LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kicking off the Jayhawk Classic on September 15 in Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena, the No. 23 Kansas Volleyball team took down the Lipscomb Bison 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-23).
Kansas improves its record of 9-1 while Lipscomb falls to 3-6.
“The locker room felt different,” stated head coach Ray Bechard following the match. “Lipscomb plays an extremely tough schedule and will represent their league really really well, so to get out of here 3-0, certainly there is some merit to that. To let them come back in the third set was a little disappointing, but we will learn from that and get a lot of volleyball to play tomorrow and Saturday.”
Set One
Lipscomb started off the match on the board first, before Kansas took the lead at 3-2 after a Bison service error. The Jayhawks maintained the lead after back-to-back kills by redshirt freshman Ayah Elnady and sophomore Camryn Turner put Kansas ahead 8-4. A block by super-senior Anezka Szabo and graduate transfer Lauren Dooley forced the media timeout at 15-10. Sophomore Caroline Bien crushed the ball past the Bison defense for a kill to advance the Jayhawks 23-16. A service error by Lipscomb closed out set one 25-19 in Kansas’ favor.
Set Two
The Jayhawks began set two with a 3-0 run after back-to-back kills by Szabo and Dooley, followed by a block from Dooley and Szabo. Lipscomb tied up the set 8-8, but a service error put KU back ahead. A kill by Elnady put Kansas ahead by two, 10-8, and the Jayhawks soon after went on a 4-0 scoring run to extend the lead to 17-10. Sophomore London Davis came into the match at 21-12 and rejected the Bison’s offense alongside junior Kim Whetstone and set it up for the Jayhawks to finish off the set at 25-16.
Set Three
Lipscomb seemed to have found their way in set three as they took an early 7-5 lead. The Jayhawks came from behind with a kill by Bien, followed by a double block by Dooley and Turner. After Kansas went on a 5-0 run, the Bison called a timeout. The Bison were able to tie up the set 11-11 before taking the lead 13-11 and driving KU into calling a timeout. Bien pushed Kansas ahead 14-13 with a kill. It didn’t take long for KU to walk away victorious, shutting down Lipscomb 25-23.
Notables
- Redshirt freshman Ayah Elnady led the Jayhawks with 8 kills and a service ace.
- Sophomore Camryn Turner posted a double-double with 19 assists and 10 digs.
- Junior Kim Whetstone and graduate transfer Lauren Dooley recorded one block solo and five block assists.
- The Jayhawks kept the Bison below .200 in two out of the three sets.
“Our initial line of defense was very good and I think that’s kind of what changed the complexion of the match, started blocking balls and that physically certainly affected that,” said Bechard. “Bien has been on a pretty good roll. I think tonight wasn’t her best night, but she got some many other things for you and Ayah was consistent. You mentioned those two, we certainly have to make a big push to create more offensive balance so we don’t become too predictable.”
Up Next
No. 23 Kansas will return to Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena on September 16 for their second match of three in the Jayhawk Classic. The Jayhawks will play future Big 12 foe UCF at 6:30 p.m. CT.
