No. 18 Jayhawks Fall in Five vs. No. 8 Arizona State in Home Opener

Friday, September 26

Lawrence, Kan.

7 p.m. CT

University of Kansas

9-6,0-1Big 12

Arizona State

10-2,1-0Big 12

Arizona St.

Kansas

No. 18 Jayhawks Fall in Five vs. No. 8 Arizona State in Home Opener

9/26/2025 10:33:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

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LAWRENCE, Kan. – The No. 18 Kansas Jayhawks came up on the short end of a five-set battle against No. 8 Arizona State on Friday night in front of a sold out crowd at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.
The defeat drops KU to 9-6 on the year while opening Big 12 play 0-1. Arizona State is now 10-2 (1-0 Big 12) this season.

Kansas was led by Jovana Zelenovic, who totaled 18 kills, a career-high nine digs and three blocks. Grace Nelson added 12 kills and six digs and Reese Ptacek had 11 kills and five blocks. Katie Dalton led KU with 34 assists and tallied a double-double with 13 digs, while Ryan White led the Jayhawks with 20 digs.

"The positive is that we just keep fighting in the tight ones," said head coach Matt Ulmer. I thought we made a lot of good plays in these close sets, especially in the first, with a lot of people contributing. But again, it's just not consistent enough."

Kansas and Arizona State battled through a back-and-forth opening set. The Jayhawks took their first lead at 10-9 after a Zelenovic kill and Nelson ace, but the Sun Devils edged back in front, 17-15. Kansas rallied with kills from Nelson and Zelenovic to tie it at 17-all, then later pulled ahead 23-20 after an unsuccessful ASU challenge. Arizona State forced extra points, but a block by Zelenovic and Aurora Papac, followed by a Zelenovic kill, set up match point. An ASU attack error closed it out for Kansas, 30-28.

In the second set, Arizona State built a 4-0 lead before Kansas responded with a 3-0 scoring run to cut the deficit to 4-3. A net touch on Arizona State gave Kansas a point and tied the set at 7-7. Back-to-back plays from Rhian Swanson, a kill followed by a block, put the Jayhawks in front for the first time at 11-10. The Sun Devils did not go away as they regained the lead at 14-13 off a kill. ASU held the Jayhawks scoreless for four straight points to take an 18-14 lead. Arizona State extended the margin to 21-15, forcing Kansas to call a timeout to regroup. Out of the timeout, Kansas went on a 3-0 run behind kills from Ellie Schneider and a block from Papac to close the gap to 21-18.The Sun Devils closed out the set with a kill to take the second, 25-21.

Nelson opened the third set with a service ace to spark Kansas to an early 2-0 lead. Arizona State quickly responded, tying the score at 3-3 before taking a brief advantage at 6-4 behind a kill and an ace. The Jayhawks battled back, highlighted by a Nelson kill and a block at the net, before Ptacek delivered a service ace to even the score at 7-7. Kansas and Arizona State traded points to a 15-13 ASU lead at the media timeout, but the Jayhawks answered with back-to-back kills to go up 16-15 and force a Sun Devil timeout. KU carried the momentum with kills from Zelenovic and a Papac and Selena Leban block to extend the lead to 20-17, and Leban added a kill and an ace to push it to 22-18. Another Zelenovic kill put Kansas in a set point situation, and a kill from Leban secured the set for Kansas 25-22, giving the Jayhawks a 2-1 lead.

Arizona State opened the fourth set with a 6-3 lead with help from a service ace and multiple kills. Kansas answered with blocks from Zelenovic, Papac, and Swanson to stay close, but ASU pushed back ahead 9-5 after a KU setting error. A service error and a block gave Kansas momentum and cut the lead 10-8. The Sun Devils responded with a 9-3 run, stretching the lead to 19-11. Nelson briefly stopped the run with a kill to make it 20-13, but Arizona State regained momentum and closed the gap 22-14. The Jayhawks made a brief comeback with a 4-0 run, but it was not enough as Arizona secured the set 25-20, pushing the match to a fifth set.

In the fifth, Kansas earned the first point of the set but Arizona State answered with two kills of their own, and then proceeded to go on a 3-0 scoring run, which prompted an early Kansas timeout with the Jayhawks trailing 5-2. Kansas was able to cut the deficit 14-11 after a Ptacek kill, making Arizona State take a timeout. ASU scored the next point after the timeout, closing out the set at 15-11 and the match at 3-2.

Up Next
Kansas closes out the opening weekend of Big 12 play on Sunday, hosting Arizona. That match will begin at 12 p.m. CT and be broadcast on ESPN.