photo by: Chance Parker/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas freshman Reese Ptacek spikes the ball against Kansas State on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Lawrence.

Forced into its first five-set match of the year, the eighth-ranked Kansas volleyball team fought through inconsistency, an injury and a series of deficits to take down rival Kansas State 3-2 (19-25, 25-15, 20-25, 15-10) on Thursday night at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.

“Every year when we play K-State, it’s always a battle,” said senior setter Camryn Turner. “No matter what the team records are like, everyone comes to play.”

Middle blocker Reese Ptacek, the reigning Big 12 rookie of the week, completed a double-double with 11 kills and 11 blocks. Toyosi Onabanjo (14 kills on .571 hitting) and Rhian Swanson (12 kills) led the way for KU offensively before Onabanjo exited in the fifth set with an apparent ankle injury. Turner was steady as usual for KU with 46 assists, 21 digs and six kills of her own, as the Jayhawks shook off a sluggish start offensively to hit .248 on the night.

Outside hitter Aliyah Carter led K-State with 15 kills, but they were mostly offset by 13 attack errors, while the Wildcats also had a key player, sixth-year senior Liz Gregorski, go down hurt.

After a dominant weekend on the road for Ptacek and Swanson, head coach Ray Bechard stuck with his hot hands to round out his starting lineup as Ayah Elnady came off the bench to serve for Swanson and Onabanjo entered to serve for libero Raegan Burns. The Jayhawks also had their first home game with a second libero under this year’s new NCAA rules, as Molly McCarthy put on Kansas’ second blue jersey for the night.

The Jayhawks got off to a hot start, as Swanson tallied two quick kills and a block by Ptacek, Kansas’ first of the night, got the Jayhawks out to a 9-5 lead heading into the first media timeout.

From there, the Wildcats went on a 12-4 run. Kansas got back into things for a bit, as Onabanjo’s second kill of the night made it 18-16, but Kansas State rattled off another six-point run to grab its first set point and eventually won set one, 25-19. The Jayhawks finished the first game with 13 kills and 10 attack errors on 37 attempts to hit .081 while the Wildcats made only four errors and hit .286, which was nearly .100 points higher than their average on the year (.194).

The Jayhawks started out the second set with a good stretch and once again led, 15-12, at the first media timeout, but with this lead coming further into the game, they were able to establish an offense that hadn’t appeared in the first set. With a 6-3 run, Kansas took an 18-14 lead, forcing the first Wildcat timeout of the night, then another at 20-14 as they hit .429 with three errors and 12 kills on 21 attempts. From there, Kansas kept pouring it on, as Camryn Turner went on an eight-point serving run aided by Ptacek on both offense and defense as it avenged its first set performance with a 25-15 win.

“It’s pretty sweet (to have those moments),” Ptacek said. “I just try to do my best for our team. I’m just trying to help us win… I just go out there and give it my all because this team deserves my best and that’s what I’m going to give to them.”

After an abysmal start on offense, the Jayhawks hit .455 in the second set and committed only three attack errors while holding Kansas State to a .034 hitting percentage in the set and forcing seven errors.

Set three proved to be the most balanced of the game, as the largest lead was four and there were 13 ties and three lead changes, the most important of which happened when the Wildcats went up 21-19. Onabanjo, as she so often has done this season, put the team on her back with a kill, then an assist on a kill by Turner on a serve overpass to tie the game at 21.

“She just brings so much energy and power, so when she turns it on we know it’s time to go,” Turner said of Onabanjo.

Both players had a big moment of excitement after their game-tying point, showing what a rivalry game truly means to them.

“Everyone’s just a little snippy, and it’s K-State — we don’t like purple,” Turner added. “You just take a step back and it’s like ‘Oh, this is why I play volleyball,’ because it’s just so much fun.”

But from there, two errors in key spots — a service error from Bryn McGehe, who switched out serving for Burns and London Davis within the game, and a hitting error from Ptacek which ended the set — drove Kansas to a 25-22 loss.

The fourth set followed the same rhythm as the third with a back-and-forth game, but this time Ayah Elnady emerged at the center of KU’s offense. After recording just one kill across the first three sets, her three kills in the fourth came at key times to keep the Jayhawks in a close one.

“When it was her time, she did exactly what we thought she would do and came up with some clutch attacks,” Bechard said.

Tied at 18 for the second set in a row, the Jayhawks looked determined to reverse the fate they had experienced in set three. Ptacek and Onabanjo were the masterminds behind this, as Ptacek perfectly read a dump attempt by Kansas State’s setter and stuffed her on the second touch for a 22-20 lead. From this point, Onabanjo rattled off an incredible three-point stretch, starting with a big double block assisted by Davis before a high-velocity kill to get the Jayhawks to set point. Then she and Davis elevated again for a perfect block to win the set 25-20 and send Kansas to its first fifth set of the year.

After her heroics late in the fourth, Onabanjo was forced to the bench after sustaining her injury four points into the fifth and final set.

The Jayhawk offense went on a short lull following her departure but bounced back with a four-point run to lead 7-3. This forced the first Wildcat timeout of the set, and they were able to grab a couple of points back before freshman Zoey Burgess, who subbed in for her first action in the game in the fifth, elevated for a huge solo block as Kansas led by three as the teams switched sides.

“She’s out there experiencing the Sunflower Showdown for the first time, and Zoey and Toy are kind of spiritual souls. They’re connected in a unique way, so maybe that was Zoey’s way of telling Toy ‘Hey, I’ve got your back,'” Bechard said. “In a 15-point game, it could be just a couple of plays (that make a difference). You don’t have to play for two hours, you got to play for ten minutes. And at seven to five, that block by Zoey was huge.”

After some back-and-forth action, Ptacek took matters into her own hands, combining for a kill and monster double block with Elnady to give the Jayhawks an 11-7 lead and force another Kansas State timeout. The Jayhawks earned match point on a successful challenge by Bechard, but the Wildcats were able to fend them off for a bit. Elnady was determined to finish better than she started, and won the match on her seventh kill of the game and third kill of the fifth set.

For the first time all season, the Jayhawks experienced a nail-biting fifth set after having more than a few dominant wins in the first half of the year.

“You need a fifth-set (experience) because it’s going to happen again, and it’s going to happen at a key time,” Bechard said. “You can try all the bells and whistles in practice, but you’re not going to be able to create that type of stress and energy and enthusiasm like you’ll see in a fifth set in front of a pretty excited crowd.”

The Jayhawks will look to improve on their six-game winning streak on Friday in a quick-turnaround game at UCF, which has struggled so far in conference play.

photo by: Chance Parker/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas sophomore Ellie Schneider and the Kansas volleyball team celebrate after defeating Kansas State on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Lawrence.

photo by: Chance Parker/Special to the Journal-World

The Kansas volleyball team celebrates after defeating Kansas State 3-2 on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Lawrence.

photo by: Chance Parker/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas senior Toyosi Onabanjo celebrate after winning a point against Kansas State on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Lawrence.

photo by: Chance Parker/Special to the Journal-World

The Kansas volleyball team celebrates winning a point Kansas State 3-2 on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Lawrence.

photo by: Chance Parker/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas seniors Camryn Turner (left) and Toyosi Onabanjo (right) attempt to block a hit against Kansas State on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Lawrence.

photo by: Chance Parker/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas coach Ray Bechard talks to his team during a huddle against Kansas State on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Lawrence.