No. 21 Volleyball Hosts No. 21 Texas Saturday
Sept. 24, 2004
Lawrence, Kan. – Enjoying its highest-ever national ranking, No. 21 Kansas volleyball continues Big 12 play as it hosts undefeated No. 22 Texas Saturday at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center. The Jayhawks (10-1, 1-1 Big 12) and Longhorns (10-0, 3-0 Big 12) are both coming off 3-0 home conference wins Wednesday night.
Match time is set for 7 p.m. Saturday following the 2:40 football game at Memorial Stadium. Gametracker and post-match results will be available on kuathletics.com.
Quick Notes
Kansas Jumps Three Spots in National Rankings
After receiving its first national ranking in school history, the Kansas volleyball team jumped three spots in the Sept. 20 USA TODAY/CSTV Coaches’ Poll. The Jayhawks moved from 24th to 21st with a 2-1 record last week.
Five other teams from the Big 12 Conference are ranked in the Top 25: No. 7 Nebraska, No. 11 Texas A&M, No. 19 Kansas State as well as No. 22 Texas and No. 25 Colorado, who appear in the rankings for the first time this season.
Texas Preview
The Longhorns kept their win streak alive Wednesday night with a 3-0 victory against Iowa State. No. 22 Texas, the only unbeaten team in the Big 12, improved to 10-0 and 3-0 in league play after popping into the national rankings for the first time this season.
Texas leads the Big 12 with an impressive .346 hitting percentage and 1.91 service aces per game. However, the Longhorns rank 11th in the league in blocking (2.22 per game) and seventh in digs (14.41 per game).
Texas leads the all-time series 15-4, but KU has won the last three meetings.
There’s No Place Like Home
Like the Wizard of Oz verse goes, `there’s no place like home’ for Kansas volleyball. The Jayhawks are 5-0 at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center this season, including four non-conference and one Big 12 win.
Last season, KU was 11-4 at home including 8-2 in Big 12 contests. The Jayhawks lost only to Kansas State (2-3) and Nebraska (1-3) in league play in Lawrence.
Michaels Among the Top Blockers in the Nation
Senior middle blocker Ashley Michaels, a 6-1 senior middle blocker, currently ranks first in the Big 12 and second in the nation with 1.97 blocks per game.
The Jayhawks rank third in the Big 12 with 3.36 stuffs per game. Last season, KU finished last in the Big 12 with just 1.88 per game.
Jump to Schedule/Gametracker page.
Match notes in .pdf format.
