No. 2 Volleyball defeats Kansas 3-1

LAWRENCE, Kan. --  Second-ranked Texas (11-0, 3-0) defeated Kansas (12-5, 0-3) in four sets (25-14, 25-20, 20-25, 25-21) on Sunday afternoon.

Senior Khat Bell posted a season-high 15 kills, while hitting .565 and adding five blocks.

Junior Amy Neal recorded eight kills and 15 digs, while senior Haley Eckerman had nine kills, seven digs and four blocks.

Junior Molly McCage led the Longhorns in blocks with eight.

As a team, UT posted 13.5 blocks to KU's 9.0.

Texas took control early in the first set, winning 13 of the first 18 points to take a 13-5 lead. Kansas rallied, but did not win more than three consecutive points and the Longhorns took set one, 25-14. Eckerman posted five kills in the set and Bell added four.

The second set was a different story, as there were nine ties and four lead changes. UT went on a 4-0 run at 10-10, but KU answered with four points of its own to tie it back at 14. From there, Kansas could not close the gap and the Longhorns took set two, 25-20.

In the third set, the Jayhawks had control, maintaining a two-point lead until executing a 5-0 run to take a 16-10 lead. The Longhorns tried to close the gap, but Kansas led by as many as eight and won the third set, 25-20.

KU jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the fourth set, but UT chipped away and won six consecutive points to take a 10-7 lead. Texas maintained a lead and led by as many as four, but the Jayhawks would not go away. The Longhorns maintained the lead and finished off the set, 25-21 to win the match.