🏐 Kansas Plays No. 1 Texas on Wednesday Evening

LAWRENCE, Kan. –Β The 17-8 (7-6 Big 12) Kansas Jayhawks will take on No. 1 Texas on Wednesday (November 16) in Austin, Texas at the Gregory Gymnasium. First serve will take place at 6 p.m. CT and be televised on the Longhorn Network.

Quick Hits

  • Ray Bechard is in his 25th season as the head coach of the Jayhawks. Bechard and the Jayhawks dropped to Texas 3-2 in a five-set thriller on September 21 at the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena.
  • Bechard ranks second all-time in Big 12 Conference wins after the Jayhawks topped the West Virginia Mountaineers in Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena on November 12. Bechard currently has 208 Big 12 Conference wins. Only Jerritt Elliot (333) has more wins in Big 12 Conference matches.
  • 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 504 blocks in her career.
  • Junior Kennedy Farris was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday (November 15) after recording 20 digs, averaging 6.67 digs per set, against West Virginia on November 12. Farris helped KU keep West Virginia below .175 hitting percentage in three sets.
  • Kansas leads the Big 12 Conference in blocks, averaging 2.63 blocks per set, with graduate transfer Lauren Dooley leading KU with 1.13 blocks per set. The Jayhawks are tied with Texas for second in the conference in opponent hitting percentage at .179.

Side-by-Side Comparison

  • Kansas leads Texas in digs per set, 13.77-13.67.
  • The Jayhawks top the Longhorns in blocks per set, 2.63 to 2.30.
  • Both Texas and KU hold their opponents to .179 hitting percentages.

Series History

The Jayhawks and Longhorns last met on September 21 in Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena, with Texas ending victorious 3-2. Kansas was the first team to take Texas to five sets for the 2022 season. Redshirt freshman Ayah Elnady led the Jayhawk offense with 15 kills, hitting .209. Super-senior Anezka Szabo and graduate transfer Lauren Dooley tallied six total blocks in five sets.

KU Leaderboard

  • Sophomore Camryn Turner has tallied 14 double-doubles in 25 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, 11/2), Baylor (10/1, 11/5), Iowa State (10/7), TCU (10/12), West Virginia (10/19, 11/12). Recently, Turner collected 24 assists and 11 digs against West Virginia on November 12.
  • Redshirt freshman Ayah Elnady is leading the Jayhawks with 254 kills, while sophomore Caroline Bien is second with 243. Super-senior Anezka Szabo has recorded 169 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 281 digs in the 93 sets Kansas has played this season.

Up Next

Kansas will host Iowa State for their Senior Day on Saturday (November 19) at 11 a.m. CT in front of a sold out Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena, the Jayhawks fifth consecutive sell out. Prior to the match, Kansas will recognize six seniors who have contributed to the volleyball program, Anezka Szabo, Gracie Van Driel, Lauren Dooley, Rachel Langs, Kennedy Farris and Riley Foltz.Β