No. 5 Kansas hosts free Crimson & Blue Scrimmage Saturday

Media Guide 2016 Media Guide

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Fans will get their much-anticipated first look at the fifth-ranked 2016 University of Kansas volleyball team on Saturday during the Crimson & Blue Scrimmage inside Horejsi Family Athletics Center. First serve is set for 1 p.m.

Season tickets are already sold out for the 2016 season, but Saturday’s event will be free and open to the public. Brand-new posters will be handed out on Saturday and the team will stick around after the match to sign autographs for fans.

The Jayhawks will hit the court as a team for the first time since advancing to the program’s debut in the NCAA Final Four last December. Prior to first serve, the Final Four banner will be revealed in the rafters of Horejsi during a special ceremony.

KU’s roster will be divided into two teams – Crimson and Blue – for a regulation best-of-five-sets match.

The Kansas Radio Network will exclusively cover the match live with second-year play-by-plan man Derek Johnson calling the action.  

Kansas features five returning starters, including Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year Kelsie Payne, from a 2015 squad that finished the season ranked No. 4 in the nation and advanced to the program’s first-ever NCAA Championship semifinal. The Jayhawks led the Big 12 in kills, assists, aces and defensive hitting percentage during the historic season.

NATIONAL RANKINGS
Kanas made its highest debut in the AVCA Coaches Poll with a No. 5 preseason ranking. The Jayhawks have been ranked in the top-25 for a program-record 15-consecutive times dating back to last season, including 11 consecutive times in the top-10. This is the first time the Jayhawks have been ranked in the AVCA preseason top 25.

Featured on KU’s schedule are preseason No. 2 Texas, No. 18 Creighton and No. 20 Purdue. Big 12 foes Iowa State and TCU are receiving top-25 votes in the preseason poll.

NO MORE INTERMISSION
New this season, the Big 12 Conference has implemented a rule that requires three minutes between each set, including the second and third. This rule supplants the longer intermission period of 10 minutes between the second and third sets in the past. The three-minute break between sets will apply to Kansas home matches, including nonconference play, and all Big 12 matches.

2015 HIGHLIGHTS
Last season unprecedented marks were met and exceeded during a ground-breaking run. The Jayhawks achieved their highest winning percentage in program history (.909; 30-3), highest ranking in program history (No. 4; AVCA), best postseason finish in program history (made first appearances in a Regional Final and National Semifinal), first AVCA All-America First Team selections (Ainise Havili and Kelsie Payne), program-record four-consecutive seasons of hosting the NCAA Championship First & Second Rounds, best start to a season in program history (19-0), longest winning streak in program history (W19), program’s fastest team to 20 wins (21 matches) and 30 wins (32 matches), ranked top-five nationally in hitting percentage (.299, fourth), kills per set (15.4, second), and assists per set (14.2, second).

The Jayhawks’ only three losses of the season were against the two teams that played for the NCAA title – Texas and Nebraska.

Kansas returns five starters, including Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year Kelsie Payne, from a team that finished the season with the best winning percentage in program history (30-3, .909) last season.

REGULAR SEASON
The 2016 regular season campaign begins on Friday, August 26 at the Bulldog Classic against host Mississippi State. The season-opening weekend in Starkville, Mississippi continues on Saturday with matchups against Eastern Washington and Lamar.

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