Match Stats
- Kansas defeats Chattanooga 3-1 (25-12, 24-26, 25-17, 25-13)
The fourth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks improved to 8-0 when they took down Chattanooga 25-12, 24-26, 25-17, 25-13 at the Bluejay Invitational in Omaha, NE.
The Jayhawks have become the seventh team in Kansas history to start the season 8-0.
Kansas took care of business early in the match, but lost focus in the second, giving up a 14-7 lead over the Mocs to lose the set 24-26, tying up the match at 1-1. That didn’t defeat the Jayhawks, as they came back to dominate the final two sets to take the win.
Reigning Southern Conference regular-season champions, Chattanooga, was held to a low .078 hitting percentage as compared to .225 for the Jayhawks.
The Jayhawks head back home to face Northern Iowa Saturday evening at 6pm. Chattanooga finished up at the Bluejay Invitational with matches against TCU at 1pm and tournament host Creighton at 8pm.
Press Releases
Courtesy of Kansas Athletics
OMAHA, Neb. – Fourth-ranked Kansas volleyball improved to 8-0 with a 3-1 (25-12, 24-26, 25-17, 25-13) victory over Chattanooga at D.J. Sokol Arena on Friday. The Jayhawks complete their stay at the Bluejay Invitational in Omaha with a 2-0 record, and will travel back to Lawrence to face Northern Iowa at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
The Jayhawks have now tied for the fourth-best start to a season in program history, becoming the seventh Kansas team to start a season 8-0.
Kansas showed glimpses of dominance against Chattanooga (5-3) on Friday, holding their opponent to a hitting percentage under .100 for the fifth time this season, owning a 7-1 advantage in aces, and out-digging UTC by 23. But the Mocs – reigning Southern Conference regular-season champions – recovered from a 14-7 Kansas lead in the second set to go into intermission even with the Jayhawks, one set apiece.
After intermission, Kansas put the pedal to the metal by not giving up a lead during the last two sets.
“I was pleased with how we pretty much controlled sets three and four after the break,” Kansas head coach Ray Bechard said. “We don’t want to get in a habit of staying out there longer than we need to. Credit to Chattanooga though – they didn’t give up and fought hard.”
Junior All-American setter Ainise Havili and junior outside hitter Madison Rigdon recorded their third-straight double-doubles, respectively. Havili contributed 47 assists and 16 digs, while Rigdon went for 15 kills and 12 digs.
Junior All-American right-side hitter Kelsie Payne led Kansas with 19 kills on a .350 hitting percentage. Payne recorded 12 of her kills in the third and fourth sets to help close out the match.
UP NEXT
The Jayhawks play host to Northern Iowa in Lawrence on Saturday evening at 6 p.m. inside Horejsi Family Athletics Center.
Press Release
Courtesy of Chattanooga Athletics
OMAHA, Neb. – The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision to undefeated Kansas, the fourth-ranked team in the country, during the Bluejay Invitational in Omaha, Neb., hosted by Creighton University on Friday.
The Mocs tied the match at the break by picking up a win in the second set 26-24 after dropping the first set 25-12. Kansas claimed the match in sets three and four by winning 25-17 and 25-13, respectively.
With the loss knocks UTC to a 5-3 record this season. The win for the Jayhawks improves them to 8-0 and have now won 22 straight matches against non-conference opponents.
“I think when you play an elite and well-coached team like Kansas you have to start strong and we didn’t do that in any sets,” said coach Travis Filar. “That being said I loved our response and toughness in the second set (down 14-8). We chipped away and stayed the course with our game and ended up taking that set. Winning a set is not winning the match, but it’s a huge step anytime you can put pressure on a top-five team in the country.”
Chattanooga was led on offense by their senior leaders Kristy Wieser (Lincoln, Neb.) and Allie Davenport (Tyrone, Ga.) Wieser, playing in her home state of Nebraska for the first time as a Moc, completed the match with a team-high 12 kills on a .200 hitting percentage while adding four blocks. Davenport posted a double-double with ten total kills at a .200 clip and collected 14 digs in the loss.
Aiding to the offense was junior Lauren Greenspoon (Houston, Texas) who led the Mocs with 26 assists but also recorded four total blocks to help the defense.
Six different UTC student-athletes posted a kill in the match including sophomores Miranda Elpers (Louisville, Ky.) and Emily Plumlee (Chesapeake, Va.) with five kills each and freshman Brianna Anderson (Austin, Texas) who collected three kills and two blocks.
On the defensive side, three different Mocs finished with double-digit digs. Davenport with 14 digs, starting libero Rachel Petkosh (Merritt Island, Fla.) also ended with 14 digs and Elpers collected ten.
“I know we are not satisifed with just a set and we will be stronger tomorrow against two more quality opponents in TCU and Creighton,” added Filar.
The Mocs will return to action tomorrow with two matches. They face-off with TCU at 1 p.m. and then close-out the Bluejay Invitational against tournament-host Creighton at 8 p.m. Both matches will be streamed LIVE and can be found on the schedules tab.
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