KU Pushes Past Iowa State, Closes Road Slate With a Win

Wednesday, November 26

Ames, Iowa

6:30 p.m. CT

University of Kansas

21-10,12-5Big 12

Iowa State

22-6,12-5Big 12

Kansas

Iowa St.

KU Pushes Past Iowa State, Closes Road Slate With a Win

11/26/2025 9:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Season Stats 11.26

AMES, Iowa – No. 16 Kansas powered past Iowa State in four sets on Wednesday night, riding a dominant performance from Reese Ptacek, who finished with 13 kills on .407 hitting—and a steady defensive front that recorded 14 team blocks. The Jayhawks controlled long stretches of the match, hit .238 as a team and added six service aces to secure their 12th Big 12 win of the season. Kansas improves to 21–10 overall and 12–5 in conference play.

Kansas opened the match with a strong first set, jumping ahead 3–0 behind a Grace Nelson kill and back-to-back Cyclone attack errors. Jovana Zelenovic and Rhian Swanson added early kills to help KU maintain a 6–2 advantage. Iowa State cut the margin to 7–5, but Kansas responded with a Cline service ace and a pair of blocks to stretch the lead to 12–7. The Cyclones made another push late, trimming the deficit to 20–18, but the Jayhawks closed the frame with three straight kills and a forced error to take the set, 25–23.

Kansas carried that momentum into the second set, opening with two blocks and a Ptacek kill to build a 3–0 lead. Zelenovic followed with back-to-back aces, forcing an Iowa State timeout as KU surged ahead 6–1. The Jayhawks continued to roll, getting two more Ptacek aces and a Swanson–Aisha Aiono block to extend the lead to 13–5. Kansas' offense stayed efficient throughout the frame, and another kill from Zelenovic sealed a 25–16 win and a 2–0 match lead.

The third set saw both teams trade points early. Nelson posted a solo block, and Ryan White added an ace to tie it 2–2. Kansas briefly went ahead 5–4 before Iowa State responded with a run sparked by back-to-back kills and an ace from Ava Martin to take an 8–5 lead. The Cyclones controlled the middle of the set, stretching the margin to 17–9 and forcing KU into a second timeout. Ptacek added two kills out of the break, but Iowa State closed the frame 25–15 to make it 2–1.

In the fourth, the teams traded early errors before Iowa State built a 7–4 edge.
Kansas steadied with kills from Ptacek and Selena Leban, pulling within 8–7, but ISU rebuilt its lead to 10–7 behind strong swings from Brenizer and Ti'a. Kansas continued to side out, with Aiono and Swanson keeping the Jayhawks close despite service miscues. Out of the media timeout trailing 14–12, Kansas got two kills from Ptacek and a Swanson finish to close within 18–19. The Jayhawks then capitalized on consecutive ISU attack errors to tie the set at 19–19. Swanson put KU in front 21–20, and after a back-and-forth finish, Leban delivered the decisive kill to close the set 26–24 and secure the match.

Up Next
Kansas returns home Saturday, Nov. 29, for its final regular-season match against Big 12 opponent UCF. The Jayhawks will recognize their seniors before first serve at 1 p.m. CT at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena. The match will stream on ESPN+.