photo by: Carter Gaskins/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas' Reagan Cooper (8) tips the ball over Baylor's Allie Sczech (4) at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023.

In a sold-out matchup of top-25 teams, No. 17 Kansas volleyball swept No. 23 Baylor, 25-16, 27-25, 25-21, on Wednesday night at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.

A big story of the night was Reagan Cooper making her return to the court for the first time since getting injured in Kansas’ Nov. 3 match against Kansas State. Cooper finished with a monster game, leading the team in kills (17) and hitting percentage (.516) in her return to action.

Cooper’s return was quick, but she was able to be successful with the support of her teammates and training staff.

“Mostly just having the support of my teammates made me even more comfortable and also just the adrenaline of being in-game again,” she said. “It kind of put me back in that spot that I was in before (the injury).”

Cooper was unsure if she would play in Wednesday’s game up to the last minute, deciding she was good to go after taking warm-ups with the team.

She got Kansas going immediately upon entering the game, coming up with a huge block to put the Jayhawks up 6-3 in the first set. After another block and two more kills, Cooper and the Jayhawks went up 12-7. A four-point run by Kansas forced the Bears to take their second timeout of the night with the Jayhawks leading by eight points. Baylor rattled off a few multi-point scoring runs to stay in it, but ultimately, Kansas maintained a healthy lead all the way to the end. The Jayhawks won the first set 25-16 on Mykayla Myers’ second kill of the game.

Kansas continued its season-long approach of using a balanced offense, as the first set ended with Cooper, Toyosi Onabanjo and Ayah Elnady tied for the team lead in kills at three apiece.

Kansas got off to a slow start following its comfortable win, falling into a quick 4-1 hole. The Jayhawks then lost the next point on an Onabanjo kill that was initially called out, but head coach Ray Bechard challenged the call for a touch. After a lengthy review, the call was reversed to make it 4-2, much to the dismay of the Baylor staff and players, as a delay ensued while they talked separately to referees. Ultimately, Baylor’s head coach, Ryan McGuire, was issued a yellow card, and play resumed. Things remained closely matched as Kansas tied the set at nine on a kill by Elnady, and again at 12-12 on Cooper’s powerful seventh kill of the night. Kansas found itself trailing 18-16 after back-to-back Baylor kills following another challenge, forcing its first timeout of the match. Another timeout was called by the Jayhawks down 21-18 with their comeback chances dwindling.

An ace by Baylor’s Elise McGhee and a service error by Elnady got the Jayhawks into a 23-19 hole. Cooper kept Kansas in the game, rattling off back-to-back kills to shrink its deficit to two points. The Jayhawks kept faith in Cooper, going to her for a third kill in a row to trail by one before a battle at the net tied it, 23-23. After Baylor got to its first set point of the match, Cooper’s 10th kill of the set followed by a Myers kill got Kansas to set point, and a kill by Elnady won the Jayhawks the set, 27-25.

“We kept feeding her because she was making it happen,” Bechard said about Cooper’s dominance late in the second set.

Cooper’s return was a big boost offensively to the Jayhawks, as she had 13 kills after the second set, hitting .591 with no errors. In the closest set of the match, Baylor and Kansas both proved their offensive prowess.

“They had 22 kills and no errors (in the set), which is very efficient. And we had 22 kills and one error, so that’s about as good an offense as I’ve seen in a long time,” Bechard said.

The Big 12 Conference foes traded blows through the beginning of the third set, as Kansas found itself trailing 11-8 early on. A couple of Baylor service errors kept the Jayhawks close, as Katie Dalton somehow ducked out of the way to let a Baylor hit land out of bounds and get Kansas into a 13-12 deficit. A crafty tip by London Davis got Kansas its first lead of the set before the Bears fought back to regain a 17-16 lead. Myers and Elnady then combined for the Jayhawks’ first block since the first set, before a two-point Baylor run forced Kansas to call timeout. The Jayhawk timeout iced McGhee, as she missed her third serve of the game to get the deficit back to one. The Bears then were forced to call their own timeout trailing 20-19 late in the third set. After its six-point run to take the lead, Kansas dropped back-to-back points to make it 23-21 before it called a timeout and eventually claimed the victory.

After back-to-back five set matches against Iowa State this past weekend, a clean three-game sweep was much needed for the Jayhawks in this crunch-time end to the season.

“We played for about six hours there over two days, so we were pretty exhausted both mentally and physically,” Bechard said. “We gave them Sunday off, we were very light Monday, very light Tuesday, so we needed a (shorter game) today. I think that was key to get it done in three.”

The Jayhawks are undefeated in conference play at home thus far, with only senior night versus UCF remaining on their home schedule. This success at home allowed Kansas to bounce back after a long weekend in Ames.

“In this league, if you’re not at your very best, you’re going to have trouble. Certainly tonight I think we bounced back,” Bechard said.

These last three matches hold high stakes for the battling Jayhawks. After dropping to No. 17 in this week’s AVCA poll, Kansas sits right on the cusp of getting the chance to host the first round of playoffs in its home arena. Though they’re focusing on winning out, Bechard and the Jayhawks are aware of this looming goal.

“I think it’s impossible not to think about it, but we can only control what we can control. Other teams are hoping for the same thing, so we got to finish strong and see where that takes us,” Bechard said.

“It’s definitely a goal and we have been talking about it. We were talking about it pretty loosely but now that it’s really close to the tournament and it’s actually in our grasp, we’re like ‘Okay, let’s use what we have, the talent that we have on this team and our competitive drive and actually try and meet that goal because it is possible,'” Cooper added.

Kansas will have a quick turnaround to its next game, as it will take on No. 13 BYU in Provo on Friday at 8 p.m.

photo by: Carter Gaskins/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas’ Ayah Elnady (17) goes up for the spike against Baylor Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023, at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.

photo by: Carter Gaskins/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas’ London Davis (21) celebrates a point with her teammates Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023, at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena against Baylor.

photo by: Carter Gaskins/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas’ Ayah Elnady (17) recovers a ball Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023, at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena against Baylor.

photo by: Carter Gaskins/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas’ Mykayla Myers (12) spikes a ball through the hands of Baylor’s Alicia Andrew (18) and Kendal Murphy (11) Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023, at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.

photo by: Carter Gaskins/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas’ Raegan Burns (3) and Ayah Elnady (17) watch a ball sent over by Baylor Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023, at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.

photo by: Carter Gaskins/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas’ London Davis (21) jumps to spike the ball as Baylor’s Elise McGhee (21) and Manuela Bibinbe (20) attempt to block Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023, at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.

photo by: Carter Gaskins/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas’ Raegan Burns (3) digs a low ball at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023, against Baylor.

photo by: Carter Gaskins/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas’ Mykayla Myers (12) looks to score a point at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023, against Baylor.

photo by: Carter Gaskins/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas’ Ayah Elnady (17) serves at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023, against Baylor.

photo by: Carter Gaskins/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas’ Raegan Burns (3) celebrates in the arms of Toyosi Onabanjo (11) and teammates after a point at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023, against Baylor.

photo by: Carter Gaskins/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas’ Reagan Cooper (8) celebrates a block at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023, against Baylor.

photo by: Carter Gaskins/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas’ Toyosi Onabanjo (11) celebrates with teammates after a point was scored at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023, against Baylor.