WICHITA, Kan. — Kansas volleyball swept Wichita State on Tuesday night at Charles Koch Arena, winning the sets 25-17, 25-17 and 25-12.
BOX SCORE
The Jayhawks posted a balanced offensive performance, hitting .286 and holding Wichita State to -.035. Kansas recorded 42 kills, led by 15 from Taylor Stanley, 10 from Reese Ptacek and six from Grace Nelson.
Senior middle blocker Aisha Aiono led the Jayhawks with six blocks alongside five kills, and Cristin Cline anchored the offense with 34 assists.
The Jayhawks jumped out to a quick 5-2 advantage. Ptacek recorded a cross-court kill to maintain a 6-4 advantage before Wichita State tied it and then took a brief 9-8 lead in the set, their sole lead of the match. The Jayhawks responded with two quick kills and a block by Aiono to retake an 11-9 lead. Ptacek continued the momentum with another kill to give KU a 15-13 advantage at the timeout.
Out of the break, Stanley notched her first ace of the night, and Ptacek made a tip off the Shocker block to make it 18-13. Nelson and Aiono put up a tough block followed by another by Ptacek and Stanley to secure the 25-17 set victory.
The second set started in a similar fashion with Kansas jumping out to a quick 4-1 lead with Olivia Hasbrook at the service line. Stanley recorded a kill out of the back row for a 10-5 lead and found success out of the middle to give a 15-7 advantage.
Following the timeout, Logan Bell picked up a kill, and Tessa Dodd checked in and immediately earned a roll-shot kill to make it 17-10. Dodd continued to make an impact, teaming with Cydnee Bryant on a block for set point at 24-15 before a service error by the Shockers closed out the set, 25-17.
The Jayhawk offense continued to dominate down the stretch, jumping out to a 3-0 lead off back-to-back kills by Stanley. The Shockers briefly tied it 4-4 before KU responded with six straight points led by Cline at the service line for a 12-6 advantage. Stanley tallied another cross-court kill for a 15-9 lead at the halfway mark.
Bell led another 3-0 run from the service line out of the timeout, and a kill by Nelson built an 18-10 advantage that forced a Wichita State timeout. Cline closed out the match from the service line and recorded an ace to complete the sweep, 25-12.
Kansas returns home this weekend for the Jayhawk Classic, hosting Ole Miss on Friday and Grand Canyon on Sunday.
This article originates at KUAthletics.com.
