MATCH STATS
- #11 Kansas def. Texas Tech, 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-14)
- Kansas moves to 18-3, Texas Tech drops to 13-8
- Lawrence, Kansas
- Box Score
LAWRENCE, Kansas – In a three set battle on Saturday afternoon, the #11 ranked Kansas Jayhawks defeated the Texas Tech Red Raiders (25-22, 25-18, 25-14) in the Horejsi Family Athletics Center. The Jayhawks are now 7-1 in Big 12 play.
Kelsie Payne, senior All-American outside hitter for Kansas, put away 8 kills, hitting .273, to go along with 2 blocks and 3 digs on the match. Madison Rigdon, yet another senior All-American outside hitter for the Jayhawks, had 14 kills on an impressive .407 clip along with 8 digs. Sarah Redding tabbed 10 kills and a .304 hitting percentage for Tech.
Defensively, Allie Nelson led the Jayhawks with 17 digs, while Emily Hill contributed 13 for the Red Raiders. Ainise Havili recorded 11 digs of her own to go along with 34 assists for a double-double. Sophomore Zoe Hill accounted for 4 of the Jayhawks 12 blocks.
Both teams will continue with Big 12 play as the Jayhawks host Oklahoma and Texas Tech hosts Baylor.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy of Kansas Athletics
LAWRENCE, Kan. — No. 11 Kansas volleyball notched its 14th-straight win over Texas Tech with a quick three-set decision on Saturday afternoon in front of a sold-out Horejsi Family Athletics Center (25-22,25-18,25-14). Senior All-American outside hitter Madison Rigdon led the Jayhawks offensively, recording 14 kills and two aces in the one-hour and 11-minute sweep.
“Madison continues to produce for our offense not only from the pins but from the service line,” Kansas head coach Ray Bechard said. “She really put the pressure on them with her service game today.”
Before first serve, senior All-American setter Ainise Havili was presented with a commemorative volleyball by Coach Bechard in front of her home crowd for breaking KU’s all-time assists record last week. Havili added 34 assists to her career record — currently at 4,872 — along with 11 digs for her 18th double-double this season during Saturday’s victory.
KU’s defense was led by sophomore libero Allie Nelson, who recorded 17 digs — a career high in a three-set match for the Chicago native.
The Jayhawks limited the Red Raiders to 29 kills on a .105 hitting percentage. KU closes a strong week of defense by holding Tech and No. 24 Baylor to a combined .096 hitting percentage during a pair of sweeps.
The Jayhawks (18-3, 7-1 Big 12) conclude the first half of Big 12 play as winners of 26 of the last 28 league matches. In addition to 14-straight wins over the Red Raiders (13-8, 2-6), KU has won 16-straight sets in the series dating back to 2014. The Red Raiders were led by Sarah Redding‘s 10 kills on a .304 hitting percentage.
“Tech has made as big as an improvement from last year to this year as any team in our league,” coach Bechard said of the Red Raiders. “(Second-year head coach) Tony (Graystone) is doing an outstanding job. They played well despite not having their starting setter available today.”
The Jayhawks and Raiders went back-and-forth in a first set that featured 11 ties and six lead changes before KU prevailed, 25-22. Rigdon, sophomore outside hitter Jada Burse and sophomore middle blocker Mmachi Nwoke tallied four kills each in the first set as Kansas hit for a .316 efficiency to open the match. With KU up 23-22 late in the first, Nwoke shut the door on the Red Raiders with back-to-back kills to reach set point and to clinch set point, respectively, for the Jayhawks.
Texas Tech recorded the first point of the second set for a 1-0 lead, but that would be the last time the Red Raiders would hold a lead for the remainder of the match.
The Jayhawks responded with a 6-0 run that included two aces from senior defensive specialist Tori Miller. Later, senior All-American right-side hitter Kelsie Payne recorded back-to-back aces to give KU an 11-5 lead. Rigdon added four more kills and KU’s defense held TTU to a .028 attacking clip during the 25-18 second-set victory.
Kansas dominated in the third set, starting off with a 6-2 run and not looking back. With Kansas holding a 21-12 lead, freshman setter Annika Carlson subbed in for Havili to run the offense during the closing moments of the match. Playing in her second-career match, Carlson recorded three assists as Kansas secured the match. Burse, normally a three-rotation outside hitter, attempted her first-career serve on match point before Carlson assisted Payne with a match-clinching kill for the 25-14 third-set victory.
UP NEXT
Kansas begins the second half of the Big 12 Conference’s double-round-robin play as Oklahoma visits Horejsi Family Athletics Center on Wednesday night (6:30 p.m., JTV/ESPN3).
Courtesy of Texas Tech Athletics
LAWRENCE, Kansas – A shorthanded Texas Tech volleyball team fell in straight sets to No. 11 Kansas Saturday at Horejsi Family Athletics Center in Lawrence, Kansas.
The Red Raiders (13-8, 2-6) entered the contest without junior setter Missy Owens, who did not travel due to a concussion. Junior Kyndal Cowan stepped into the starting role and led a valiant Texas Tech effort that fell short, 25-22, 25-18, 25-14.
“The girls fought hard and gave a great effort,” head coach Tony Graystone said. “I thought Kyndal did a good job. Kansas is a top-10 team, and they looked like it today. No disappointment on our end. I thought Sarah (Redding) and Katy (Keenan) did really well. Their play got better as the match went on. It was good to see us fight like that.”
Cowan finished with a career high in assists with 25 and digs with eight. Sarah Redding led the way offensively with 10 kills at a .304 clip. It marked her fifth double-digit kill performance of the season, while sophomore Emily Hill chipped in seven kills and 13 digs and junior Katy Keenan added five kills at a .364 clip.
Kansas’s Madison Rigdon led the Jayhawks with 14 kills on .407 hitting and eight digs. Setter Ainise Havili recorded a double-double with 34 assists and 11 digs. They Jayhawks (18-3, 7-1), whose only Big 12 setback was to No. 3 Texas, hit .299 as a unit.
Tech got off to a strong start in the first, including an early 4-0 run that helped Tech gain an advantage through much of the frame. With the match tied at 18-18, Kansas closed the set with six kills in their final seven points, capped off with a pair from middle blocker Mmachi Nwoke to win the set.
The Red Raiders kept up the fight in the second set. Trailing, 18-10, Tech went on a 6-0 run featuring an ace by Hill and kills from Redding and White. The Red Raiders closed the run with a block from Atwood and White on the left side that forced a Kansas timeout. The Jayhawks would recoup to win the set 25-18.
Kansas took control of the third early on, but Tech put together a 4-0 run midway through the frame, including an ace from freshman Emerson Solano. The Jayhawks closed out the match, hitting .389 for the final frame.
UP NEXT
The Red Raiders will face another ranked opponent next Wednesday in Texas Tech’s annual Dig Pink match against No. 24 Baylor. First serve from United Supermarkets Arena is slated for 6 p.m. on FOX Sports Southwest Plus.
NOTABLES
- Texas Tech took part in Kansas Volleyball’s pediatric cancer awareness day by wearing gold shoe laces Saturday.
- The Red Raiders’ match against the Jayhawks was their second in a stretch of three straight matches against ranked opponents.
- Saturday’s match marked the midway point in the Big 12 season for the Red Raiders.
- Tech has already won more sets in 2017 than in either of the previous two seasons.
- Tech is one win from matching its 2015 overall and Big 12 win total.
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