Rebel Challenge up next for Jayhawks
LAWRENCE, Kan. – After opening the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena with the Kansas Invitational Sept. 12-15, the Jayhawks are scheduled to travel to Las Vegas for the Rebel Challenge at Cox Pavilion Sept. 20-21.
KU finished the Kansas Invitational 1-2 with a win in its home opener over Morehead State, 3-0. The Kansas offense was led over the tournament by senior Zoe Hill, who paced Kansas with 24 kills while fellow senior Ashley Smith was the only other Jayhawk with 20-or-more kills (24).
Sara Nielsen continued her strong start to the season with an additional 77 assists in the KU Invite and averaged 8.56 assists per set through the three Kansas matches.
Nielsen also finished with 18 digs in the tournament, while Allie Nelson led the Kansas defense with 30 digs.
Fans can listen on the Jayhawk Radio Network with Nick Springer calling the action.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
| Date | September 20-21 |
| Opponents | Arizona State, UNLV |
| Location | Cox Pavilion |
| Listen | Jayhawk Radio Network |
HFVA SELLOUT
After opening the Kansas Invitational with a three-set victory over Morehead State, the Jayhawks suffered a similar defeat and were downed in three-sets by the Wildcats. Each set between the two schools ended with four-points or less difference in the final set scores. KU nearly extended the match, pushing the third set to 23-23 before Arizona tallied the final two points. Zoe Hill, Ashley Smith and Rachel Langs each finished with a team-high six kills, while Sara Nielsen led KU with 26 assists. The match marked the first sellout of the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena (2,265).
REBEL CHALLENGE
Kansas enters the Rebel Challenge with a 4-4 record, including a 1-2 record in the Kansas Invitational. The Jayhawks tallied a three-set sweep of Morehead State in their home opener. KU has victories over Kansas City, Omaha, Albany and Morehead State.
ABOUT ARIZONA STATE
- Arizona State enters the Rebel Challenge with a 6-3 record and recently finished the OU Nike Invitational, 2-1. ASU claimed victories over Louisiana and Georgia Tech but fell to tournament-host Oklahoma.
- The Arizona State attack is led by Andrea Mitrovic (4.33 kills per set) with former Kansas outside hitter Jada Burse (3.59 K/S) and and Claire Kovensky (3.59 K/S) a close second. Two Sun Devils have amassed over 100 assists this season with Callie Jones netting a team-high 169 assists (7.04 A/S). Noa Miller is a close second with 114 assists (3.80 A/S).
- Defensively, Courtney Leffel boasts a team-high 197 digs (5.47 D/S), while Avital Jaloba averages 1.00 block per set (23.0 total).
ABOUT UNLV
- UNLV enters the Rebel Challenge with a 3-6 record and recently dropped three matches in the UNLV Invitational. The Rebels have wins over CSUN, Portland and North Carolina.
- UNLV’s offense is led by Shelby Capllonch, who has a team-high 152 kills (3.80 K/S), while Thea Sweder is the only other Rebel over 100 kills with 108 of her own (2.92 K/S). Antonette Rolda has tallied 241 assists (6.03 A/S) while Lauryn Burt is second on the team with 188 assists (4.70 A/S).
- Capllonch is also the team leaderin digs with 116 on the season, while Macy Smith (32.0 | 0.80 B/S) and Kate Brennan (30.0 | 0.75 B/S) each have tallied over 30 blocks this season.
