Kansas volleyball falls to Nebraska in second round of 2022 NCAA Tournament
Despite a late rally, the Kansas volleyball team had its season end Friday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Jayhawks fell 3-1 to host Nebraska at Devaney Center in Lincoln, Nebraska.
The second-seeded Cornhuskers (26-5) will advance to the NCAA Regional for an 11th consecutive season. They also eliminated the Jayhawks in the 2015 Final Four, the last time the two teams met.
This was KU’s 11th tournament appearance and eighth time reaching the second round. It is the second straight year the Jayhawks (19-11) have lost in the second round. On Thursday, KU defeated No. 7 seed Miami (FL) in advancing to face Nebraska.
Nebraska won the first two sets on Friday, 25-14 and 25-18. However, the Jayhawks bounced back to win the third set 25-19. The fourth set was back and forth between the two schools, but the Huskers ultimately prevailed 26-24.
Despite the loss, Kansas coach Ray Bechard was proud of his team’s effort.
“We gave ourselves a chance after getting off to such a slow start, especially offensively. I thought we defended fairly well throughout,” Bechard said after the match. “There was a group of Jayhawks who were really fighting hard and working together well and I’m really proud of them. A lot of fans will go away from the building tonight with a respect for how this team represented themselves and the university.”
Nebraska’s Lindsay Krause led the Cornhuskers with 13 kills, while teammates Madi Kubik and Ally Batenhorst added 10 each.
McPherson-native Rhian Swanson had 14 kills for Kansas, while Caroline Bien, from Overland Park, added 11. Camryn Turner, a Topeka native, posted 36 assists while adding eight digs and assisting on six blocks.
As a team, Kansas hit .152 with 45 kills and committed 22 attack errors. By comparison, Nebraska hit .232 with 58 kills and 23 attack errors.
