Sooners Bested by No. 8 Jayhawks

Oklahoma

⁸Kansas

Set Scores
Team	1	2	3
Oklahoma	17	13	27
⁸ Kansas	25	25	29

Stat Comparison
Category	Oklahoma	Kansas
Kills	32	45
Pct.	.092	.242
Digs	59	60
Blocks	5.0	8.0

Individual Leaders
Category	Oklahoma	Kansas
Kills	Two Players - 8	Two Players - 10
Assists	Alford - 30	Havili - 37
Digs	Gardiner - 16	Wait - 23
Blocks	Hazelwood - 3	Soucie - 5

LAWRENCE, Kan. – The University of Oklahoma volleyball team lost its Big 12 conference opener at No. 8 Kansas, 3-0, at the Horesji Center on Wednesday evening. The Sooners dropped to 9-5 overall and 0-1 in league games, while the Jayhawks improved to 12-1 and 1-0.

The straight-sets loss came by scores of 25-17, 25-13 and 29-27. Oklahoma used a 3-0 run in the first to close an early gap to 13-11, but Kansas answered with four in a row before pulling away. The Jayhawks were staked to an early 4-0 lead in the second that forced a Sooner timeout and paved the way for a quick victory as they hit .300 for the set.

Oklahoma overcame a 3-0 Kansas start in the third and claimed its first lead of the set at 9-8 on back-to-back kills from senior outside hitter Kimmy Gardiner (Grapevine, Texas). In a set that featured 17 ties and 12 lead changes, the Sooners twice had set-point with a chance to force a fourth, including a 26-25 advantage following a combination block from redshirt-senior outside hitter Madison Ward (Lawton, Okla.) and junior middle blocker Marion Hazelwood (Beach City, Texas).

The Jayhawks got to their second match-point of the night before committing a service error out of a Sooner timeout, but ultimately put the game away on a kill from Patricia Montero.

Taylor Soucie, who hit a match-high .444, tied for the Kansas lead in kills with Madison Rigdon at 10. Soucie posted five blocks and Rigdon registered a double-double with 11 digs. Setter Ainise Havili collected 37 assists and added 10 digs in a double-double effort. Libero Cassie Wait grabbed a match-leading 23 digs.

Gardiner and Hazelwood led the OU attack, which hit just .092, with eight kills apiece. Defensively, Gardiner led the Sooners with 16 digs and Hazelwood with three blocks. Ward contributed eight digs and seven kills.

Sophomore setter Audrey Alford (Norman, Okla.) dished out 30 assists and grabbed eight digs, while redshirt-sophomore libero Rachel Manriquez (Edmond, Okla.) reached double figures in digs with 10.

Oklahoma is off this weekend and returns home to face No. 5 Texas on Wednesday, September 28. The game will serve as the team's annual “Pledge for a Cure” match and will air nationally on ESPNU.