No. 19 Kansas Falls to No. 18 BYU

Friday, October 2

Lawrence, Kan.

6 p.m. CT

University of Kansas

10-4,3-1Big 12

BYU

11-1,3-0Big 12

Team	1	2	3	Final F
BYU	27	25	25	3
Kansas	25	18	21	0

10/2/2026 8:05:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas volleyball fell to BYU in straight sets Friday evening, losing 27-25, 25-18 and 25-21.

"BYU put a lot of pressure on our middles tonight to be able to score, and that was hard to do when it became predictable offensively," Kansas head coach Matt Ulmer said. "We still did so many things well tonight, however. We passed beautifully again and we had some really nice service runs, but it just wasn't good enough against a very good opponent."

The Jayhawks were led by junior middle blocker Reese Ptacek who recorded eight kills and a game high six blocks, marking the fourth time this season she recorded four or more blocks in a match. Kansas setter Reese Messer also led the game with 27 assists, while the Jayhawks had six service aces compared to BYU's one.

In the first set, BYU jumped out to an early lead, going up 4-1 on the Jayhawks, fueled by back-to-back blocks, and forcing Kansas to call an early timeout. Out of the break, the two teams traded points with Aisha Aiono and Taylor Stanley picking up their first kills of the match, but BYU remained in control, taking an 8-3 lead on a 3-0 scoring run.

Midway through the set, Kansas junior libero Olivia Hasbrook picked up a trio of aces at the service line to help ignite an 8-0 scoring run for the Jayhawks and put them in front, 16-13. The run marked Hasbrook's fifth multi-ace game of the season.

From there, the Jayhawks fed off the momentum, with Ptacek picking up a pair of blocks and Grace Nelson securing her second kill of the match. Stanley recorded her third kill of the set to put Kansas up 19-14, on an 11-1 run, and forced BYU to call their second timeout of the set.

Late in the set, Stanley recorded three straight kills to put Kansas ahead 24-20, but BYU continued to fight, cutting the lead in half and forcing KU to call a timeout up 24-22. Out of the timeout, BYU evened the score at 24-24 with a kill and a block, before taking a 25-24 lead on a 5-0 scoring run. Kansas continued to fight through the set, but the constant Cougar pressure proved to be too much and BYU took the first set 27-25, closing with a 6-1 run.

To begin the second set, Logan Bell recorded Kansas' fourth ace of the match before BYU went on another 3-0 run to take a 5-2 lead. The two teams then continued to trade points, but BYU went on another 4-0 run and forced the Jayhawks to call a timeout, trailing 10-5 in the set.

Following the reset, the Jayhawks had a 3-0 run of their own, with Ptacek and Avery Poulton recording their fourth and second block of the match, respectively, and Ptacek scoring the Jayhawks' fifth ace. However, BYU responded with a 5-0 run of their own and took a 15-8 lead into the technical timeout.

The two teams continued to trade points for the remainder of the set with BYU picking up their second straight set by a score of 25-18.

The pair of Kansas middle blockers, Aiono and Ptacek, helped power the Jayhawks early in the third set, with Ptacek recording two kills, but BYU responded with another 4-0 run to take an 8-3 lead. The Cougars then scored another three straight points to take an 11-4 lead.

At the third technical timeout, BYU led Kansas 15-7, before the Jayhawks began to cut into the deficit, led by Ptacek and Tessa Dodd. The two combined on a block, Ptacek recorded two kills and Dodd scored a kill of her own to pull Kansas within five, 18-13 in the third set.

Trailing 20-13, Kansas found life, forcing BYU to call a timeout after the Jayhawks went on a 6-2 run with the help of two kills from Aiono and three straight kills from Logan Bell. Out of the timeout Ptacek and Dodd combined for another block to pull within two, 22-20.

The Jayhawks' comeback effort came up just short, however, with BYU taking the third set 25-21 and completing the sweep.

Kansas returns to action on Oct. 11 when the Jayhawks take on UCF in Orlando at 12 p.m. CT.