Langs Leads No. 19 Kansas to Seventh Win

By KU Athletics Release September 8, 2022

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Behind 11 kills from super-senior Rachel Langs, the No. 19 Kansas volleyball team defeated the Kansas City Roos, 3-1, at the Swinney Center in Kansas City, Missouri, Wednesday evening. The Jayhawks topped the Roos 3-1 (24-26, 25-13, 25-14, 25-16).

The win moved Kansas to a perfect 7-0 on the season, while Kansas City fell to 3-4.

“The first set was disappointing,” Kansas head coach Ray Bechard said. “Those are the sets you want to close out, but our response after the first set was very good. Pass and serve was good, so we played much more of our style. We settled in, fell back to our training, and executed much better.”

Set One
Kansas City took off early in set one taking a 3-0 lead. Kansas redshirt freshman Ayah Elnady kicked off the Jayhawk offense with a kill to put Kansas on the board. Two Kansas City errors tied up the match at three. The Roos took the lead again, but KU tallied a kill by sophomore Caroline Bien to tie up the set at five. Two dumps by sophomore Camryn Turner put the Jayhawks within one, 10-9. Kansas City would go on a seven-point scoring run to close out the set 26-24.

Set Two
KU found its rhythm early in set two. Elnady started the set with a block solo to put the Jayhawks on the board 1-0. Super-senior Anezka Szabo and graduate transfer Lauren Dooley had a block assist to keep the Jayhawks going. A bad set by the Roos put Kansas ahead by six to make the score 10-4. Super-senior Rachel Langs had back-to-back kills to take the Jayhawks 13-6. A double block by Turner and Langs shut down the set 25-13 in favor of the visitors, tying the match a 1-1.

Set Three
The Jayhawks took on set three and had the lead 3-1 after a double block by Dooley and Szabo. Kansas City tied up the set at 4-4, but Bien and Langs recorded a kill apiece to move Kansas on top 8-5. Kansas shut down any of Kansas City’s attempts to get ahead and kept the Roos at a distance the entire set. KU was ahead 20-9 before sophomore London Davis entered the match to help Kansas take home set three 25-14.

Set Four
A tough rally opened set four, but the Jayhawks won the point 1-0. Davis had back-to-back kills of her own to put Kansas ahead 9-5. Langs and Turner recorded another block for themselves, advancing the Jayhawks 15-8. Kansas City called a timeout to regroup, but Kansas was too far ahead. The Roos had too many errors to overturn the damage done by the Jayhawks. KU ended the set with a victory 25-16, which gave KU its seventh-straight win away from home.

Notables

  • Super-senior Rachel Langs led the Jayhawks with 11 kills and a .647 hitting percentage.
  • KU sophomore Camryn Turner posted a double-double with 33 assists and 14 digs.
  • The Jayhawks kept the Roos below .100 in all four sets.
  • Three out of the four sets, Kansas City had a negative hitting percentage.

Up Next
Kansas will be back in action on September 8-9 for the Kansas Invitational at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena. KU will play Wichita State on September 8 at 6:30 p.m. CT and then play UNLV on September 9 at 6:30 p.m. CT. Both matches will be broadcasted on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.