The Kansas volleyball team reached match point on a pair of occasions in the fourth set on Friday night, but ultimately lost in five (24-26, 25-21, 25-19, 26-28, 13-15) to Florida State in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Jayhawks hit .302 and got 15 kills, seven digs and six block assists from Taylor Stanley, as well as double-doubles from Reese Messer and Grace Nelson. They also benefited from 16 service errors by the Seminoles. But outside hitter Kyleene Filimaua led all players with 23 kills and middle blocker Nenu Kpea tallied 17 on just 28 attacks for FSU as it upset the 16th-ranked Jayhawks.
KU finished Lipscomb’s tournament at 1-1 and with a 1-3 overall record after it had beaten the host Bisons in four sets on Thursday.
All three of the games FSU won in Friday’s matchup were decided by two points. The Jayhawks led 14-11 in the first set on a kill by Kenzie Dean before conceding five straight. They then rallied from a deficit of their own to go ahead 21-20.
Trailing 24-23, KU extended the set with a kill by Aisha Aiono, but Bailey Higgins responded for FSU and an attack error by Logan Bell provided the decisive point.
The two teams were evenly matched in the second set. On that occasion, after leading 21-20, KU asserted its advantage with kills by Stanley and Nelson and a block by Stanley and Reese Ptacek. Ptacek provided the final point at 25-21.
The third set provided the widest margin of all at 25-19. KU trailed 14-13 before scoring nine of the next 12 points with contributions from a variety of players. Dean, who finished with a career-best 14 kills, and Tessa Dodd chipped in late to give KU a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Jayhawks were ahead 14-10 on the path toward victory when their grip began to slip away. A pair of attack errors gave FSU a 15-14 lead. The Seminoles went up by two points on several occasions late in the set, including at 24-22 after attack errors by Dodd and Nelson. But a block by Dodd and Ptacek and a kill from Bell staved off two set points.
KU was then one point away from victory when Sofia Moss committed an attack error, only for Nelson to concede a key service error. After a kill by Ptacek, FSU scored three straight to prolong the match.
KU never seized control in the decisive fifth set. They led as late as 7-6, and were still within one point at 12-11 before consecutive kills by Filimaua. The Jayhawks gave themselves a chance late at 14-13, but Filimaua struck one more time to conclude the thriller.
The Jayhawks will look to get back on track with their home opener on Tuesday at 6 p.m. against Wichita State.
