PITTSBURG Pa. — After an unexpected run to the Sweet 16, the Kansas volleyball team’s season came to a close Thursday afternoon at Fitzgerald Field House, in Pittsburgh, where Pitt swept the Jayhawks, 25-19, 25-21, 25-18.
KU’s defense at times kept the underdogs in the hunt against a strong Pitt offense, but the Panthers finished with a .356 hitting percentage.
Rachel Langs led the Jayhawks (18-12) with six blocks and Anezka Szabo finished with five.
Down 15-11 midway through the third set, the Jayhawks soon found themselves in greater danger, as Pitt’s lead grew to 20-12. But that’s when the Jayhawks scored four in a row, with the help of a kill apiece from freshmen Camryn Turner and Caroline Bien.
However, a timeout by Pitt (29-3) helped one of the favorites in this year’s field regroup and win five of the next seven points to move on to the Elite Eight, and a Saturday regional final matchup with No. 6 Purdue.
The second set was tied at 8, before the Panthers began to create some separation, often with Serena Gray coming through with kills at the middle of the net, as KU fell behind, 17-13.
Following a timeout by KU head coach Ray Bechard, the Jayhawks steadily worked their way back into contention, even after trailing 22-16. It was at that juncture that they scored four in a row — with kills by Caroline Crawford, Jenny Mosser and Szabo, and an Audri Suter ace.
After cutting Pitt’s margin to 22-20, the Panthers took the second set, scoring three of the next four points, with two of those coming on KU errors.
KU opened the regional semifinal on fire, taking an 8-3 lead that prompted Pitt coach Dan Fisher to take a timeout.
A Panthers resurgence would follow, and Pitt evened the first set at 11, on consecutive aces by Panthers star Kayla Lund. Bechard called a timeout in response, after KU made three errors during Pitt’s run.
Even so, the Panthers kept the momentum after the stoppage, rattling off six more consecutive points. The Jayhawks couldn’t find a way to stop the wave of Pitt scoring opportunities, and the tournament’s overall No. 3 seed took control with a 10-0 run that put KU behind, 17-11, before the Jayhawks finally put an end to it on a Rachel Lang's kill.