by LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas volleyball continued its winning ways with a three-set victory (25-15, 25-9, 25-16) over Baylor on Saturday afternoon in front of a sold-out crowd at Horejsi Family Athletic Center.
Kansas (21-1, 9-1 Big 12) completed the season sweep over Baylor with standout performances by sophomores Kelsie Payne and Madison Rigdon. Payne logged 11 kills and one block-assist while Rigdon claimed 10 kills, an ace, six digs and one block.
“From start to finish that was a pretty solid match for the Jayhawks,” head coach Ray Bechard said. “We won the majority of the longer rallies, which was great for keeping the momentum. We out-dug them by 17, served tough, and defensively played really well.”
The Jayhawk did not trail for the entire match while holding Baylor (14-9, 2-7 Big 12) to a .133 attacking percentage and forced 11 errors on the day.
Two 3-point runs got the Jayhawks out to an early 9-4 lead in the first set. Swarming defense kept the Bears from climbing back into the game. With the score 14-8, senior Anna Church converted back-to-back digs to keep the point alive. Her teammates matched the effort with two blocks that eventually set up a kill by Rigdon. Sophomore Ainise Havili tallied 16 assists while junior Janae Hall and Rigdon combined for 10 of KU’s 20 kills in the 25-15 opening set.
The Jayhawks carried the intensity into the following set and resumed play with six unanswered points. Once again, KU did not look back.
Payne and junior Taylor Soucie led the way with four kills each. Leading 17-7, Payne and senior Ashlyn Driskill combined for four kills in a row. Three consecutive Baylor errors extended the Kansas run to seven straight points. The Bears earned one more point to extend the set to 24-8 before a service error awarded the second set of the afternoon to Kansas.
Baylor kept things close in the opening moments of the final set, but the Jayhawks did not back down. Eight consecutive points from errors on both sides pushed the score to 14-10 in favor of the Jayhawks. After a long rally extended by impressive digs from senior Tiana Dockery (Navajo Nation) and junior Cassie Wait, Payne slammed home a booming kill to give KU a five-point lead, forcing a Baylor timeout.
