No. 15 Jayhawks Ace Conference Test vs. Texas Tech
Zelenovic and Grace Nelson tied for team-high honors with 12 kills apiece, while Rhian Swanson added seven and Reese Ptacek had six. Katie Dalton recorded a double-double with 26 assists and 14 digs, while Ryan White led the team with 15 digs.
The 12 service aces by Kansas is tied for third-most in program history in a three-set match. In addition to Zelenovic’s seven, which ranks second in school history for a three-set match, Ptacek had two aces while Nelson, White and Logan Bell each added one.
With the win, Kansas improves to 12-7 on the year and 3-2 in Big 12 play, while dropping Texas Tech to 8-9 (0-5 Big 12).
“I thought Ryan (White) set the tone early, and our servers followed her lead,” Kansas Coach Matt Ulmer said. “We were attacking with pace and confidence from the first point; that’s the mentality we need every night. When we serve with that kind of intent, it opens up every part of our game and allows us to stay on the front foot.”
In the first set, Texas Tech struck first, but Kansas quickly responded with a dominant 9-0 run. Nelson, Zelenovic and Ptacek each recorded kills during the stretch, while White added an ace to make it 8-1. Texas Tech called a timeout following an attack error, then came out with a 3-0 surge to cut the deficit to 9-4. The Jayhawks answered again with a 4-0 run, highlighted by two aces from Zelenovic, to extend the lead to 13-4. A kill from Rhian Swanson pushed the margin to double digits, forcing another Tech timeout. After a brief response from the Red Raiders, Kansas closed the set on a 6-0 run, reaching set point at 24-9. Texas Tech earned three more points to close the gap to 24-12, but the Jayhawks sealed the set with a kill from Nelson.
The Jayhawks opened the second set with a 3-0 run before Texas Tech got on the board with a point off a service error. Kansas remained unfazed, responding with a dominant 9-1 scoring run to push the lead to 13-2. The surge was fueled by a kill from Aurora Papac, one from Jovana Zelenovic, three from Grace Nelson and two more aces from Zelenovic. Tech halted the run with a kill but followed it with a service error that returned the serve to Kansas at 15-5. The Jayhawks maintained control throughout the set, despite Tech trimming the deficit to 16-8. Kansas continued its steady play, reaching set point off a Molly McCarthy service ace before Nelson sealed the 25-16 win with a kill.
Kansas carried its momentum into the third set, jumping out to a 5-1 lead behind back-to-back aces from Zelenovic, who finished the match with a season-high seven aces. Nelson added two early kills during the surge, while setter Dalton continued to orchestrate the offense efficiently. Texas Tech chipped away to close within 15-13, but the Jayhawks responded with another dominant stretch. Ptacek delivered consecutive service aces as part of a 6-0 Kansas run that pushed the lead to 21-15. Swanson sealed the match with two late kills, as the Jayhawks closed out the sweep with a 25-18 victory.
Up next, Kansas has one day between matches before hosting Iowa State on Friday night at 6 p.m. CT. The match will stream live on ESPN+.
