photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas pin hitter Grace Nelson jumps up in celebration of a point against TCU in Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025.

As Kansas volleyball was trailing No. 10 TCU 21-15 in the first set on Wednesday night inside Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena, the team took a few collective breaths and began to find a cohesive rhythm.

“It felt a little chaotic at times, so we all just took a step back, breathed a little bit more, and just said, ‘We can play volleyball,'” KU outside hitter Rhian Swanson said.

The 14th-ranked Jayhawks stormed all the way back to take the opening set, 28-26, and continued to build on the momentum, defeating the Horned Frogs in straight sets (28-26, 25-16, 25-22).

It was the second time that KU played TCU this month, with the first match coming on Oct. 1, a 3-1 victory in favor of the Horned Frogs in Fort Worth, Texas.

Head coach Matt Ulmer described the team’s blocking as “tragic” in the first match and said it was a big point of emphasis coming into Wednesday’s match.

“We had a game plan of what we wanted to take away and how we wanted to play them and we’ve really been working hard on it; we did a great job,” Ulmer said.

The Jayhawk defense totaled nine blocks and limited the TCU offense to a .182 hitting percentage, its worst clip since hitting .162 at Baylor on Sept. 27.

Offensively, Jovana Zelenović led the way with 14 kills on a .500 hitting percentage, while adding two service aces, three digs and three blocks.

Swanson was close behind with 11 kills on a .290 hitting percentage, while also recording three blocks. Ulmer said postgame that it was the best that he’s ever seen Swanson block.

“Every day after practice I come in for extra reps because it’s such a mental skill for me,” Swanson said. “Just getting those extra reps really helps, and obviously it helped a lot tonight.”

As a team, KU hit .320 on the match with 50 kills and 11 errors on 122 attacks.

The Horned Frogs got off to a hot start of their own offensively, hitting .500 on their way to an 11-5 first-set lead, forcing a KU timeout. The Jayhawks used another timeout trailing 21-15 before a kill by Jovana Zelenović sparked a 5-1 run, forcing a Horned Frogs timeout, in response.

Ulmer said he felt like his team was “pretty generous” in the beginning and used the timeouts to reset the team and remind them of the gameplan.

“The biggest thing I said is, ‘We have to start understanding that we’re really good, and you don’t have to be perfect,'” Ulmer recalled. “I thought we were trying to place our serve perfectly on the line, everything just had to be right, and you don’t have to do that.”

TCU burned its final timeout just a few points later, after three consecutive KU points tied the set score at 23.

The teams traded the next six points before a TCU service error created set point, and a combined block by Zelenović and Aurora Papac gave KU the set-one victory in comeback fashion.

KU carried the momentum into the second game, taking a 6-2 lead following two service aces by Zelenović. Later in the set, the Jayhawks pushed their lead to 15-8 following a kill by Nelson on the backend of a three-point run.

The margin dropped to four right after Nelson’s kill on a 3-0 Horned Frog run, but timely points allowed KU to build its lead. An overpass kill by Papac put the Jayhawks at set point with nine potential opportunities to claim the match. They didn’t need nearly that many before Zelenović handed KU a 2-0 match lead and 25-16 set win with a rocket that deflected off a TCU defender and into the balcony.

After hitting .268 in the first set, the Jayhawks were even better in the second, hitting .421 with 18 kills and just two errors on 38 attacks.

“The second set was about as good as we’ve done against a very good team,” Ulmer said. “But again, I think (we had) just a lot of people clicking.”

The third set went back and forth to start as KU saw an 8-5 lead quickly vanish into a 12-11 score in favor of TCU. The Jayhawks won the next three points to reclaim the lead, and Rhian Swanson recorded a solo block to force the media timeout with the Jayhawks leading 15-13.

The Horned Frogs tied the set at 16 after an ace by Samara Coleman, and then the teams traded the next 11 points. Swanson landed a kill to give KU a 22-21 lead and Papac extended the lead right after with a solo block, forcing a TCU timeout.

Following the timeout, Swanson gave the Jayhawks three match points after an out-of-system kill, and Zelenović closed the match two points later by tooling the Horned Frog block for a kill.

Swanson had her best set of the match in the third, recording seven kills while hitting .500 on 14 attacks and no errors.

“I kind of struggled in the first two sets, but coming back in the third was great,” Swanson said.

The Jayhawks will be back in action on Friday night at 8 p.m. inside Allen Fieldhouse, taking on Kansas State as part of the Sunflower Showdown.

“We’re so excited,” libero Ryan White said. “It’ll be really, really fun to get in that energy and hopefully have more people seeing what we can do here.”

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas libero Ryan White dives for a dig against TCU in Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas head coach Matt Ulmer calls out instructions against TCU in Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas pinter hitter Rhian Swanson reaches up for a block against TCU in Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

The Jayhawks celebrate after getting match point against TCU in Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas head coach Matt Ulmer talks to the team during a timeout against TCU in Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas pin hitter Rhian Swanson reaches up for a block against TCU in Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas defensive specialist Molly McCarthy, middle blocker Reese Ptacek and setter Katie Dalton celebrate a point against TCU in Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025.