No. 17 Purdue Edges Kansas in Five Sets

Friday, September 5

West Lafayette, Ind.

6 p.m. CT

University of Kansas

3-4,0-0Big 12

Purdue

4-1,0-0Big Ten

Kansas

Purdue

No. 17 Purdue Edges Kansas in Five Sets

9/5/2025 8:50:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Kansas Jayhawks saw strong contributions across the board with Rhian Swanson leading the way with a career-high 22 kills and four blocks, Grace Nelson adding 17 kills and 18 digs, and Jovana Zelenovic contributing 11 kills and three blocks, but the Jayhawks fell to No. 17 Purdue, 3-2, in five sets on Friday.

The loss comes after two wins at the Purdue Tournament, including a 3-1 win over No. 23 Georgia Tech on Thursday and a 3-1 win over Bowling Green on Wednesday.

Kansas kept pace early in the opening set against No. 17 Purdue with kills from Grace Nelson, Rhian Swanson and Jovana Zelenovic. But the Boilermakers answered with a 13-9 lead behind kills and a service ace. Zelenovic trimmed the gap, but Kansas miscues gave Purdue momentum, and the Jayhawks trailed 17-11 at a timeout. Kansas added a handful of points late, but Purdue maintained control to take the set 25-16.

In the second set, Kansas came back out strong, using a 5-2 run capped by a Ryan White service ace and a block from Ptacek, Zelenovic and Cristin Cline to push the Jayhawks ahead 11-7, which forced Purdue to call a timeout. Out of the timeout, Kansas went on a 3-0 scoring surge, and Ptacek earned an ace to put the score at 14-7. Nelson and Swanson stayed hot at the net, and a service ace from Cline pushed the margin to 22-16. The Boilermakers tried to rally, but Kansas never let go of its momentum. Zelenovic delivered the final point with a kill off a Cline assist, sealing the set 25-19 and evening the match at 1-1.

During the third, points were traded early. Purdue held a slight edge at 9-7, then continued to build on the lead and pushed the set to 14-8. Despite the Boilermakers' lead, the Jayhawks kept momentum as Nelson and Zelenovic delivered key swings, and the Kansas block forced errors to cut the margin to 18-13. Swanson added another kill out of rotation, and three straight Purdue attack errors brought the Jayhawks within 18-16, forcing a Boilermaker timeout. Despite a Jayhawk scoring surge, Purdue kept its lead and closed the set at 25-18.

To start the fourth, the Jayhawks went on a 3-0 scoring run, capped by a Logan Bell service ace, prompting Purdue to take an early timeout. The Boilermakers climbed back from the early deficit to tie the set at 9-all, but Kansas responded with a Cline service ace and a Swanson kill to regain control.

The Jayhawks extended their lead to 15-10 after a Zelenovic solo block, forcing Purdue to play from behind. Kansas capitalized on momentum with a Ptacek kill, followed by a Nelson ace and back-to-back kills from Nelson and Bell to stretch the margin to 21-13, keeping Purdue on its heels. The Boilermakers cut the deficit to 23-20, but a kill from Nelson sealed the set for the Jayhawks and sent the match to a fifth at 25-21.

Kansas opened the fifth set with a quick 2-0 lead on a block and a service ace from Cline. Logan Bell added another ace to make it 4-1, but Purdue capitalized on Jayhawk errors to close the gap to 5-4. After Kansas pushed ahead 7-4, Purdue fought back and tied the set at 8-8. The Boilermakers surged on a 6-1 run to build a 12-8 lead and force two Jayhawk timeouts.

Kansas fought to extend the match late, with back-to-back kills from Swanson cutting Purdue's lead to 12-10. A service error briefly stalled the Jayhawks' push, and Purdue capitalized with a kill to reach match point at 14-10. Swanson answered again to keep KU alive, but the Boilermakers earned the final kill, giving No. 17 Purdue a 3-2 victory. Despite the loss, Kansas outpaced Purdue in digs (87-70) and service aces (9-4).

The Jayhawks will be back in action at the South Dakota Tournament from 11-13, starting with a match vs. Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday, Sept. 11 at 4 p.m. CT.