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KANSAN.COM/SPORTS |THURSDAY, SEPT. 22, 2016
UP NEXT: TEXAS On Saturday, Kansas gets a shot at Big 12 supremacy
The Jawhawks celebrate their 3-0 sweep against the Oklahoma Sooners. They imporved to 12-1 and 1-0 in the Big 12. They also continue to lead the Big 12.
Andrew Rosenthal/KANSAN
► JAMES BUCKLEY @]BucketsBO
As the volleyball team defeated Oklahoma on Wednesday in three sets, over 1,000 fans at Horeisi Family Athletics Center were rowdy, full of life and creating a home field advantage, as always.
That will not be the case for Kansas on Saturday.
No. 8 Kansas will take on No. 5 Texas, at Texas this Saturday. A tough task, no matter the sport.
When the two teams played last year, Texas won
the first match in three sets, then again later in the season in five sets. To add more gravity to the situation, those two losses were the only ones Kansas received in the regular season last year.
Going into the match, Kansas had dipped to No. 8 in the AVCA rankings and had an 11-1 record, sitting atop the Big 12. Texas is ranked fifth with an 9-2 record and is second in the Big 12.
Knowing the talent on both teams, coach Ray Be-
chard is excited to play, but wants to make sure the players can handle the heightened competition.
"We don't [want to] go in there and play abandoned, aggressive and like it's 'what do you have to lose?' Bechard said. "It's good timing for us to go early and see where we're at against one of the elite teams in the country."
To get the team in the mentality he wants them to have, Bechard has been taking extra measures to prepare the team for close
sets. On Wednesday, in the 29-27 third set, they got one of those tests, though it was in front of a home crowd.
"We want our team to be good in those moments," Bechard said. "We put them in 22-22 moments everyday in practice, but there's not a lot of people in the stands, and we're not on ESPNU. You just play. You'll see as we go into Texas and the Big 12, there will be a lot of games that won't end at 25, so we just have to respond well at the end."
Many of the Kansas
players are from Texas, making this match like a homecoming game of sorts. Freshman Jada Burse, from DeSoto, Texas, is making sure when she comes home, everybody is there to see.
"I have a ton of family coming in on Saturday," Burse said. "My immediate family are really excited to come because they haven't been to a game yet, so this will be their first time seeing me play. I'm really excited for that."
As the stage is set, the Jayhawks have their first
opportunity to square off against the best in the country Saturday. This will be the team's first match of the season against an opponent ranked above them.
Saturday, when the teams play in Austin, will also be the team's first of two chances to avenge last season's losses to the Longhorns, and become the premier Big 12 team.
- Edited by Chandler Boese
KU wins first Big 12 match in sweep vs. Oklahoma
▶ TIFFANY LITTLER
@litt33
The Kansas volleyball team (12-1) swept the Oklahoma Sooners (9-5) on Wednesday to mark the beginning of the Big 12 season. No.8 Kansas won in three sets (25-17, 25-13, 29-27).
There were no lead changes until the third set when Oklahoma went up 9-8 to lead for the first time in the match. This led to a total of 12 lead changes. Both teams produced two tie scores in the first set and 17 in the third set.
"Anytime you're going to play volleyball with a good team you're gonna have some momentum swings and certainly that's what happened," coach Ray Bechard said. "[Oklahoma's] coach is as competitive as anybody you'll coach against. So their team's not gonna go away. We knew they would fight. Jayhawks just a little bit better fight at the end, thank goodness."
Junior setter Ainise Havili was setting a balanced attack in the third set as freshman outside hitter Jada Burse and junior outside hitter Kelsie Payne both had seven kills going into the middle of the third set. Payne had a total of nine kills. Junior outside hitter Madison Rigdon and senior middle blocker Tayler Soucie both led the team with ten.
We knew they would fight."
Ray Bechard Volleyball coach
"Most important stat of the match, they came in hitting .285 and as you can see defensively I thought it was our best effort probably of the year," Bechard said. "We held them to
The Jayhawks had a total of six aces on the night, with Payne and Havilli recording two. Bechard was more pleased with the hitting statistics of this match as opposed to the previous match against Southeastern Louisiana.
.092, a team that's got a ton of weapons. First and foremost I thought that was the key to the match. Our goal is to hold teams under .200 and to hold them under .100 speaks volumes."
Burse saw her second career start and produced four kills on five swings in just the first set. She had eight kills overall. Burse seems to be adjusting well to playing collegiately and getting used to the speed of the game, however she was a little nervous for her first Big 12 conference game.
"It was super exciting. I was kind of nervous at first but my teammates helped me get rid of that," Burse said.
The Jayhawks will travel to Austin to take on No. 5 Texas on Saturday. Texas (9-2) gave Kansas two of its three losses in the 2015 season. Game time is set for a 7 p.m. start on Saturday. The match will be broadcast on the Longhorn Network.
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Andrew Rosenthal/KANSAN
Andrew Rosenthal/KANSAN Freshman outside hitter Jada Burse jumps for a hit. She had eight kills against Oklahoma.
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