazed after a late Baylor kill, rolling off three straight points to close out the set 25-13 and take a 2-1 lead into the fourth.

The Jayhawks and Baylor traded points early, tying the set at 5-5 after kills from Ptacek and Dalton. Kansas then pulled ahead 7-5 on a Swanson swing and a Baylor error. Baylor cut it to 7-6, but KU answered again as Papac and Zelenovic pushed the lead to 10-8. From there, Kansas took control. Zelenovic delivered another kill to make it 11-8, and White followed with a service ace for 12-8. Baylor faltered on the next rally, giving KU a 13-8 edge, and the Bears called a timeout. Out of the break, Ptacek and Zelenovic combined on a block to cap a 6-0 run and extend the lead to 15-8. Baylor trimmed the deficit to 16-14, but KU answered quickly. Ptacek and Dalton delivered back-to-back kills to push the margin to 19-15. After the Bears cut it to 20-17, Papac and Leban came through with kills and a block to stretch the Jayhawks' lead to 22-17. Baylor closed the gap to 23-21 before KU reached set point at 24-21 on a Zelenovic kill. The Bears rallied with three straight to tie it, then traded blows with Kansas before finishing the set 27-25 to even the match at 2-2.

The decisive fifth set opened tight, with Kansas and Baylor trading blows to a 3-3 tie. Baylor strung together three straight points to lead 6-3, forcing a Jayhawk timeout. KU clawed back, pulling even at 7-7 on back-to-back Baylor errors and taking its first edge at 9-7 after a Zelenovic kill capped a 4-0 run. Out of a Baylor timeout, Swanson kept the momentum rolling with a kill, and KU extended the lead to 11-7 after a block from Zelenovic and Papac. Baylor answered with a pair of kills from Warren to trim it to 12-10, but Kansas still held the upper hand. Zelenovic delivered a clutch swing to give KU match point at 14-12, and after Baylor staved off one with a Bibinbe kill, Dalton sealed the match 15-13 off a feed from White. The Jayhawks closed out the thriller to take the set and the match, 3-2, earning a gritty comeback win on the road.