Kansas Defeats Iowa State, 3-1

LAWRENCE, Kan.- Mandi Harms and Renae Pruess had 12 kills apiece and Ashlie McWee had nine kills but it wasn't enough as Kansas defeated Iowa State, 3-1, on Wednesday night in Lawrence, Kan. With the loss, Iowa State's record falls to 9-9 and 0-7 in Big 12 action. Kansas improves to 13-2 and 4-2 in league action.

The Jayhawks were led by Josiane Lima, who had 18 kills and 11 digs. Three other Jayhawks had double-figure kill totals.

KU held a 70-44 kill advantage on the night and limited the Cyclones to a .105 hitting percentage. Defensively, the Jayhawks held the advantage as well with 90 digs to Iowa State's 70.

Game one was a battle from beginning to end as Kansas took an early 2-1 lead. The two teams would volley back and fourth until the Jayhawks took a two-point lead at 8-6. The Cyclones scored the next four points to take a 10-8 lead. ISU extended their lead to three points and then four. At one point, Iowa State led, 23-18, on the strength of a sideout and a Amanda Craig kill. With the score 25-21 in favor of ISU, the Cyclones scored the next four points to take a 28-21 lead. But KU wouldn't go away and rattled off the next six points to pull within a point. ISU's Mandi Harms and Renae Pruess chimed in with a key block to make the score 29-27, but Kansas scored four straight points to win the game, 31-29. Kansas held the advantage in kills with 18 to Iowa State's 13, but ISU held a .089 to .074 hitting advantage from the floor. Harms led the way for the Cyclones with four kills, while sophomore Brittany Dalager led ISU defensively with five digs.

In game two, it was all Kansas as the Cyclones couldn't seem to find their offensive power. The closest Iowa State would come was 4-6 early in the game. ISU had just seven kills on 31 attempts, while the Jayhawks had 16 kills on 34 attempts and just six errors. Ashlie McWee led Iowa State with six kills and Craig had nine digs for Iowa State's defensive effort. Mandi Harms had eight blocks while Renae Pruess had five block assists.

Iowa State was back on track in the third game. The Cyclones scored the game's first three points before Kansas got on the board. ISU continued to play well, leading by three points, 6-3, in the early stages. But Kansas scored the next six points and led, 9-6. KU's lead grew to seven, 16-9, until ISU score four points to pull within three. After the Jayhawks scored two quick points to make the score 18-13, Iowa State scored five straight times to pull into an 18-18 tie. After that, the Cyclones never looked back and won game three, 30-25. Iowa State had 13 kills and just five errors and 55 digs, while KU had 17 kills and 70 digs.

In game four, the two teams kept it close for the first half of the game and even had the score tied at 15-15 at one point. But Kansas scored seven straight points to make the score 22-15. After that, Kansas had control of the game. ISU pulled within seven, but KU went on to win game four, 30-23. ISU had 11 kills on 38 attempts and hit .105 from the floor. Kansas had 19 kills on 42 attempts and hit .160 from the floor.

The Cyclones will return home to take on No. 5 Nebraska on Saturday, Oct. 12, at Hilton Coliseum. First serve is at 1 p.m.

Players Mentioned

Amanda Craig

Brittany Dalager

Brittany Dalager

Mandi Harms

Mandi Harms

Ashlie McWee

Ashlie McWee

Renae Pruess

Renae Pruess

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