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ZOE LARSON/KANSAN
Team members celebrate after a point.
Column: Appreciating the condition of KU volleyball
AMIE JUST
@Amie_Just
To truly appreciate how good you have it, you need to take a look back at the past.
In recent times, Kansas volleyball has flourished, posting single-digit loss seasons four years in a row. The team has been to the NCAA Tournament four years in a row and is currently awaiting its second Sweet 16 match of all-time.
Kansas has played 40 complete seasons. The 2015 campaign is the 41st. Of those 41 seasons, Kansas has posted 15 seasons with a record under .500. Only one of those has come within the past 10 years, when Kansas went 10-19 in 2006.
The achievements of the past,pre
Ray Bechard, weren't much for the team to hang its collective hat on. In the four seasons before Bechard was hired, the Jayhawks went 34-86, eclipsing a 10-win season just once.
Kansas held its first season in 1975 under the direction of Jack Isgur, a lawyer from Missouri. Those were different times.
Isgur's team went 30-19-2 in his lone season as head coach, playing teams like Swaim of KC and Max Pack of St. Louis. Missouri and Kansas State were also on the schedule that season. Kansas swept Kansas State both times that year and was swept by Missouri both times.
Bob Stanclift took over for Isgur, coaching the jayhawks for three seasons from 1976 to 1978. He also coached softball during that time and continued that position until 1987.
He didn't coach a losing season, as the Jayhawks went 101-62-6 under him. But after him was when things went dark.
Bob Lockwood held the reigns of the program from 1979 to 1984 and had one winning season, in 1980. Aside from coaching volleyball, Lockwood also held stints coaching men's wrestling (no longer a program), men's gymnastics (no longer a program), men's tennis (no longer a program) and diving (men's diving is no longer a program). In Kansas first two years in the Big Eight, the Jayhawks went 0-20 in conference play.
Frankie Albitz took over after Lockwood quit coaching to dedicate his time to facility management and teaching. Albitz never led the Jayhawks to a Big Eight championship,
but she at least got the 1991 team to the National Invitational Volleyball tournament.
Albitz told the Lawrence Journal-World in 1985 that it was possible to turn the team around. She also described the 1985 team as enthusiastic "that the school is getting more serious about their sport."
30 years later, the University, the students and the community are very serious about their beloved volleyball team. Especially since they're excelling.
If Kansas defeats Loyola Marymount on Friday, it would advance to Elite Eight for the first time in the program's rocky history.
"It would definitely make a statement about our program and how far we've come," sophomore setter Ainise Havilli said.
Bechard said the team has been talking about potentially making the Elite Eight since before the season even started.
"We talked about a Big 12 Championship," Bechard said. "We talked about the Elite Eight. Those are a couple things we call our 'essential intent', which is why we gather every day and why we train hard [and] try to be the best we can be each and every day. If you don't have markers like that, it's easy to drift into mediocrity, and this team has not done that."
The goal in 1985?
To get a conference win.
This week's goal in 2015?
"Try to go 2-0," Bechard said.
Try to get to the Final Four.
NCAA VOLLEYBALL BRACKET BREAKDOWN: How the Sweet 16 could play out
BY AMIE JUST | @AMIE_JUST
SAN DIEGO
As No. 9 Kansas heads to San Diego, here's the breakdown of the other regionals in the tournament. The best 16 volleyball teams in the country are facing off this weekend in venues around the country. Four regionals — San Diego; Des Moines, Iowa; Austin, Texas; and Lexington, Ky. — are the hosts of the 12 games that are set to be played on Dec. 11 and 12.
LEXINGTON
AUSTIN
SAN DIEGO, CALIF.. REGIONAL
FINAL FOUR OMAHA
The No. 1 USC Trojans (32-2), the No. 16 Creighton Bluejays (27-8), the No. 9 Kansas Jayhawks (28-2) and the Loyola Marymount Lions (24-8) make up the four teams that are in the San Diego Regional.
The Trojans and the Bluejays play on Friday, Dec. 11 at 10 p.m. central time. The match can be found on ESPNU.
The Jayhawks and the Lions face off on Friday, Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m. central time. The match will be streamed on ESPN3.
PREDICTION: USC defeats Creighton, and Kansas defeats Loyola Marymount. I have the No. 1 overall seed USC defeating Kansas to advance to the Final Four.
DES MOINES
DES MOINES, IOWA, REGIONAL
The No. 7 Penn State Nittany Lions (28-5), the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (28-1), the No. 2 Minnesota Golden Gophers (28-4) and the Illinois Fighting Illini (21-12) make up the Des Moines, Iowa. Regional. The Nittany Lions and the Rainbow Warriors face off on Friday, Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m. central time. The Golden Gophers and the Fighting illini face off on Friday, Dec. 11 at 5 p.m. central time. The match will be on ESPN3. PREDICTION: Penn State defeats Hawaii, and Minnesota defeats Illinois, with Minnesota toppling Penn State to move on to the Final Four.
AUSTIN, TEXAS, REGIONAL
The No. 3 Texas Longhorns (27-2), the No.14 UCLA Bruins (25-
7), the No. 6 Wisconsin Badgers (28-6) and the No.11 Florida Gators (24-6) make up the Austin, Texas, Regional.
The Longhorns and the Bruins face off on Friday, Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. central time. The match will be streamed on ESPN3.
The Badgers and the Gators face off on Friday, Dec. 11 at 4:30 p.m. central time. The match will be streamed on ESPN3.
PREDICTION: Texas tops UCLA, and Wisconsin defeats Florida, with Texas upending Wisconsin for a bid to the Final Four.
AUSTIN, TEXAS, REGIONAL
LEXINGTON, KY., REGIONAL
LEXINGTON, KY., REGIONAL The No. 5 Washington Huskies (30-2), the No. 12 Ohio State Buckeyes (25-9), the No. 4 Nebraska Cornhuskers (28-4) and the No. 13 BYU Cougars (28-3) make up the Lexington, Ky., Regional. The Huskies and the Buckeyes face off on Friday, Dec. 11 at 6:30 p.m. central time. The match will be streamed on ESPN3. The Huskers and the Cougars play on Friday, Dec. 11 at 4 p.m. central time. The match will be streamed on ESPN3. PREDICTION: Washington defeats Ohio State, and Nebraska tops BYU. Nebraska edges out Washington for a Final Four bid.
Graphic by Jake Kaufmann/KANSAN
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