Kansas volleyball ranked preseason No. 13 in the country

There are high expectations of this year’s Kansas volleyball squad, and those expectations only grew Monday with the release of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) preseason top 25 poll.

The Jayhawks came in at No. 13 in the country ahead of the upcoming 2024 season. KU is one of four Big 12 schools to make the top 25 along with BYU (No. 16), Arizona State (No. 17), and Baylor (No. 23).

The preseason AVCA ranking comes on the heels of the Jayhawks being ranked No. 1 in the 2024 Big 12 Preseason Coaches' Poll – the first time KU has been ranked as preseason conference favorites in program history.

The hype for this upcoming season is largely due to the fact that the Kansas roster is loaded with veterans who have a lot of experience and have had a lot of success in the Big 12 and NCAA Tournament.

The 2024 season will be the last for Caroline Bien, London Davis, Camryn Turner, Ayah Elnady, and Toyosi Onabanjo – all of whom have spent their entire collegiate careers at KU, except for Onabanjo.

Along with being named the preseason No. 1 team in the Big 12, KU seniors Davis, Turner, and Elnady were all named to the 2024 Preseason All-Big 12 Team following impressive junior seasons.

Elnady and Turner were named First Team All-Big 12 at the end of last season, while Davis earned Second Team All-Big 12 honors.

Freshman Zoey Burgess is also projected to have a stellar season as she was named Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year. Burgess was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Utah following her senior year of high school – during which she won her fourth consecutive 6A state title.

This might very well be the most talented team that long-tenured head coach Ray Bechard has had in his now 27 seasons at KU, one capable of making a deep run in this year’s NCAA Tournament. Today’s AVCA poll and the Big 12 preseason poll seem to support that as well.

The Jayhawks will open the season this Saturday, Aug. 24, at 1 p.m. CT against Drake in an exhibition match inside Horejsi Family Volleyball Areana in Lawrence. The regular season starts Aug. 30 when KU takes on South Carolina in the Duke Tournament at 2 p.m. CT in Durham, North Carolina.