LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) – Kansas Volleyball suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, falling 3-2 (20-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-13, 13-15) to Penn State on Friday night in the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.
With the defeat, Kansas has its season end with a record of 24-6 while Penn State improves to 23-8 and advances to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.
“That was two hours and 40 minutes of really good volleyball, and it was really an honor to be part of that with this team,” said Kansas Head Coach Ray Bechard. “Congratulations to Penn State for moving on. I think we just need to reflect on a moment and all the joy and enthusiasm and good times that this team has given us. It felt more like an Elite Eight or Final Four match tonight than it did a second-round match. So, I couldn’t be prouder of our group.”
Set five started with seven different ties up through 7-7 and featured 11 ties overall, the last of which at 13-all. Kansas had a two-point lead at 11-9, but the next three points went to Penn State as the Nittany Lions regained the lead.
Cooper’s 29th kill of the game tied the set at 13-13, but a kill by the Nittany Lions gave them match point and forced a Kansas timeout. After the timeout, Penn State served up an ace to claim the set, 15-13, and the match, 3-2.
Cooper led the Jayhawks with a career-high 29 kills, which matches the Kansas school record set by Marina Garlington against Iowa State in 2008. She committed just three attack errors on the night and hit .464 in the match with 29 kills on 56 swings.