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

Kansas celebrates winning a point during the match against Purdue on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Lawrence.

In Kansas’s first top-10 match of the season, the No. 10 Jayhawks got their revenge on No. 6 Purdue in four sets (31-29, 21-25, 25-22, 25-23) after losing to the Boilermakers in five sets during the 2023 season.

Coming into a match against the No. 1 team in the Big Ten in blocks (95) and the No. 1 team in the nation in blocks per set (3.52), the Jayhawks turned this disadvantage into a tool of their own. The entire first set was a clinic in tooling the block, as Kansas battled back from five set points to win 31-29 on Ayah Elnady tooling the block to force it into the antenna.

“We’re trying to go off the edges of the block instead of going right into the meat of (the) block. If you can find hands and try to go off the edges… it was pretty effective (in the first set),” said head coach Ray Bechard.

“I think we had a really good scouting report coming into this,” opposite hitter London Davis added. “I don’t think we changed anything that we do — all season we’ve been working on seeing high and trying to go off hands and that really paid off tonight.”

Camryn Turner was able to set up just about anything on offense all night, as she fed Davis (22 kills) at the pin, Toyosi Onabanjo (10 kills) and Zoey Burgess (eight kills) up the middle and Caroline Bien (14 kills) and Elnady (14 kills) on the outside.

“She was vintage (Cam Turner),” Bechard said of his senior setter’s performance. “Eleven or 12 assists a set is huge, and she had 59 in four games and then 17 digs to go with it. How many plays did she make that extended rallies? In volleyball terms we call that a baller.”

In a back-and-forth first game where the largest lead was three points, Kansas’s offense looked as balanced as it had all season. But within this balance, Davis’ seven kills were crucial to the Jayhawks eking out a victory, as she staved off three set points with four kills in the last 10 points of the game to lead the Jayhawks to a hard-fought win in the opening set. Elnady added on six kills of her own to add to the attack, as Kansas hit .273 in the first set compared to Purdue’s .153 hitting percentage allowed to opponents this year.

The atmosphere at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena helped invigorate the Jayhawks.

“You just could not stop smiling,” Davis said. “Even when it was 19-21 in the first set, we looked at each other and everyone trusted each other. We got energy from the crowd and it was a great time.”

In the second set, the Jayhawks took control early, but tough serving by Purdue’s Raven Colvin and five kills from Chloe Chicoine brought the Boilermakers even at 13-13. From that point, a Kansas service error and two Purdue aces combined with Chicoine’s consistency from the front row stalled the Jayhawk offense as they lost the second set 25-21 to give the rematch a clean slate once again.

After trailing for the entire third set, but continuing to keep it close, the Jayhawks took their first lead when it mattered most. That 16-15 lead wouldn’t last long as the two teams traded points until it was 20-20, but the Jayhawks and Davis clutched up just like they had when facing adversity in the first set, and rattled off a 5-2 run to win their second set and retake the lead. The last point of the set came on a monster block by Davis and the middle blocker Onabanjo.

“It’s harder when everybody in the gym knows where the ball is going, and they’re still producing,” Bechard said of Davis’s performance. “That was a breakout for London this year for sure, and there’s been times where Toy’s been that, Ayah’s been that, Bien’s been that, but London certainly carried the load tonight.”

With a 2-1 lead secured, Kansas came out swinging in set four, looking to put the Boilermakers away and avoid a fifth set like they had faced in last year’s matchup. The Jayhawks relied heavily on their outside hitters to start things off, as Elnady and Bien got Kansas out to a 6-3 lead.

Purdue continued to fight as it had all night, and even as the Jayhawks took a 20-18 lead, the Boilermakers came right back to tie the game at 20 before again coming back down 23-22. A kill by Bien on the back of a long rally gave Kansas a 25-23 victory in set four, ending things relatively quickly and giving the Jayhawks their biggest win of the season to start the tournament.

“I can’t imagine there’s a better tournament anywhere in the country,” Bechard said of this weekend’s Jayhawk Classic. “You just saw an instant classic. And tomorrow we get to see two matches of high-quality volleyball.”

The Jayhawks will return to the Horejsi court on Friday at 6:30 p.m. to take on Tulsa for their second match of the tournament, while Purdue will face No. 8 Creighton at 4 p.m.

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

Kansas sophomore Raegan Burns lets the ball go out during the match against Purdue on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Lawrence.

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

Kansas freshman Zoey Burgess attempts to block the hit during the match against Purdue on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Lawrence.

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

Kansas freshman Zoey Burgess is jubilant prior to the match against Purdue on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Lawrence.

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

Kansas wins the third set against Purdue on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Lawrence.

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

Kansas celebrates winning a point during the match against Purdue on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Lawrence.

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

Kansas senior Camryn Turner sets the ball during the match against Purdue on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Lawrence.