Just one week ago, the Kansas University volleyball team’s NCAA Tournament hopes seemed to be hanging by a thread.
But thanks to two mind-boggling, last-minute rallies for victories, the Jayhawks again look like postseason contenders.
Kansas erased a 9-1 deficit in Game Five and beat Missouri at home Nov. 5, then dropped the first two games Saturday at Texas before rallying to win the last three.
Suddenly the Jayhawks are 16-9 overall and 8-6 in the Big 12 Conference. Of their six remaining matches, four are against teams below them in the Big 12 standings.
A 10-10 conference record wasn’t good enough for a NCAA Tournament berth in 2002, but a strong finish could put them over the hump this year.
The next step comes at 7 tonight against Oklahoma (11-15, 3-11) at Horejsi Center. Kansas pummeled Oklahoma, 3-0, last month in Norman, Okla., and has swept the Sooners (11-15, 3-11) 3-0 the last three times they’ve met in Lawrence.
Despite the recent success against Oklahoma, however, senior Abbie Jacobson said the Jayhawks wouldn’t overlook the Sooners.
“We can’t get too comfortable right now,” she said. “We can’t take any team for granted because any team can beat you on any day in this conference.
“But we’re playing really well right now, and we need to keep it going.”
KU has won two straight, but its last five matches each have gone to five games. It also leads the Big 12 with 12 five-game matches, eight of which have come in conference play.
The next-closest team has five.
“We’ve probably given them two of those if we’ve played them twice,” Jacobson said.
A quick match could be in order. Including the earlier loss to Kansas, the Sooners have been swept 12 times this season. Two of their last four matches have gone to five games, though.
