Completed Event: Women's Volleyball versus Florida State on September 4, 2026 , Loss , 2, to, 3
Final
Women's Volleyball
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vs Florida State
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Photo by: Kansas Athletics
Kansas Earns Second-Straight Sweep in Win over South Dakota State
9/11/2026 2:54:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Kansas volleyball earned its second consecutive sweep with a win over the South Dakota State Jackrabbits on Friday afternoon, winning the sets 25-20, 25-18 and 25-20.
Freshman outside hitter Taylor Stanley led the Jayhawks offense with 16 kills while hitting .414 and adding five aces. Alongside Stanley, Grace Nelson added nine kills on a .471 percentage with six digs, and Reese Ptacek added seven kills and two blocks.
Senior middle blocker Aisha Aiono led the Jayhawks with four blocks, and sophomore setter Reese Messer anchored the offense with 35 assists.
The Jayhawk offense wasted no time, jumping out to a quick 3-0 lead led by Logan Bell at the service line. From there, a Stanley swing extended the lead to 6-3, and Ryan Sadler notched the first kill of her career to make it 10-5. Ptacek recorded back-to-back points off the block and a kill down the line to give KU a 15-10 advantage at the media timeout.
Out of the break, Stanley recorded a back-row attack to make it 16-10, but a pair of Jayhawk errors brought the Jackrabbits within one at 17-16. A late Ptacek tip forced an SDSU timeout, and her crosscourt kill with Stanley at the service line closed out the first set, 25-20.
Both teams traded points throughout the first half of the second set. A swing out of the middle by Aiono gave the Jayhawks a 2-1 lead, and a behind-the-back, one-armed setter dump by Messer extended the advantage to 5-3. An ace by Ptacek made it 7-4 before the Jacks responded to take a 10-9 lead. A big-time block by Aiono and Stanley tied the set 10-10 and retook the momentum for KU. A Ptacek overhand kill off the back of a Nelson jump serve gave KU a 15-12 advantage at the media timeout.
Out of the break, the Jayhawks held the momentum throughout the second set. Stanley recorded her third ace of the match to make it 23-18, and a Ptacek kill secured the 25-18 set win.
The third set started in a similar fashion to the one prior. A Ptacek kill and Stanley's fourth ace of the match gave KU a 3-2 advantage. The two teams traded points back and forth before Olivia Hasbrook tallied an ace to build an 11-8 advantage. The Jackrabbits responded to tie the set 13-13, but a block by Aiono and Nelson sent the Jayhawks into the media timeout with a 15-13 lead. Stanley made an emphatic kill out of the back row to make the Jayhawks the first to 20 with a 20-17 advantage. Messer secured the match a few points later with her lone ace of the match.
The Jayhawks close out the Kansas Invitational on Sunday at 2 p.m. against Tulsa.
Players Mentioned
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