No. 17 Kansas Falls to No. 8 Arizona State in Five-Set Thriller

Sunday, October 18

Lawrence, Kan.

12 p.m. CT

University of Kansas

12-5,5-2Big 12

Arizona State

15-3,6-1Big 12

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Arizona St.	17	14	25	25	15	3
Kansas	25	25	22	20	10	2

No. 17 Kansas Falls to No. 8 Arizona State in Five-Set Thriller

10/18/2026 3:02:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

LAWRENCE, Kan. — No. 17 Kansas (12-5, 5-2) fell to No. 8 Arizona State (15-3, 6-1) in a five-set thriller Sunday afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse.

Taylor Stanley led the Jayhawks with 21 kills, five blocks and nine digs, while Grace Nelson tallied 14 kills and 14 digs. Aisha Aiono added eight kills and four blocks, and Reese Ptacek recorded nine kills and a career-high five service aces.

Defensively, Nelson and Reese Messer led the way with 14 digs apiece, and Olivia Hasbrook tacked on 11. Messer also recorded 48 assists.

Arizona State started the match hot, taking a quick 4-1 lead before Ptacek served four straight aces to give Kansas a 7-6 lead and force an ASU timeout. KU continued to build its lead in the first set, and a block by Stanley and Aiono made it 13-7, forcing another Sun Devils timeout.

The Jayhawks tallied their eighth service ace of the set, and a kill by Stanley pushed the lead to 20-11. ASU quickly answered with three straight points to cut into the deficit, but Stanley recorded two more kills to close out a 25-17 set win for Kansas.

The second set opened the opposite way, as Kansas jumped out to a 2-0 lead on an Aiono kill and an Arizona State attack error. The teams traded points before back-to-back kills by Nelson and Aiono sparked KU to a 10-5 lead. After an ASU timeout, the Jayhawks added two more points before the Sun Devils ended the 7-0 Kansas run to make it 12-6.

Kansas kept the momentum throughout the set, pushing its lead to 20-10 behind a 4-0 run with Ptacek at the service line. Two more kills by Stanley extended the lead to 23-12, and a Ptacek kill sealed the set for Kansas, 25-14.

Much like the first set, Arizona State raced out to an early 4-1 lead in the third before Stanley recorded her 10th kill of the match to stop the run. After the teams were tied at 7, the Sun Devils pulled ahead 11-8, but a block by Ptacek and a kill by Stanley brought Kansas within one. An Aiono kill later cut the deficit to 15-14 at the media timeout.

Coming out of the break, the Sun Devils charged to a 20-17 lead to force a Kansas timeout. Following an Arizona State point, back-to-back points by Nelson and Ptacek drew Kansas within three, 23-20, and forced an ASU timeout. Kills by Logan Bell and Messer brought KU within two, but Arizona State closed out the set, 25-22.

The fourth set opened with both teams trading points before ASU pulled ahead 6-4. Stanley tied the set with an ace, but a quick 3-0 run by the Sun Devils forced Kansas to take its first timeout of the set. Trailing 11-7, Kansas rallied to tie the set at 12 behind a kill and a block by Stanley, forcing an ASU timeout.

Kansas took its first lead of the set at 17-16 on a Bell kill before the Sun Devils went on a 6-2 run to reclaim the lead. Stanley stopped the run with her 18th kill of the match to bring the Jayhawks within two, but ASU closed out the set, 25-20, to force a winner-take-all fifth set.

In the fifth set, an ASU service error and a service ace by Hasbrook gave KU a quick 2-0 lead, but the Sun Devils answered with five straight points to take a 5-2 lead. After a Kansas timeout, Arizona State stretched its lead to 7-2 before a Stanley kill ended the 7-0 run.

ASU kept up the pressure, pulling ahead 10-4 and forcing another Kansas timeout. Out of the timeout, Kansas scored three straight points, fueled by kills from Stanley and Nelson, to force an Arizona State timeout. The Sun Devils responded right away to grow their lead to 12-7 before a Stanley kill and a block by Stanley, Aiono and Nelson brought Kansas within three. The Jayhawks continued to battle but ultimately fell, 15-10.

Kansas returns to action Friday, Oct. 23, at No. 11 TCU in Fort Worth, Texas.