September 28, 2016

RCW: Inside Volleyball 3.6

Get a quick look inside your favorite Kansas Jayhawk programs each week with Rock Chalk Weekly’s Inside Sports pages. Notable statistics, quick hits and the top social media posts get every Jayhawk fan up-to-speed and ready for another week of thrilling competition.

Volleyball By the Numbers - 20 Number BY THE NUMBERS
Kansas has been ranked in the top-25 for a program-record 20-consecutive weeks.

UPCOMING HOME MATCHES
Tickets Baylor (Oct. 1)
Tickets Texas Tech (Oct. 8)

FOLLOW
Twitter @KUVolleyball
Facebook /KansasVolleyball
Instagram kuvolleyball

Notes QUICK HITS

No. 8 Kansas (12-2, 1-1 Big 12) split its Big 12 Conference-opening week with a three-set victory over Oklahoma (25-17, 25-13, 29-27) on Wednesday and a four-set loss to No. 5 Texas (25-27, 16-25, 25-18, 19-25) on Saturday night. KU’s only two losses came on the road to nationally-ranked teams — No. 14 Purdue and No. 5 Texas.
UP NEXT: The Jayhawks have a mid-week bye before playing host to Baylor on Saturday afternoon (1 p.m., JTV/ESPN3) at Horejsi Family Athletics Center.
OCT. 8 FIRST SERVE: The Kansas-Texas Tech match on Oct. 8 in Lawrence has been announced as a 4 p.m. (Central) first serve. The announcement comes after the Kansas football game against TCU kickoff was set at 11 a.m. (Central) the same day.
TOP-10: Kansas remained at No. 8 for the second-straight week in the AVCA Coaches Poll on Monday. The Jayhawks have been ranked in the top-25 for a program-record 20-consecutive times dating back to last season, including 16-consecutive times in the top-10. The Jayhawks debuted the season with a No. 5 preseason ranking and finished 2015 with a No. 4 ranking.
LEADING ATTACKERS: Last week, junior outside hitter Madison Rigdon led the Jayhawks with 4.3 kills per set, while junior All-American right-side hitter Kelsie Payne wasn’t far behind with 3.9 kills per set. Rigdon poured in 20 kills with 13 digs at Texas on Saturday for her fifth double-double of the season. Payne posted 18 kills on a .444 hitting percentage against the Longhorns.
WAITING AROUND: Senior libero Cassie Wait continues to lead the Big 12 in digs after averaging 5.6 during conference-opening week. The first-year law school student-athlete is averaging 5.2 digs per set on the season.
HILL AT THE NET: Freshman middle blocker Zoe Hill is proving to be a force in the Jayhawks’ starting lineup. The Houston native recorded five blocks — two solo – against No. 5 Texas on Saturday and is leading KU with 1.03 blocks per set this season.
ELITE DEFENSE: KU’s defense is holding opponents to a Big 12-leading .133 hitting percentage. The Jayhawks have held opponents to a under a .200 hitting percentage in all but two matches this season. KU has exactly 8.0 team blocks in four-straight matches. The Jayhawks rank ninth in the nation in opponent hitting percentage.
ACES WILD: Kansas leads the Big 12 in aces per set (1.65), led by junior outside hitter Madison Rigdon who ranks fifth in the nation in aces per set (0.58).
NONCONFERENCE WRAPUP: Kansas concluded its nonconference portion of the regular season on Sept. 17 with an 11-1 record. In the last two seasons, the Jayhawks are 23-1 during regular-season nonconference play. Under head coach Ray Bechard, KU is 180-30 (.857) during regular-season nonconference play.
BECHARD RECORDS: Kansas head coach Ray Bechard improves to 337-231 (.593) in his 19th season at KU. Since 2012, the Jayhawks are 115-29 (.799) under Bechard.