Kansas volleyball: Ready to rule the Big 12 again
By Stan Unruh
The nationally ranked Kansas Volleyball team is set to open conference play Sunday. They travel to Manhattan for the opening round of the Sunflower Showdown.
After a tough California road trip, the defending Big 12 champions are rested and ready to begin conference play. Ray Bechard’s Jayhawks dropped out of the top ten in the most recent national volleyball rankings. Big deal. At #12 they are still the team to beat and the rest of the conference knows who rules the court.
In reality, that loss in 5-sets to Santa Clara did nothing to diminish the non-conference record, as exemplified in the ranking by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. Jayhawk fans know what this team has already accomplished with wins over nationally ranked Purdue and the sweep of the Cats from Kentucky. Equally important, Bechard is preparing the team for conference play and beyond. You won’t remember these two losses in September.
As a matter of fact, the Kansas Board of Regents also affirmed the team’s success this week. They voted to approve $10 million to dress up and expand seating at the team’s home court. If you haven’t gone to a game at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center, why not? The Kansas men’s basketball team is usually there to cheer on the volleyball squad. With the work planned for Horejsi and reveled by KU Athletes Friday
you might be able to get a ticket to see them in person.
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The news from the Regent meeting is wonderful for Coach Bechard. He can use this to entice more recruits to come play in Lawrence. They’ll have a nicer locker room and an even better volleyball- only arena to battle for more conference titles.