In its lone tune-up before the start of the regular season, the Kansas volleyball team swept an exhibition match with Washburn, 25-23, 25-20 and 25-19 on Friday night at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.
The Jayhawks were led by super senior Jenny Mosser, who finished the night with 18 kills while hitting .405.
Middle blockers Rachel Langs and Caroline Crawford added eight kills apiece and Big 12 preseason freshman of the year, Caroline Bien, added nine.
Sophomore setter Elise McGhie paced the KU offense with 41 assists.
On defense, Bien (12) and Lacey Angello (16) both recorded double-digit digs for the home team.
KU tallied five of the final seven points of the second set to close things out and take a commanding lead into the third set.
“We had good offensive balance,” Kansas coach Ray Bechard said after the victory. “When you hit .300 (as a team) the first night out, that’s solid. Every time that we needed to respond, we did. It was a really great effort by Washburn.”
Prior to Friday’s match, Bechard said his team would treat the challenge as a true tune-up.
“Sure you want to you want to get to 25 first,” Bechard said. “But, boy, we’ve got to use that to really answer some questions before we head out to that first tournament at Purdue.”
Friday’s match was played in front of an announced crowd of 1,119 fans and featured 26 ties but just 11 lead changes.
Ten of the school record 20 Jayhawks on the 2021 roster appeared in all three sets and three others played in one set.
KU will open the regular season next Saturday against Loyola Marymount in the first of two matches in the Reamer Club Spectacular at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.
The Jayhawks will play five matches on the road before their home opener against Delaware on Sept. 9 in the Kansas Invitational.
