The 17th-ranked Kansas volleyball team made a statement on Friday night by sweeping No. 13 TCU, 32-30, 25-11, 26-24, at Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Jayhawks battled through extra points in two sets and dominated another. It was a rare occasion on which freshman opposite hitter Taylor Stanley did not lead the way for KU’s offense; outside hitter Grace Nelson recorded a 13-kill, 11-dig double-double and middle blocker Aisha Aiono had 12 kills on an efficient .407 hitting.
KU hit .272 as a team. Stanley added eight kills, and junior outside hitter Kenzie Dean returned from injury to participate in her first match since Sept. 8 and contribute six kills without an error. Setter Reese Messer tallied 38 assists and 14 digs.
TCU’s Evan Hendrix led all players with 16 kills on her .282 hitting and also posted 11 digs of her own.
The first set was extremely even. Neither team held more than a one-point advantage between when the Horned Frogs went up 9-8 and when the Jayhawks went up 24-22 on back-to-back errors by Stanley.
TCU then proceeded to stave off six set points before reaching one of its own at 29-28 off consecutive kills by Becca Kelley, but Aiono evened the score with a kill and the Jayhawks eventually won the set at 32-30 following a block by Stanley and Reese Ptacek and a kill from Ptacek.
KU jumped out to a substantial lead in the second game with Messer behind the service line and did not look back. Messer recorded a kill to put the Jayhawks ahead 15-4 entering the technical timeout, and KU held a double-digit lead for the rest of the set. A service error, two attack errors and a kill by Logan Bell gave the Jayhawks the final four points for a 25-11 win.
The third set featured more intrigue. This time the Frogs fought their way out of an early hole, rallying from down 11-4 to tie the game at 14 after two attack errors by Stanley. TCU even went ahead at 18-17 on a kill by Hendrix, but the Jayhawks were able to sneak back in front on a couple of occasions. KU made it to 23-21 with a block and had its first set point at 24-22 on a kill by Ptacek, but Jalyn Gibson and Hendrix were able to tie the game.
The extra points didn’t last nearly as long as in the third set. Messer set up Stanley and Nelson for kills to decide the result.
KU improved to 13-5 overall and 6-2 in Big 12 play. The Jayhawks will remain in Texas and face another ranked foe when they travel to No. 24 Baylor on Sunday at 2 p.m.
