photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

KU senior Rhian Swanson spikes the ball past the hands of Iowa State's Morgan Brandt during the Jayhawks' match on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, at the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena in Lawrence.

After dropping the opening set on Friday night at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena, the No. 15 Kansas volleyball team cruised through a highly efficient offensive showing, taking down Iowa State 3-1 (21-25, 25-18, 25-20, 25-19).

As a team, the Jayhawks swung their way to a .377 hitting percentage, their best mark in six Big 12 Conference matches so far this season, recording 62 kills to just 13 attacking errors.

“Everybody showed up tonight offensively and really followed the game plan and did a lot of great things,” head coach Matt Ulmer said.

Setter Katie Dalton turned in a career night with 55 assists, surpassing the total of 54 she set against Penn State on Aug. 25. Dalton also recorded a double-double with 12 digs.

“She’s a really good volleyball player. She has great feel, good sense, she has a lot of experience,” Ulmer said. “I think she’s starting to find some connections with her teammates. Earlier in the year, I thought she had a really hard time connecting with anybody on the back sets, but that’s really coming together.”

Dalton agreed with Ulmer’s assessment: “I think it’s been kind of a long time coming. We’ve been working really hard in practices, and I think just finally finding that connection and being able to trust each other is awesome.”

From an individual perspective, outside hitter Rhian Swanson had a match-high 20 kills and a .474 hitting percentage, her best single-game clip of the season. Middle blocker Reese Ptacek added 17 kills and five blocks, while pin hitters Grace Nelson and Jovana Zelenović each chipped in 11 kills.

The Jayhawks got out to an early 6-3 lead in the first set thanks to a pair of perfectly executed slides between Dalton and Ptacek.

Ptacek says the connection between the two is coming together with each extra rep they are able to get.

“The reps we get outside of practice, I think it’s really been helping,” she said. “And I think it’s just continuing to (be) like, ‘What can I tell her? What can I do with her to get her to trust me to throw up that right-side ball?'”

KU’s offense executed at a high level from the beginning, holding a .538 team hitting percentage at one point and taking a 13-9 lead after Ptacek’s fourth kill of the set on another well-executed slide. Iowa State halted the momentum with four consecutive points to tie the score at 13 before the teams traded the next three points, as Swanson’s second kill of the match gave the Jayhawks a slim 15-14 lead at the media timeout.

Out of the timeout, the Cyclones flipped the script and gained all the offensive momentum for themselves, building an 18-16 lead before the teams traded points. After a kill by Swanson cut the deficit to 22-21, Iowa State won the next three points and claimed a 25-21 win in the opening game after redshirt junior outside hitter Nayeli Ti’a’s sixth kill.

Ulmer said that a lot of the mistakes made toward the end of the first set were internal, and his message to the team after the first set was to settle down and take better care of first contacts.

“I thought we would be kicking ourselves with some of the choices that we made, and just thought we were too excited,” Ulmer said. “I thought (Iowa State) was just moving us around a lot more.”

KU hit a scorching .357 in the first set; however, the Cyclones were slightly more efficient with a .395 clip.

After dropping the first set, the Jayhawks responded with a fiery start to the second. With the score tied at nine, Ptacek took over with two blocks and her ninth kill, forcing a Cyclone timeout.

Zelenović ignited KU down the stretch with a block and two kills, the second of which, on a tip shot, resulted in set point. Nelson evened the match at one set apiece with her fifth kill, as the Jayhawks closed out the set on a 6-1 scoring run, claiming a 25-18 victory.

After yet another neck-and-neck start in the third game, the Jayhawks created slight separation going into the media timeout following a kill by Nelson, which made the score 15-12. The Cyclones were able to stay in the set thanks to unforced errors by KU, who committed six errors as a team prior to the timeout.

Swanson propelled the Jayhawks to a five-point lead following three consecutive kills as her total climbed to 14 on the match.

Dalton says that she and Swanson are roommates and best friends, so the connection has come quite naturally between the pair, allowing Dalton to have a keen sense of when Swanson is ready to turn it on.

“She was just like, ‘Let’s go!'” Dalton said. “We’re like, ‘All right, let’s go ball out.'”

Back-to-back service errors by Iowa State later brought KU to set point before Ptacek fired a rocket off a slide to hold onto the 25-20 set win to take a 2-1 match lead.

KU had its best set of the match offensively in the third, recording 16 kills and just three errors on 31 attacks for a .419 hitting percentage.

The fourth set showcased another tightly contested affair with Ptacek giving the Jayhawks a 15-13 lead at the media timeout following a slide kill.

Out of the timeout, Swanson sent the home crowd into a frenzy with back-to-back kills, forcing an immediate Cyclone timeout.

“I love it so much,” Ptacek said of the Horejsi environment. “And knowing now that hearing the gym, it’s like a comfort feeling, it’s not like a shocking feeling.”

Added Ulmer: “I just think there’s so much character here. It’s not a building, it’s really a group. … I just think they give a lot of character, a lot of passion, and it really feels like one big team environment.”

Iowa State cut the KU lead to 22-19, but the Jayhawks remained unfazed and closed the match with three consecutive points, capped off by a kill from Nelson.

The Jayhawks will hit the road for one match next week, taking on Houston on Thursday at 7 p.m. Ulmer says the most important key in preparation for the lone match is prioritizing rest throughout the week.

“It’s not quite a bye week, but it’s about as (close to a) bye week as we get in our sport, so for us, could we try to recover a little bit while still getting ready to play our best ball at Houston?” Ulmer said.

photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

KU freshman Logan Bell digs a ball during the Jayhawks’ match against Iowa State on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, at the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena in Lawrence.

photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

KU freshmen Jovana Zelenovic (left) and Aurora Papac come down after blocking a ball from Iowa State on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, at the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena in Lawrence.

photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

KU freshman Logan Bell screams in celebration after a Jayhawk point against Iowa State on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, at the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena in Lawrence.

photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

KU sophomore Grace Nelson loads up to spike the ball during the Jayhawks’ match against Iowa State on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, at the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena in Lawrence.

photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

KU head coach Matt Ulmer organizes his team during the Jayhawks’ match against Iowa State on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, at the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena in Lawrence.

photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

KU senior Rhian Swanson sneaks the ball past Iowa State’s Morgan Brandt during the Jayhawks’ match on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, at the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena in Lawrence.

photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

KU sophomore Reese Ptacek rises up to spike the ball during the Jayhawks’ match against Iowa State on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, at the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena in Lawrence.

photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

KU senior Rhian Swanson watches as her spike travels past the Iowa State defenders during the Jayhawks’ match on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, at the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena in Lawrence.

photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

KU sophomore Reese Ptacek (10) attempts to tip the ball past Iowa State blockers Reagan Hanfelt (4) and Alea Goolsby during the Jayhawks’ match on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, at the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena in Lawrence.

photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

The KU volleyball team huddles prior to its match against Iowa State on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, at the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena in Lawrence.

photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

KU senior Katie Dalton sets a ball during warmups prior to the Jayhawks’ match against Iowa State on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, at the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena in Lawrence.

photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

KU senior Rhian Swanson passes during warmups prior to the Jayhawks’ match against Iowa State on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, at the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena in Lawrence.

photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

KU junior Ellie Schneider takes a ball during the Jayhawks’ match against Iowa State on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, at the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena in Lawrence.