Wednesday, October 3
Lawrence, Kan.
7:30 p.m.
West Virginia University
8-9, 1-4Big 12
2
at
3
.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
Kansas
10-4, 3-0Big 12
1
2
3
4
5
F
West Virginia
25
25
23
9
7
2
Kansas
22
22
25
25
15
3
Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
WVU Falls to KU in Five Sets
October 03, 2018 10:22 PM | Volleyball
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Despite a 20-kill performance from outside hitter Katelyn Evans, the West Virginia University volleyball team dropped a five-set match to Big 12 foe Kansas Wednesday evening, inside the Horejsi Family Athletics Center, in Lawrence, Kansas. The Mountaineers (8-9, 1-4) fell to the Jayhawks (10-4, 3-0) in set scores of 22-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-9 and 15-7.
Evans paced WVU with 20 kills on the evening, while freshman middle blocker Kristina Jordan was one kill shy of double-digits with nine.
Sophomore middle blocker Katie DeMeo led the blocking efforts with seven, while freshman outside hitter Kristin Lux and junior right side hitter Natania Levak each added four.
Freshman setter Lacey Zerwas dished out 37 of the team's 45 assists, and sophomore defensive specialist Alexa Hasting had a team-high 18 digs in the match.
The Mountaineers posted 50 kills, 41 digs and nine team blocks in the loss. The Jayhawks had 58 kills, 54 digs and 13 team blocks. Jada Burse led KU's offense with 17 kills, while Allie Nelson had a team-high 19 digs.
After playing to seven lead changes and 10 ties throughout the course of the set, West Virginia scored four in a row, including a pair of aces from DeMeo, in taking the 25-22 first-set victory from Kansa. Down 21-18 late in the frame, West Virginia used its final timeout. The Mountaineers then capitalized on a trio of Jayhawk attacking errors out of the stoppage, tying the set at 21 points apiece. Both teams exchanged kills before DeMeo served up her first ace of the evening to put West Virginia ahead for good at 23-22. Kansas took a timeout, but Jordan and Lux teamed up for the stop, bringing WVU to set point at 24-22. DeMeo then served up another ace, as West Virginia walked away with a 25-22 victory and 1-0 match lead.
The second set started similar to the first, as West Virginia came from behind to knot the frame at 16-16 off a block from Levak and DeMeo. Another block from the Mountaineer duo gave WVU a slim 17-16 lead, as KU called a timeout. The Jayhawks then notched a trio of kills out of the stoppage for the 19-18 advantage, but back-to-back kills from Lux handed WVU the one-point edge once again. A Mountaineer service error tied the frame at 20-20, but Zerwas tipped the ball over the net to regain the lead. Kansas put down a kill, but Evans countered with a trio of her own to win the set, 25-22, as West Virginia took a 2-0 match advantage in to the third stanza.
Trailing 16-12 midway through the third, the Mountaineers used a trio of kills and a pair of Jayhawk attacking errors to their advantage for the 17-16 lead. Kansas called a timeout, capitalizing on back-to-back kills of its own, as well as a WVU attacking error, to regain the lead at 19-18. The Mountaineers called a timeout to regroup, as Evans tied the set at 20-20 off a kill. Both teams exchanged points down the stretch, with Levak and DeMeo pairing up for a Mountaineer block and the 23-22 edge late in the frame. However, the Jayhawks scored three straight to end the set in their favor, 25-23, forcing a fourth frame.
The Mountaineers momentum started fade in the fourth, though, as the Jayhawks used a pair of 3-0 scoring streaks midway through the frame for the 15-5 advantage. Evans put down a pair of kills, but Kansas scored six of the last seven points for the 25-9 fourth-set victory.
The Jayhawks jumped out to an 8-3 lead in set five before a kill from sophomore middle blocker Briana Lynch cut the Mountaineers' deficit to four. Levak and Evans each found the middle of the floor late in the set, but it wasn't enough, as Kansas notched back-to-back kills for the 15-7 win and 3-2 match victory.
The Mountaineers are four wins away from collecting their 700th win in program history. West Virginia currently holds a 696-732 all-time record since its inaugural season in 1974.
Looking ahead, West Virginia takes a break from conference play this weekend, returning to the court on Tuesday, Oct. 9, for a nonconference matchup with George Washington. First serve is set for 6 p.m. ET, at the Charles E. Smith Center, in Washington, D.C. The Colonials hold a 22-7 edge in the all-time series, sweeping the Mountaineers in their most recent meeting held in 2015.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Evans paced WVU with 20 kills on the evening, while freshman middle blocker Kristina Jordan was one kill shy of double-digits with nine.
Sophomore middle blocker Katie DeMeo led the blocking efforts with seven, while freshman outside hitter Kristin Lux and junior right side hitter Natania Levak each added four.
Freshman setter Lacey Zerwas dished out 37 of the team's 45 assists, and sophomore defensive specialist Alexa Hasting had a team-high 18 digs in the match.
The Mountaineers posted 50 kills, 41 digs and nine team blocks in the loss. The Jayhawks had 58 kills, 54 digs and 13 team blocks. Jada Burse led KU's offense with 17 kills, while Allie Nelson had a team-high 19 digs.
After playing to seven lead changes and 10 ties throughout the course of the set, West Virginia scored four in a row, including a pair of aces from DeMeo, in taking the 25-22 first-set victory from Kansa. Down 21-18 late in the frame, West Virginia used its final timeout. The Mountaineers then capitalized on a trio of Jayhawk attacking errors out of the stoppage, tying the set at 21 points apiece. Both teams exchanged kills before DeMeo served up her first ace of the evening to put West Virginia ahead for good at 23-22. Kansas took a timeout, but Jordan and Lux teamed up for the stop, bringing WVU to set point at 24-22. DeMeo then served up another ace, as West Virginia walked away with a 25-22 victory and 1-0 match lead.
The second set started similar to the first, as West Virginia came from behind to knot the frame at 16-16 off a block from Levak and DeMeo. Another block from the Mountaineer duo gave WVU a slim 17-16 lead, as KU called a timeout. The Jayhawks then notched a trio of kills out of the stoppage for the 19-18 advantage, but back-to-back kills from Lux handed WVU the one-point edge once again. A Mountaineer service error tied the frame at 20-20, but Zerwas tipped the ball over the net to regain the lead. Kansas put down a kill, but Evans countered with a trio of her own to win the set, 25-22, as West Virginia took a 2-0 match advantage in to the third stanza.
Trailing 16-12 midway through the third, the Mountaineers used a trio of kills and a pair of Jayhawk attacking errors to their advantage for the 17-16 lead. Kansas called a timeout, capitalizing on back-to-back kills of its own, as well as a WVU attacking error, to regain the lead at 19-18. The Mountaineers called a timeout to regroup, as Evans tied the set at 20-20 off a kill. Both teams exchanged points down the stretch, with Levak and DeMeo pairing up for a Mountaineer block and the 23-22 edge late in the frame. However, the Jayhawks scored three straight to end the set in their favor, 25-23, forcing a fourth frame.
The Mountaineers momentum started fade in the fourth, though, as the Jayhawks used a pair of 3-0 scoring streaks midway through the frame for the 15-5 advantage. Evans put down a pair of kills, but Kansas scored six of the last seven points for the 25-9 fourth-set victory.
The Jayhawks jumped out to an 8-3 lead in set five before a kill from sophomore middle blocker Briana Lynch cut the Mountaineers' deficit to four. Levak and Evans each found the middle of the floor late in the set, but it wasn't enough, as Kansas notched back-to-back kills for the 15-7 win and 3-2 match victory.
The Mountaineers are four wins away from collecting their 700th win in program history. West Virginia currently holds a 696-732 all-time record since its inaugural season in 1974.
Looking ahead, West Virginia takes a break from conference play this weekend, returning to the court on Tuesday, Oct. 9, for a nonconference matchup with George Washington. First serve is set for 6 p.m. ET, at the Charles E. Smith Center, in Washington, D.C. The Colonials hold a 22-7 edge in the all-time series, sweeping the Mountaineers in their most recent meeting held in 2015.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUVolleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Team Stats
WVU
KU
Kills
50
58
Errors
31
28
Attempts
151
137
Hitting %
.126
.219
Points
62.0
77.0
Assists
45
55
Aces
3
6
Blocks
9.0
13.0
Game Leaders
Kills
20
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
MB
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
DS
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballRS
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballVB: BYU Cinematic Recap
Saturday, October 04
2025 Volleyball Coal Rush Uniform Reveal
Thursday, October 02
Jen Greeny | Sept. 23 | ESPN+ Halftime Interview
Tuesday, September 30
VB: Dolphin Volleyball Classic Cinematic Recap
Sunday, September 21
