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Today the Kansas Jayhawks welcomed the Purdue Boilermakers, the Creighton Bluejays and the Belmont Bruins in to the Horejsi Center for the Jayhawk Invitational. Today, they had two matches: one against Belmont at noon Jayhawk time, and another against Purdue at 7:00pm.
Match 1: Belmont
#KUvball starters vs. Belmont:
— Kansas Volleyball (@KUVolleyball) September 8, 2017
S Ainise
RS Kelsie
OH Madison
MB Taylor
MB Zoe
DS Tori
L Allie
First Set:
Kansas pounced early, jumping out to leads of 7-2 and 14-7 before Belmont tried to get back into the set. They got as close as 19-16, but Kansas finished strong to win the first set.
Kansas wins the first set over Belmont, 25-18 #KUvball pic.twitter.com/gisYFGmsij
— Kansas Volleyball (@KUVolleyball) September 8, 2017
Second Set:
Belmont was able to jump out to a quick 2-0 lead, but it was all Kansas from there. They quickly tied it up and then went on a big run.
An ACE from Madison Rigdon moves her into 6th-place on #KUvball's career aces list (121)
— Kansas Volleyball (@KUVolleyball) September 8, 2017
S2 | 11-6
The Jayhawks built the lead all the way to 21-12 before Belmont went on a big run. They got it back to within 3 at 23-20 before Kelsie Payne and Madison Rigdon got back to back kills to finish the set.
Kansas goes up two sets over Belmont with a 25-20 second-set win #KUvball pic.twitter.com/u2ESIU5yJh
— Kansas Volleyball (@KUVolleyball) September 8, 2017
Third Set:
Kansas jumped out to a 6-2 lead before Belmont made a run to get back into it.
Kelsie Payne has 10 kills on a .438 hitting percentage, plus her second ace of the season! #KUvball
— Kansas Volleyball (@KUVolleyball) September 8, 2017
S3 | 8-7
Belmont traded points until it was an 11-11 tie, and then KU went on a run including 2 kills from Madison Rigdon.
Madison Rigdon now stands three kills away from 1,000 career kills #KUvball
— Kansas Volleyball (@KUVolleyball) September 8, 2017
S3 | 15-11
The Jayhawks made short work of the Bruins to sweep the match and get some extra rest before the match with Purdue.
KANSAS WINS!!! Your 8-0 Jayhawks will now face #17 Purdue later tonight at 7pm#KUvball #RockChalk pic.twitter.com/WH4wLtjs9r
— Kansas Volleyball (@KUVolleyball) September 8, 2017
Overall, this was a dominant showing by the Jayhawks. The real test was set for the evening matchup against undefeated Purdue.
Match 2: #17 Purdue
#KUvball starters vs. #17 Purdue:
— Kansas Volleyball (@KUVolleyball) September 9, 2017
S Ainise
RS Kelsie
OH Madison
OH Ashley
MB Taylor
MB Zoe
L Allie
First Set:
The Jayhawks continued their hot play from earlier in the day, taking advantage of sloppy play by Purdue (4 errors) to build an early lead.
Kansas off a 6-1 lead over Purdue in the first set! #KUvball
— Kansas Volleyball (@KUVolleyball) September 9, 2017
Purdue was able to keep the set from getting entirely out of hand, with the lead fluctuating between 4 to 8 points. Everyone got involved, and with the score sitting at 15-8, Madison Rigdon hit a big milestone:
Congrats Madison! #KUvball #RockChalk pic.twitter.com/gzg04LwJu0
— Kansas Volleyball (@KUVolleyball) September 9, 2017
From there, Kansas kept the pressure up and finished out the set rather easily.
#7 Kansas wins the first set over #17 Purdue, 25-18.
— Kansas Volleyball (@KUVolleyball) September 9, 2017
6 kills from Rigdon makes her the 16th Jayhawk w/ 1,000 career kills #KUvball pic.twitter.com/maJggOdcnr
Second Set:
Kansas continued their hot streak, as nothing was going right for Purdue and everything was going right for the Jayhawks.
Kansas comes out on fire in the second set, hitting .444 with two blocks #KUvball
— Kansas Volleyball (@KUVolleyball) September 9, 2017
S2 | 10-2
Purdue just couldn’t shrink the lead below 6, as the Jayhawks came up with big play after big play, including this one by Ainise Havili:
Ainise Havili ACE!!! #KUvball
— Kansas Volleyball (@KUVolleyball) September 9, 2017
S2 | 14-6
Kansas stormed to finish the second set, looking like they were going to sweep their second opponent on the evening.
Kansas takes a two-set lead over Purdue! #KUvball pic.twitter.com/3QcRz8riGP
— Kansas Volleyball (@KUVolleyball) September 9, 2017
Third Set:
Purdue finally found their footing in the third set, jumping out to a quick lead.
10 kills each from Madison Rigdon and Kelsie Payne tonight. Purdue out to a five-point lead in the 3rd set #KUvball
— Kansas Volleyball (@KUVolleyball) September 9, 2017
S3 | 3-8
Kansas tried valiantly to come back, but Purdue was finally able to string points together and keep the Jayhawks at bay.
Purdue takes the second set, 25-18. Kansas leads the match 2-1. #KUvball
— Kansas Volleyball (@KUVolleyball) September 9, 2017
Fourth Set:
Kansas got their swagger back, quickly jumping back into the lead.
Kansas jumps out to a 6-2 lead in the fourth, connecting for 5 kills on its first 6 attacks. #KUvball
— Kansas Volleyball (@KUVolleyball) September 9, 2017
S4 | 6-2
Once they jumped out to that small lead, they fought fiercely to hold onto it. Hot hitting kept them ahead by at least 4 points for the remainder of the set.
Kansas hitting .458 in the fourth set with a 20-14 lead #KUvball
— Kansas Volleyball (@KUVolleyball) September 9, 2017
The Jayhawks didn’t give the Boilermakers any opportunity to get back into the match, with Ainise Havili and sophomore Allie Nelson combining on a spectacular dig that should probably get a SC Top 10 spot tonight. I’ll try to find the clip and post it once I do.
KANSAS WINS!!! Jayhawks improve to 9-0 with a four-set win over #17 Purdue! #KUvball #RockChalk pic.twitter.com/CLkUzak9Oe
— Kansas Volleyball (@KUVolleyball) September 9, 2017
Kansas remains undefeated, and will put that record on the line again tomorrow in the Jayhawk Invitational finale against #9 Creighton at approximately 7:30PM. You can tune in online at www.kuathletics.com/radio or on WatchESPN.