Kansas snaps losing streak

? Kansas University’s volleyball team halted a five-match skid with a five-game victory over Iowa State on Wednesday night at Hilton Coliseum.

The Jayhawks (11-6 overall, 2-6 Big 12 Conference) defeated the Cyclones, 30-23, 29-31, 28-30, 30-24 and 15-5. With the loss, ISU dropped to 8-9 and 1-8 in the league.

“It was good to get some momentum from this win, and hopefully we’ll be able to take it into the match against Missouri,” KU head coach Ray Bechard said of Saturday night’s Border Showdown clash. “Game four really won this match for us tonight, and we showed good signs in game five.

“It was nice to get a hard-fought win, and we look forward to playing another important match on Saturday.”

The Jayhawks will play host to the Tigers at 7 p.m. Saturday at Horejsi Center.

KU led by as many as eight points early in game one after three kills from Josi Lima and two from Emily Brown, of Baldwin. The Jayhawks capitalized off six ISU service errors to take a 29-22 lead and held on for the win. KU hit .368 and was led by Lima (six kills) and Ashley Michaels (five kills).

After winning game two, 31-29, Iowa State pulled ahead 18-14 in game three. The Jayhawks received two points on a reversed call and ISU rotation error, rallying to tie the game at 25-25. After two kills by Brown, ISU turned two bad Kansas passes into kills to win, 30-28. The Cyclones hit .412 in the game.

KU took a 15-11 lead in game four behind strong jump serves from Jana Correa, but ISU closed the gap to 17-16. The Jayhawk offense picked up and overcame a few long rallies to top ISU, 30-24, and force a decisive game five.

KU came out swinging in the finale and took a 7-3 lead after three straight kills. The Jayhawks never looked back, winning 15-5 on a .400 hitting mark in the final game.

Michaels led KU with 22 kills on a .391 attack percentage. Lima added 18 kills (.351) and added 15 digs and four total blocks. Correa and Brown (.393) each had 12 kills in the win, and junior Paula Caten had eight of her own.

The Jayhawks tallied a season-high 86 digs.