March 29, 2024

Kansas Fights to Five But Loses at Iowa State; Tiana Dockery (Navajo) Has Double-Double for Jayhawks

AMES, Iowa –After knocking off the Iowa State (11-7, 3-4) in Ames a year ago, the Jayhawks (15-6, 3-4) would go on to lose in five sets at Iowa State inside Hilton Coliseum Wednesday night, 25-18, 16-25, 17-25, 25-21, 15-12.

Junior outside hitter Tiana Dockery (Navajo) chalked up her second double-double of the year with 12 kills and 10 digs. Fellow veteran, senior Chelsea Albers, put up season-high numbers in digs (21), assists (4) and blocks (5) in addition to her eight blocks. Spreading the offense around in an environment that proved constantly challenging, freshman setter Ainise Havili dished out 45 assists to combine with 11 digs for the 11th double-double of her young career. Behind them, sophomore libero Cassie Wait posted her fifth-straight 20-dig performance with an even 20 saves on the night.

“They’ve had success at home, but there was opportunity there for us,” head coach Ray Bechard said. “I guess to a neutral observer, it was a pretty competitive match. We’ve got to figure out some things as far as who we are when it comes to our competitive personality. This is not going to define who we are, but certainly it should determine how we prepare for our next match.”

Kansas will welcome former players back to Lawrence for its alumni weekend when the Jayhawks will take on Texas Tech, Saturday at 1 p.m. inside the Horejsi Family Athletics Center. The match will air on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel.