🏐 Kansas Volleyball Set for Home Opening Weekend with Two Ranked Matchups
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The No. 23 Kansas volleyball team is set to host the Kansas Invitational at the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena starting on Thursday, Aug. 31, that will run through Saturday, Sept. 2.
The Jayhawks’ home opener will be on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. against the No. 25 Purdue Boilermakers. Both this match and Saturday’s 1 p.m. match against No. 19 Marquette will be streamed on Big 12 NOW on ESPN+ and on Kansas’ StatBroadcast live stat page.
After going 2-0 last weekend in Omaha, the Jayhawks broke through the Top-25 on the most recent AVCA poll. Both Kansas victories were 3-0 sweeps, with the Jayhawks first downing Pepperdine in both teams’ season opener, then turning around and defeating the Omaha Mavericks in the same fashion.
Kansas saw various athletes step up across the board, with graduate-transfer Reagan Cooper (24 kills, .408 hitting, 4.00 kills per set) and junior Ayah Elnady (26 kills, .308 hitting percentage, 4.33 kills per set) leading the attack for both matches. Defensively, true freshman Raegan Burns started and played all six sets in the libero jersey, collecting 28 digs for 4.67 digs per set.
Preseason All-Big 12 honoree Camryn Turner was dynamic all over the court in Omaha, tallying 70 total assists throughout the weekend as well as adding 27 digs (4.50 digs per set) and adding three total blocks to her stat line.
Purdue is currently 1-2 on the year, most recently falling to Loyola on August 27 by a score of 3-2. Chloe Chicoine will be the player to watch on this No. 25 Boliermakers squad, having recorded a team-leading 48 kills across three matches so far, averaging 4.00 kills per set. The freshman currently averages a team-leading 4.50 points per set as well.
As for Saturday’s matchup, No. 19 Marquette will be coming off a Friday matchup with Purdue in a neutral site 3 p.m. first serve in Horejsi.
Heading into this weekend, Marquette posts a 2-1 record, most recently defeating Dayton in a 3-2 victory. Keep an eye out for Aubrey Hamilton (team-leading 41 kills) on offense and Yadhira Anchante (team-leading 42 digs) on defense for this Top 20 Marquette squad. Marquette and Purdue will play a match in Horejsi on Sept. 1.
On top of the livestreams this weekend, various in-match updates will be provided on the team’s official X (Twitter) page, @KUvolleyball.
UP NEXTThe Jayhawks will play back-to-back matches in Wichita on September 7-8. First, they will take on Wichita State on Sept. 7 at 7 p.m. and then future Big 12 foe Colorado on Sept. 8 at 3 p.m.
