No. 11 Kansas volleyball falls against No. 23 Baylor

LAWRENCE, Kan. – In the eighth top-25 matchup of the season for Kansas volleyball, the 11th-ranked Jayhawks fell in three sets to No. 23 Baylor on Saturday afternoon at Horejsi Family Athletics Center (25-17, 25-21, 25-18).

The Jayhawks (21-5, 10-3 Big 12) were led by sophomore outside hitter Ashley Smith, who recorded a team-high 10 kills while making her fourth career start in place of injured All-American Madison Rigdon.

Baylor’s Yossiana Pressley registered 19 kills on a .410 hitting percentage as the Bears (21-5, 11-2) won their fifth-straight match in straight-set fashion by holding KU to a season-low .126 hitting percentage. BU’s current winning streak started after KU swept Baylor in three sets in Waco on Oct. 18.

On Veterans Day, Marine Maj. Jake MacDonald got the match started with an honorary first serve after the national anthem was sang by Army Sgt. Ashley Reynolds.

Smith registered two of her 10 kills and a block-assist to give Kansas an early 4-1 lead in the first set. But Baylor went on to regroup and total 19 team kills in the opening set on the way to a 25-17 first-set decision.

Senior defensive specialist Tori Miller leads the team in serving scoring runs of 7-0 or longer this season (eight) and in the second set she took to the service line for an 8-0 run to help lift Kansas to a 15-8 lead. Baylor countered with a 6-0 run to regain the lead, 18-17, and went on to win the second set, 25-21.

In the third set, the Bears took a 4-1 lead and never trailed before clinching the win with a 25-18 third-set win.

Saturday marks the first time Kansas has been swept in a Big 12 Conference match at home since Sept. 28, 2011 against then-No. 16 Iowa State. Baylor also snapped KU’s nine-match winning streak in the series against the Bears.  

UP NEXT
Kansas hits the road for a Texas two-step next week. The Jayhawks face No. 3 Texas on Wednesday, Nov. 15 (7 p.m., LHN), then travel directly to Lubbock to face Texas Tech on Friday, Nov. 17 (6 p.m.).

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