No. 15 Kansas Rolls Past Bowling Green, 3-1

Wednesday, September 3

West Lafayette, Ind.

2 p.m. CT

University of Kansas

2-3,0-0Big 12

Bowling Green

2-2,0-0MAC

Kansas

Bowling Green

No. 15 Kansas Rolls Past Bowling Green, 3-1

9/3/2025 4:23:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Season Stats Box Score (PDF)

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Behind a career-high 20 kills from Rhian Swanson and 12 from Reese Ptacek, the No. 15 Kansas Jayhawks defeated Bowling Green 3-1 on Wednesday in the opening match of the Stacey Clark Classic.

With the win, Kansas improves to 2-3 on the year while sending Bowling Green to 2-2.

Swanson hit .421 for the match with 20 kills on 38 swings, which included just four hitting errors, while adding three digs and one block. Ptacek hit .381 with 12 kills on 21 swings with a team-high six blocks. Selena Leban (9) and Jovana Zelenovic (6) combined for 15 kills, while Grace Nelson (12) and Ryan White (11) led the Jayhawks in digs. Cristin Cline had a team-high 43 assists, while rounding out her stat line with four digs, three service aces and three kills.

Bowling Green is well-coached, serves aggressively, and runs a lot of different offensive patterns that gave us trouble," said head coach Matt Ulmer. I'm proud of how we responded in the fourth set. We have great senior leadership, and we saw that today, particularly from Rhian Swanson and Molly McCarthy,"

Kansas jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first set behind a White service ace before Bowling Green responded with a 4-0 run. The Jayhawks quickly answered with four straight points of their own to regain momentum and build an 11-8 edge. From there, KU maintained control, using two aces from Cline and a kill from Swanson to force a Bowling Green timeout at 15-9. A block by Zelenovic put Kansas at set point, and Swanson delivered the final kill to secure the 25-18 win.

The Jayhawks fell behind 9-3 early in the second set after a Bowling Green serving run, but KU quickly regrouped. Swanson delivered back-to-back kills to trim the deficit to 9-8, and blocks from Ptacek, Zelenovic, and Aurora Papac helped even the score at 13-all. The Falcons answered with a 4-1 stretch to go up 17-14, but KU wasted little time regaining control. Leban put the Jayhawks back in front with a kill at 17-15 and later added a service ace to tie it at 19. From there, Molly McCarthy closed the door, serving out the final five points with an ace at 24-20 before Swanson capped the set with a kill to give Kansas a 25-20 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.

Kansas came out firing in the third set, jumping to a 3-0 lead behind a kill from Zelenovic and a solo block from Papac. Bowling Green briefly tied the frame at 3-3, but the Jayhawks quickly answered. Ptacek continued her steady play at the net, and Swanson notched her 14th kill of the match to push KU in front 9-7. Zelenovic followed with another strong swing, and Cline added her third service ace of the afternoon to extend the lead to 11-7, forcing a Bowling Green timeout.

Out of the break, KU kept momentum as Ptacek and Cline added back-to-back points to make it 17-11. Swanson's consistency at the net helped Kansas hold a 20-17 edge, but Bowling Green battled back late. After the Jayhawks reached match point at 24-21 on a Leban kill, the Falcons stormed back with four straight points to flip the frame in their favor. KU fought off one set point, but Bowling Green capitalized on a Kansas error to close out the set 27-25 and extend the match into a fourth set.

In the fourth, Kansas again regained control, with kills from Zelenovic, Logan Bell, and Ptacek to grab a 5-2 advantage. The Jayhawks piled on with back-to-back Bowling Green errors and another Ptacek kill to surge ahead 7-2, forcing an early Falcon timeout. KU continued to roll as Ptacek and Cline combined to spark a 13-7 lead, while strong defense at the net from Ptacek and Grace Nelson widened the gap to 15-8.

Kansas never looked back, using kills from Ptacek and Swanson to push the lead to 18-10 and force another Bowling Green timeout. Swanson stayed hot out of the break, and Bell added a kill to extend the advantage to 23-13. Zelenovic powered home another point to bring up match point at 24-14, before a Falcon attack error sealed the 25-14 win. The Jayhawks closed out the match in dominant fashion, taking the 3-1 victory.

Up Next
Kansas will return to action Thursday at 2 p.m. CT, taking on No. 23 Georgia Tech in its second match of the Purdue Tournament.