No. 17 Jayhawks Sweep Kansas State in Manhattan

Thursday, October 15

Manhattan, Kan.

6:30 p.m. CT

University of Kansas

12-4,5-1Big 12

Kansas State

9-6,1-6Big 12

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Kansas	25	25	25	3
Kansas St.	20	15	23	0

Photo by: Kate Benninghoff/Kansas Athletics

No. 17 Jayhawks Sweep Kansas State in Manhattan

10/15/2026 9:17:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

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MANHATTAN, Kan. - No. 17 Kansas volleyball claimed the first leg of the Dillons Sunflower Showdown on Thursday night at Morgan Family Arena in Manhattan, sweeping Kansas State 3-0 to tally the Jayhawks' fifth conference win of the season.

With the win, Kansas improved to 12-4, 5-1 Big 12 on the year, while Kansas State fell to 9-6, 1-6 Big12.

Taylor Stanley led all players with 16 kills on 29 attack attempts, while Grace Nelson had 10 kills and Aisha Aiono added eight while leading the team with a .538 hitting percentage.

"I thought we came out a little amped up, which the crowd can make that happen," Kansas head coach Matt Ulmer said following the match. "Rivalry games can be tricky because you feel like you want to do more, want to make that swing extra hard, make that serve extra aggressive. That's the trap you fall into. I thought for the most part we just played our game and stuck with the offensive plan we had."

Both teams traded points in the early parts of set one, with Kansas' quick 2-1 lead being wiped out by a 5-2 Wildcat run. Much of the first set was spent in close confines for both teams, with Kansas trailing 10-9 before an 8-2 Jayhawk run, sparked by back-to-back kills from Nelson, forced a Kansas State timeout.

Ahead 18-14, a Reese Messer kill put Kansas ahead by five in the late going of the opening set before a pair of Wildcat points prompted Cristin Cline and Tessa Dodd to check in. Dodd made an immediate impact for the Jayhawks, recording a kill on her first swing of the match. From there, Stanley's fifth kill of the set forced another Kansas State timeout with Kansas ahead 22-17, before an eventual Olivia Hasbrook ace sealed the opening set for the Jayhawks, 25-20.

The second set opened with shades of the first, as Kansas took the early 6-4 lead via a kill from Logan Bell. The Jayhawks built on to the two-point lead, using another attack from Nelson to force an eventual Wildcat timeout with Kansas leading 11-7.

Out of the break, an attack from Bell sparked a 4-2 Jayhawk burst that sent the match into the second set media timeout with Kansas' lead up to six at 15-9. The Jayhawks would add a pair more in what was a 6-2 run, before two Kansas State points kept the match at 17-11, Kansas. A back-row attack from Nelson and pair of aces from Bell were part of a separate 4-0 Jayhawk run, before Aiono scored a set-winning kill to put Kansas on the cusp of a sweep with a 25-15 win.

Like the two before it, set three began with a back-and-forth battle between both teams that was kickstarted by a kill from Stanley. A Reese Ptacek ace pushed Kansas ahead at 6-5, before Stanley's 13th kill of the evening again boosted Kansas in front at 9-8.

The Wildcats battled through the third set, charging to a 12-10 lead that built to 15-13 at the media timeout. Stanley continued to keep pace with the Kansas State attack in the late going of set three, keeping the match within two points at 18-16 before a 4-2 Kansas run brought things level at 20. Both teams would trade points late, staying square at 23 before a pair of Kansas State attack errors handed the Jayhawks the set and the sweep.

UP NEXT
Kansas will return home for a Sunday matinee against No. 8 Arizona State, with the match being held inside of historic Allen Fieldhouse. First serve is set for noon CT on Sunday, Oct. 18, and the match can be seen on ESPN.

"We played once in Allen last year, and we have two matches in there this year," Ulmer said. "The whole idea is that there's a lot of people who want to see good volleyball, and this is a great opportunity for them."