KU volleyball swept at home by BYU

By Joseph Myers, Special to the Journal-World Oct 2, 2026

Kansas libero Olivia Hasbrook (6) bumps the ball to a teammate against BYU on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.

No. 18 BYU emphatically ended the nine-match winning streak of Kansas’ volleyball team Friday night as the Cougars swept the 19th-ranked Jayhawks, 3-0 (27-25, 25-18, 25-21), in a Big 12 Conference match at the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.

“We really didn’t follow our game plan,” said Kansas head coach Matt Ulmer. “It was very frustrating pretty much all match. We had a hard time getting our brains locked in. I thought we were more emotional tonight and had a hard time calming that down. It took us a long time to catch our breath and be able to settle down. It didn’t happen until towards the end of the third (set) and then we started getting some traction, but at that point, it’s just too late.”

In the course of having its nine-match winning streak snapped, the Jayhawks (10-4, 3-1) saw its record run of 27 straight set victories come to an end. It was the longest active streak in the nation, but BYU (11-1, 3-0) was unfazed by KU’s recent run of strong play and the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena crowd of 1,966.

BYU led, 11-5, in the opening set before KU put together a 19-9 run to take a 24-20 lead and sit on the verge of winning its 28th consecutive set. However, the Cougars fought off four Jayhawk set points and closed the set with a 7-1 run to take Set 1, 27-25.

In the second set, BYU took an early lead, and Kansas was still within 10-8 after a service ace by Reese Ptacek, but the Cougars scored the next five points to go up 15-8 and KU got no closer than four points the rest of the set – at 18-14 after a kill by Taylor Stanley – as BYU took Set 2, 25-18, to grab a commanding 2-0 lead.

Like in the first two sets, BYU raced out to an early lead in Set 3, leading 15-8 at the technical timeout and 20-13 later in the set. However, KU didn’t let its streak end without a fight, as the Jayhawks made a 5-1 run to get to within two points at 22-20 after a block by Ptacek and again at 23-21 following a kill by Ptacek, but BYU got a kill and service ace to finish off the set, 25-21, and claim a sweep over KU.

Despite the loss, Ulmer said he saw some positives in his team’s performance.

“We did so many things well,” Ulmer said. “We passed beautifully again. We had some really great service runs, but it’s not enough against a very good team.”

Stanley led Kansas with 13 kills and six digs. Ptacek added eight kills and six blocks; Aisha Aiono netted seven kills; Logan Bell pitched in five kills and four digs; Grace Nelson had four kills, three digs and two blocks; Reese Messer handed out 27 assists to go with six digs and two kills; and Olivia Hasbrook had a team-high nine digs and three service aces for the Jayhawks in the loss.

Kansas is now off until Oct. 11, when the Jayhawks travel to UCF to take on the Knights in another Big 12 Conference match. First serve in Orlando, Florida, is scheduled for noon Central time.

“(The break) is bad for the team because now I have some ammo on film,” Ulmer said. “Really, though, the break is good for us. This has been a tough stretch for us. We’ve played a lot of matches. This is like our bye week with us only having one match and it being on a Sunday. Our bodies are tired.

“It’ll be nice for us to have two or three days off. I’m really proud of us. We’ve come a long way in this stretch of the season. Tonight, the outcome is disappointing and there’s things we need to work on defensively and offensively, and we’ll get some time to actually be able to do that.”

Kansas pin hitter Avery Poulton (21) goes to the ground to bump the ball to a teammate against BYU on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.

Kansas middle blocker Aisha Aiono (24) gets the ball past a defender for a point against BYU on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.

Kansas pin hitter Taylor Stanley (23) follows through on a kill attempt against BYU on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.

Kansas pin hitter Grace Nelson (1) reaches up for a kill attempt against BYU on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.

Kansas libero Olivia Hasbrook (6) and pin hitter Taylor Stanley (23) celebrate a point against BYU on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.

Kansas pin hitter Taylor Stanley (23) connects for a kill against BYU on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.

Kansas pin hitter Grace Nelson (1) bumps the ball to a teammate against BYU on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.

Kansas head coach Matt Ulmer talks with his team during a timeout against BYU on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.

Kansas middle blocker Reese Ptacek (10) reaches up for a block against BYU on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.

Kansas libero Olivia Hasbrook (6) makes dig against BYU on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.

Kansas middle blocker Reese Ptacek (10) and the Jayhawks wore a patch with “SW” in honor of Scott Ward during the game against BYU on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.

Kansas pin hitter Taylor Stanley (23) makes a kill attempt against BYU on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.

Kansas pin hitter Logan Bell (25) makes a dig against BYU on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.

Kansas head coach Matt Ulmer yells out instructions during the game against BYU on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.

Kansas libero Olivia Hasbrook (6) dives to the ground to try and save the ball against BYU on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.

Kansas setter Reese Messer (3) sets the ball to a teammate against BYU on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.

Kansas pin hitter Grace Nelson (1) and the Jayhawks honored former KU academic adviser Scott “Scooter” Ward who passed away in December of 2025 before the game against BYU on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena. The Jayhawks honored Ward with a plaque and flowers to his wife Robin Ward.