The Kansas volleyball team evened its record at 4-4 on Thursday evening with a three-set victory that featured significantly less drama than any of its seven prior matches.
KU swept Florida Gulf Coast 26-24, 25-16, 25-20 in Vermillion, South Dakota, escaping a closely contested first set after squandering a pair of set points and then keeping the Eagles at arm’s length in the second and third frames.
“I’m really pleased with how we controlled our first opponent today,” KU coach Matt Ulmer said in a press release. “Our offense found a great rhythm in the last two sets. Grace (Nelson) was on fire tonight, and I’m thrilled she had such a strong performance.”
Nelson, a sophomore outside hitter from River Forest, Illinois, played the best match of her young career with 18 kills — her previous high-water mark was 17 in a five-setter — on .467 hitting. Rhian Swanson added 11 and setter Cristin Cline tallied 35 assists, with Logan Bell, Cline, Molly McCarthy, Nelson and Ryan White each posting at least six digs.
FGCU hit just .135 as a team to KU’s 336. Its offensive leader, graduate outside hitter Barbara Koehler, recorded 10 kills on a mere .086 hitting with seven errors. Julija Grubisic Cabo led the Eagles with 14 digs.
With the two teams tied 5-5 early, the Jayhawks recorded five straight points that included an ace and a pair of kills by Nelson. Attack errors by Nelson and Aisha Aiono allowed FGCU to tie the game at 13, but the offense of Nelson and Cline and an ace by McCarthy helped KU earn a three-point lead once again at 21-18.
A kill by Swanson put the Jayhawks a point away at 24-22, but Cline committed a service error and Camila Soto promptly sent the match to extra points.
It didn’t take long for KU to clean things up, as a kill by Jovana Zelenovic and an attack error by Koehler finished the set off at 26-24.
The Jayhawks’ primary run in the second set began when they were leading 9-7. Three consecutive blocks, all of which included Aurora Papac, functioned as the core of an 8-1 stretch for KU, which didn’t cede much ground before taking the 25-16 result.
In the third and ultimately final set, KU went up 16-10 on an ace and an assist to Nelson by White, but FGCU fought back with a kill by Catharina Gaspar and an ace by Erica Muhizi and benefited from an attack error by Nelson. However, the Eagles couldn’t get any closer than three points away from the remainder of the set.
They did it again at 23-20 when Nelson committed another error — she had just four in the match, but three came in the third set — but the Eagles gave KU a gift with a service error by Koehler, and then Grubisic Cabo’s own attack error provided the match point.
KU will continue its swing through South Dakota by facing Green Bay on Friday at 4 p.m. Central TIme.
