LAWRENCE, Kan. – The 16-8 (6-6 Big 12) Kansas Jayhawks will return to Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena on November 12 to take on the 7-18 (0-12 Big 12) West Virginia Mountaineers. First serve will take place at 1 p.m. CT and the match will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
Quick Hits
- Ray Bechard, who is currently in his 25th season as the head coach of the Jayhawks, has a career record of 17-6 against the Mountaineers. Bechard and the Jayhawks topped West Virginia 3-1 on October 19 at the WVU Coliseum.
- Bechard is tied for the second most wins all-time by a coach in Big 12 Conference matches only after defeating the Kansas State Wildcats 3-0 in Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena on November 2. Bechard is currently sitting with 207 Big 12 wins and tied with John Cook from Nebraska, with Jerritt Elliot from Texas at number one with 333.
- On November 5, super-senior Rachel Langs recorded her 500th career block against No. 11 Baylor in Waco, Texas. During the match, Langs totaled five blocks and currently has 502 blocks in her career.
- Junior Kennedy Farris reached a major defensive milestone on November 2 as the Kansas native collected her 1,000th career dig against the Kansas State Wildcats. Farris is heading into Saturday’s match with 1,012 digs as a Jayhawk.
- Kansas leads the Big 12 Conference in blocks, averaging 2.62 blocks per set, with Langs leading KU with 1.12 blocks per set. The Jayhawks are third in the conference in opponent hitting percentage at .184.
Side-by-Side Comparison
- Kansas leads West Virginia in kills per set, 12.76-11.37.
- The Jayhawks top the Mountaineers in assists per set, 11.71 to 10.43.
- KU edges WVU in digs per set with Kansas tallying 13.69 and West Virginia recording 13.13.
- In blocks per set, Kansas averages 2.62 blocks per set, while West Virginia averages 2.20.
- The Jayhawks lead the Mountaineers 16.68 to 14.99 in points per set.
Series History
The Jayhawks and Mountaineers last met on October 19 in Morgantown. Kansas walked away victorious with a 3-1 win. Sophomore Caroline Bien led the Jayhawks offensively, hitting .310 with 17 kills. Super-senior Anezka Szabo added 10 kills, while hitting .227. On the defensive end, freshman Brynn Kirsch had 18 digs and graduate transfer Lauren Dooley tallied 11 total blocks for Kansas.
KU Leaderboard
- Sophomore Camryn Turner has tallied 13 double-doubles in 24 matches. Turner had double-doubles against LMU (8/27), Army (9/2), UConn (9/3), Kansas City (9/7), Lipscomb (9/15), Omaha (9/17), Kansas State (9/24), Baylor (10/1), Iowa State (10/7), TCU (10/12), West Virginia (10/19), Kansas State (11/2) and Baylor (11/5). Recently, Turner collected 26 assists and 11 digs against Baylor on November 5.
- Redshirt freshman Ayah Elnady is leading the Jayhawks with 251 kills, while sophomore Caroline Bien is second with 238. Super-senior Anezka Szabo has recorded 158 kills for Kansas.
- Elnady currently has 33 service aces on the season with a school record seven aces in a five-set match against Texas Tech on October 15.
- Dooley has 58.5 blocks on the season.
- Junior Kennedy Farris has recorded 261 digs in the 90 sets Kansas has played this season.
Up Next
Kansas will take on No. 1 Texas on Wednesday (November 15) in Austin, Texas at the Gregory Gymnasium. First serve will take place at 6 p.m. CT and be streamed on the Longhorn Network.
