No. 9 Volleyball concludes regular-season road slate at Sunflower Showdown

No. 9 Kansas at Kansas State
Manhattan, Kan.
Bramlage Coliseum
Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015
7 p.m. CT
Match Coverage
TV Cox Kansas 22
Video ESPN3
Radio
Audio KUAthletics.com/radio
Stats KStateSports.com
Social Twitter | Instagram | #kuvball

Notes Link Kansas Notes

No. 9 Kansas volleyball (24-2, 12-2 Big 12) plays its last road match of the regular-season on Wednesday at Kansas State (17-9, 9-5). First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. Central from Ahearn Field House.

The match will be televised on Cox Kansas 22 and simulcast online through ESPN3. Audio coverage of the action can be heard online at KUAthletics.com/radio or on KLWN-AM 1320 in Lawrence.

QUICK HITS
SUNFLOWER SHOWDOWN, PART 2: Kansas visits the Little Apple on Wednesday night for the second chapter of the Dillons Sunflower Showdown against Kansas State. The Jayhawks won the first meeting of the season in four sets in Lawrence. With two regular-season matches remaining, K-State will be playing for a bid in the NCAA Tournament entering Wednesday’s contest with a No. 44 ranking in the NCAA RPI. No. 9 Kansas will look to secure its top-10 national ranking in the final week of what has been the most successful regular-season in program history.
BIG 12 STANDINGS: Kansas has clinched at least sole possession of second-place in the Big 12 Conference standings. If first-place Texas loses its final match of the conference season at Oklahoma on Friday and Kansas wins its last two matches, the Jayhawks would share the Big 12 regular-season title with the Longhorns.
ROAD SUCCESS: Kansas holds an 8-1 record on the road this season entering the final road match of the regular-season on Wednesday. KU’s only loss away from home was at No. 2 Texas.
TOP 10: Kansas remained at No. 9 in this week’s AVCA Coaches Poll released on Monday. The Jayhawks have been ranked in the top-25 for a program-record 12-consecutive weeks, including eight-consecutive weeks in the top-10. KU reached a program-high No. 7 ranking on Oct. 19. In the latest NCAA RPI rankings, also released on Monday, KU is ranked No. 8.
SOUCIE REACHES 100 BLOCKS, AGAIN: Junior middle blocker Tayler Soucie recorded seven blocks at West Virginia on Saturday to reach 100 total blocks for the third consecutive season. Soucie totals 102 blocks this season and 363 blocks in her career, which ranks seventh on KU’s all-time blocks list.
• WAIT HONORED: Junior libero Cassie Wait was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week on Monday. It is the first weekly award for Wait this season and the third of her career. Wait led the Big 12 in digs per set (5.7) last week while guiding KU to a three-set victory at West Virginia on Saturday. This season, Wait ranks third in the Big 12 in digs per set (4.8), while owning the only double-double by a Big 12 libero (21 digs and 10 assists vs. TCU). The Gardner, Kansas native now has 1,209 career digs to remain in fifth place on KU’s all-time digs list.
• PAYNE TRAIN ROLLING: Four-time Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week sophomore right-side hitter Kelsie Payne is the only player at the NCAA Division I level to rank top-50 in the nation in hitting percentage (25th) and kills per set (35th).
• FOUR-STRAIGHT WEEKLY AWARDS: Wait’s Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week nod is the fourth-consecutive Big 12 weekly honor for KU after sophomore right-side hitter Kelsie Payne earned Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week for three-consecutive weeks.
SOLD OUT: Kansas has sold out 12 matches this season, including seven advance sellouts: K-State (9/23), Iowa State (10/10), Oklahoma (10/21), Baylor (10/31) Texas (11/9), TCU (11/14), and Texas Tech (11/28). The Jayhawks average 1,396 fans per home contest in the 1,300-seat capacity Horejsi Family Athletics Center.
HIGH-OCTANE OFFENSE: KU is enjoying the best season in program history as one of the best offensive teams in the country. The Jayhawks rank top-5 in the nation in in kills per set (2nd), hitting percentage (2nd), and assists per set (2nd). Sophomore setter Ainise Havili ranks second in the nation in assists per set while guiding an arsenal of three Jayhawks listed on the Big 12 kills per set and hitting percentage top-10 lists, respectively.
20-WIN SEASON: The 2015 Jayhawks are the fastest team in program history to reach 20 wins in a season (21 matches), edging 1991’s squad which reached 20 wins in 23 matches. Kansas has reached 20 wins in four consecutive seasons and 15 seasons overall. 
SENIOR DAY IS SATURDAY: KU will host Senior Day on the final home match of the regular-season on Saturday at noon against Texas Tech. Three Jayhawks and their families will be recognized before the match. After the match, the group of seniors will briefly address the crowd. Fourth-year senior Tiana Dockery and senior newcomers Anna Church and Ashlyn Driskill make up KU’s 2015-16 senior class.