No. 17 Jayhawks Sweep Omaha, Extend Winning Streak to Five

Saturday, September 20

Omaha, Neb.

3 p.m. CT

University of Kansas

8-4,0-0Big 12

Omaha

3-6,0-0Summit League

Kansas

Omaha

No. 17 Jayhawks Sweep Omaha, Extend Winning Streak to Five

9/20/2025 4:57:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF) Season Stats 9.20

OMAHA, Neb. – Powered by double-digit kills from Selena Leban and Jovana Zelenovic, No. 17 Kansas controlled the match from start to finish in a 3–0 sweep over Omaha Saturday at Baxter Arena.

Leban and Zelenovic had 10 kills apiece as the Jayhawks hit .323 as a team. Reese Ptacek added nine kills on an efficient .538 clip, while Katie Dalton dished out 16 assists and chipped in offensively with two kills of her own.

The balanced attack and timely runs helped Kansas secure set wins of 25–18, 25–19, and 25–16, marking their fifth consecutive straight-set victory, the program's first such streak since 2016.

"We had a lot of people step up and make great contributions on offense today," said head coach Matt Ulmer. "Our connections keep growing on both sides of the ball, and so does our confidence in trusting each other."

Kansas opened the set with a quick 4–0 run, taking control right away against Omaha. The Jayhawks struck first with a kill from Leban, then forced the Mavericks into three straight attack errors, including a block by Leban and Ptacek. Omaha's struggles continued with a service error by Ryan White, giving Kansas a commanding 4-0 lead. Omaha was able to respond with two points of its own to cut into the deficit, and from there the first set turned into a back-and-forth battle with both teams trading points. Kansas managed to create some separation midway through the frame, pushing ahead 14–9 to force a Maverick timeout.

The Jayhawks held off Omaha's late push, using a kill from Zelenovic and a series of Maverick errors to build a 23-17 lead. Despite a last-minute kill and ace from Omaha, it was not enough, and the Jayhawks took the set 25-18.

In the second set, both teams traded points early before Kansas broke away with a 3–0 run to take a 9–4 lead, forcing an Omaha timeout. The Jayhawks stayed in rhythm and stretched the margin to 15–5 behind a Kenzie Dean kill. Omaha responded with a rally to close the gap to 17–14, but Kansas answered with timely kills from Leban and Zelenovic to stay in control at 22–18, prompting another Maverick timeout. Omaha managed one more point, but a service ace from Ryan White sealed the set 25–19 and gave Kansas a 2–0 match lead.

With a 2–0 lead, Kansas opened the third set strong, jumping ahead 6–1 on a 4–0 run that forced Omaha to call an early timeout. The Jayhawks extended the margin to 7–1 with a kill from Leban before the Mavericks were able to string together a few points. Kansas quickly regained control, highlighted by back-to-back kills from Dalton to stretch the lead to 14–5. The Jayhawks continued to roll, with Ptacek, Zelenovic, and Aisha Aiono all contributing kills to make it 20–11. From there, Kansas never looked back, sealing the set 25–16 on a kill from Zelenovic to complete the 3–0 sweep.

Up Next
Kansas continues tournament play tomorrow with a doubleheader, opening against South Florida at 10 a.m. CT before closing the weekend with a top-25 showdown against No. 18 Creighton at 5 p.m. CT.