Payne named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week

Link Big12Sports.com

IRVING, Texas – Junior All-American right-side hitter Kelsie Payne garnered her second Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honor in the last three weeks after helping Kansas move into a tie for first place in the Big 12 standings with wins over Texas Tech and No. 2 Texas last week, extending KU’s winning streak to eight matches.

Payne averaged 4.62 kills per set on a .356 hitting percentage with seven blocks during week 10 of the season for the fourth-ranked Jayhawks (20-2, 9-1 Big 12).

The Austin, Texas native registered in 21 kills to guide Kansas to a thrilling five-set win over No. 2 Texas in Lawrence on Saturday. The win snapped a 25-match series losing streak for the Jayhawks against the Longhorns. Payne also got it done on the defensive end, recording eight digs and six blocks during the five-set win.

Payne began her week with 16 kills and no attacking errors for a .571 hitting percentage at Texas Tech on Wednesday. She added 10 digs during the three-set sweep of the Red Raiders for her sixth double-double of the season.

As the regular-season begins to wind down, Payne is quickly approaching the mark to become the 15th Jayhawk to reach 1,000 career kills, entering this week with 967 kills.

This is Payne’s sixth career Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week nod, including her second on the year.

NOV. 12 TCU FIRST SERVE SET  
First serve between Kansas and TCU on Saturday, Nov. 12 will be at 4 p.m. Central inside Horejsi Family Athletics Center (Jayhawk Television Network). The announcement came on Monday after FOX Sports Network claimed the Kansas football game against Iowa State for an 11 a.m. Central kickoff inside Memorial Stadium in Lawrence.

POLL UPDATE
Kansas moved up two spots to No. 4 in the AVCA Coaches Poll on Monday. The Jayhawks spent the previous four-straight weeks ranked sixth before defeating No. 2 Texas on Saturday, Oct. 29 in Lawrence. The Jayhawks have been ranked in the top-25 for a program-record 26-consecutive weeks (since Sept. 7, 2015), including 21-consecutive weeks in the top-10 (since Oct. 5, 2015).

KU’s No. 4 ranking ties a program-high in the AVCA Coaches Poll for the fifth time.

Kansas in the 2016 AVCA Coaches Poll
Week: Rank
Preseason: 5
Aug. 29: 4
Sept. 5: 4
Sept. 12: 4
Sept. 19: 8
Sept. 26: 8
Oct. 3: 6
Oct. 10: 6
Oct. 17: 6
Oct. 24: 6
Oct. 31: 4
Nov. 7 
Nov. 14
Nov. 21
Nov. 28
Final

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