Via Kansas Athletics
WICHITA, Kan. – Kansas secured its fourth-straight sweep with a dominant 3-0 win over Wichita State at the Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kansas on Tuesday night. The No.17 Jayhawks now improve to 7-4 on the season.
Kansas’ success was powered by Jovana Zelenovic’s 11 kills and six blocks and a balanced attack that saw five Jayhawks record at least four kills. Reese Ptacek added nine kills and five blocks, while Aurora Papac hit .800 with seven blocks to anchor the front line.
“I really think the more disciplined we can be, the more success we’re going to have. It’s taken us a little while to get our defensive system clicking, but you can see it coming together, and that’s exciting,” said head coach Matt Ulmer. “The last couple of matches showed that we can perform well even in tough environments, and the more we stick to our principles, the more consistent we’ll be moving forward.”
In the opening set, Wichita State and Kansas traded points early before the Shockers inched ahead. The Jayhawks responded with a 3-0 run, highlighted by a Grace Nelson kill and a pair of Shocker attack errors, to pull within a point at 8-7. The set went back-and-forth as Kansas pulled ahead to 15-13 going into the media timeout. The Jayhawks stayed in control after the break, extending their lead to 20-17 thanks to three straight Shocker attack errors. Wichita State regained the lead at 24-23, forcing Kansas to call a timeout. The Jayhawks regrouped and tied the set at 25-25 to force extra points, then closed it out with a Zelenovic kill and a Shocker attack error on a Ryan White serve for a 28-26 first set win.
Kansas earned the first two points in the second set before Wichita State got on the board at 2-1. The Jayhawks continued to hold the edge over the Shockers, but only slightly, as they led by two after a Zelenovic kill at 9-7. Kansas then turned it on with a 3-0 run to push ahead 11-7, forcing a Wichita State timeout. The Jayhawks extended their 3-0 run into a 7-0 surge, capped by an ace from White, which forced Wichita State to call a second timeout with Kansas leading 15-7. The Jayhawks stayed in control and sealed the set 25-14, capped by another Zelenovic kill, making it her ninth of the game.
During the third set, Kansas jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but Wichita State answered with a 4-0 run of its own to tie the score at 4-4. The set stayed close, as each side answered point for point. The Jayhawks slowly regained momentum with three straight kills, two from Aurora Papac and one from Rhian Swanson, taking a 15-12 lead into the media timeout. Kansas pulled away with a 4-0 run behind kills from Papac, Swanson, and Zelenovic to go up 20-13, forcing a Wichita State timeout. Kansas stayed in control the rest of the set, allowing only three more points from the Shockers to close out the 25-16 win and complete the 3-0 sweep.
Kansas returns to action this weekend as the Jayhawks travel to Omaha, Nebraska to play three matches in the Omaha Tournament from Sept. 20-21. The Jayhawks begin the Omaha Tournament on Saturday as they take on Omaha at 3 p.m., before facing both South Florida at 10 a.m. and Creighton at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 21.
