The Frogs were unable to fight off a strong Kansas attack Saturday afternoon as the Jayhawks defeated the Frogs 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-21) in Lawrence, KS.
The Frogs matched Kansas’ blows to keep the game tied on 15 occasions in the first set. The Jayhawks began to roll late in the set, and a Kansas run to win the first set 25-22 proved to be the difference maker in the match.
“Our team came out really strong in the first set,” head coach Jill Kramer said. “We sided out really well, and Kansas just sided out better. In the second and third set, we would start to make little runs of errors, and I have to say our effort was not quite as good there. We talked about that a little bit, and in the third set we dug ourselves a hole and then started to play hard again. You have to stay after it every single point.”
Junior middle blocker Anna Walsh led the Frogs with 12 kills on the match. This was her fifth time leading the team in kills this season and the eighth game this season she has tallied double-digit kills in a match. She finished the match with a .364 hitting clip, marking her ninth game this season with a hitting clip above .300.
Freshman outside hitter Allye Beth Deaton earned 10 kills on the match and redshirt freshman Abigail Buckingham totaled nine kills. Freshman libero Dani Dennison anchored the defensive backline per usual with 10 digs on the match. Dennison has earned double-digit digs in 13 of the team’s 14 matches this season. Junior outside hitter Ashleigh Martin recorded nine digs. Junior setter Lamprini Konstantiniduo led the team in assists for the ninth time this season with 22. Senior setter Kaylee Smith tacked on 16 assists.
With the loss, the Frogs fall to 8-6 on the season and 0-3 in Big 12 action.
Kramer isn’t worried about the losses, though, and said the losses haven’t represented the way the team has improved throughout the season. She believes this improvement will translate to wins in the short run.
“I think we are learning,” Kramer said. “I think we are much improved from last week, and I think a lot of the things we are working on in practice we are starting to see in matches and that needs to continue to happen. The girls just have to keep believing so they have to go out there and fight– keep believing and keep working hard. The Big 12 is a tough league and it is probably the toughest it has been awhile this year. We are just looking to get out and battle every single match, and that is what we have to be prepared for.”
The Frogs will return to The Rickel for a mid-week showdown against the Kansas State Wildcats at 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4. The match will be aired live on ESPNU.
