Box Score | Photo Gallery

SAN DIEGO, Calif. -

LMU Volleyball's historic NCAA Tournament run ended in the Sweet Sixteen on Friday night, as LMU (24-9) dropped a four-set match to #9 Kansas (29-2) by scores of 25-19, 25-11, 21-25, 25-13. The Sweet Sixteen appearance was the second in program history, matching the furthest run into the NCAA tournament first accomplished in 1996.

Kelsie Payne led the Kansas attack with 21 kills on 40 swings for a .400 hitting percentage. Kansas hit .296 as a team, but the Jayhawk blocking efforts proved most impressive, as Kansas posted 15 blocks led by 11 block assists and one block solo from Tayler Soucie. Setter Ainise Havili dished out 49 assists to help Kansas to the solid hitting percentage.

Sarah Sponcil led the Lion offense with 13 kills, but was limited to just .154 hitting over 52 attacks. Senior Hannah Tedrow registered three block assists while accumulating 34 assists from the setter position, but LMU was held to just .050 hitting overall in the four sets.

Kansas came out strong in the first set, hitting .263 and receiving six kills from Payne. While the Kansas block registered only one block in the opener, they did well to limit the LMU attack to just a .156 clip. The Lions kept pace with the Jayhawks early in the match, finding themselves even at 11-11, but Kansas won six of the next seven points, including a pair on Payne kills, to open up a 17-12 advantage. The Lions managed to crawl within a pair at 20-18 following a Sponcil kill and a Kansas attack error, but the Jayhawks kept pushing toward the finish, eventually earning the 25-19 victory on a Sponcil attack error.

It was all Kansas in the second set, as the designated home team hit .300 while holding LMU to -.184 on the other side of the net. Payne kept playing at a high level in the stanza, posting five more kills on eight errorless swings, but it was the Jayhawk block that proved to be the difference. Soucie registered five block assists, while Payne added three of her own to help Kansas to eight total team blocks. The two teams played even to seven, but Kansas took the set in hand from there, opening up a 16-9 lead on a block from Payne and Soucie. Things only got tougher for LMU from there, as Kansas went on an 8-0 run down the stretch, turning a 16-10 advantage into a set-point chance at 24-10. The run included four Jayhawk blocks, and Kanas ultimately put the set away when Tedrow was called for a ball-handling error.

Refusing to surrender, LMU dug deep and posted a 25-21 victory in the third to force a fourth set. After playing even to 4-4, LMU won four straight, including one on a Sponcil kill and one on a block solo from Suaava, to take an 8-4 lead it would not relinquish. Sponcil had five kills in the third, while Jamie Lea added four of her own. The Lions, who posted three team blocks in the third, got another from Lea and Amber Mirabello to push the advantage to 10-5 and force a Kansas timeout. A Rachelle Suaava attack error allowed Kansas to draw within three at 16-13 and forced a Lion timeout, but LMU once again pushed forward to reclaim the five-point lead at 20-15 on a kill from Mirabello. Kills from Mirabello and Sponcil handed LMU a set-point chance at 24-19, where LMU eventually put the set away three points later.

Kansas closed the match strong by hitting .484 in the finale en route to the 25-13 victory. The Lions fell behind early in the fourth as Madison Rigdon posted a pair of kills to help guide Kansas to an 8-4 lead and force a Lion timeout. LMU hung close to 12-10 on a Lea kill, but the Jayhawks went on a 6-0 run to open the set up at 18-10. Without a timeout to slow the momentum, LMU saw Kansas finish the match on a 13-3 run to victory.

Kansas advances to the play the winner of top-seed USC and Creighton on Saturday night at 8 pm PT. LMU finishes the year with a 24-9 overall record. The 24 victories are the most for the Lions since posting 26 in 2003.