The Kansas volleyball team sustained its first two conference losses of the year on a road trip through Arizona, faltering against both an Arizona State team that ranks among the best in the country and an Arizona squad that has struggled in its inaugural Big 12 season.
With just five matches to go until postseason play, the Jayhawks will enjoy the comforts of home for back-to-back matches this week. But the quality of competition won’t provide much of a rest.
KU (20-3, 11-2 Big 12), which slid from No. 8 to No. 12 in the national rankings after its marathon five-set loss to the Wildcats on Saturday night (22-25, 25-21, 29-27, 20-25, 13-15), will now have to take on the two teams directly below it in the Big 12 standings, each of which is a game and a half back: No. 18 TCU (17-5, 9-3 Big 12) and No. 17 Baylor (17-6, 9-3 Big 12).
The results at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena this week will go a long way toward determining whether the Jayhawks solidify their status as a likely host for the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, a privilege granted to the top 16 teams in the 64-team postseason bracket and one they experienced last year. The matches will also give all three teams, who are now looking up at Big 12 debutant ASU (24-2, 12-1 Big 12), a chance to stay in the race for a conference title.
TCU, which KU will host on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., is coming off three straight wins as part of a lengthy home stand. The Horned Frogs’ roster is headlined by Melanie Parra, a senior outside hitter who was the preseason Big 12 player of the year and who has lived up to billing, posting 5.08 kills per set, a mark that puts her on top of the league by a wide margin and at No. 4 in the country. Parra’s 0.45 aces per set are also second in the conference, although the Horned Frogs are one of the least effective serving teams in the Big 12 otherwise.
TCU pairs Parra with fellow outside hitter Jalyn Gibson, with both benefiting from setter Lily Nicholson’s average of 10.76 assists — just behind KU’s Camryn Turner’s 11.31.
Baylor, which visits Horejsi on Saturday at noon, sustained half of its six losses in one three-game stretch at TCU, BYU and then Utah early in conference play. The Bears have since won seven straight, including a rematch against the Frogs, and will play at Kansas State before coming to KU.
One big asset for the Bears is their size. Five of Baylor’s players average more than one kill per set and they are all at least 6-foot-2, led by outside hitters Elise McGhee (3.71 kills per set, 6-foot-4) and Kendal Murphy (2.51, 6-foot-3) and opposite Allie Sczech (2.40, 6-foot-5). It shouldn’t be a surprise that BU doesn’t get blocked by opponents very often (just 1.74 times per set).
Like Parra, McGhee is also one of the league’s top servers, though unlike TCU, the Bears don’t necessarily have one setter racking up assists. Jackie Barrett Frazier leads the team with just over eight per set and Baylor’s team-wide average is second-worst in the conference.
Defensively, Lauren Briseño is averaging 4.11 digs per set. Baylor’s 105 digs in a five-set win against Minnesota on Sept. 6 are the highest total for any Big 12 team this year.
Lately, on the KU side, team results notwithstanding, Ayah Elnady has been on a tear, averaging 5.25 kills per set over her last three matches (including a career-best 28-kill showing on .424 hitting that helped give KU a chance down the stretch at Arizona), while also accumulating double-digit digs in each. It’s a stark contrast from an October stretch that saw her overall productivity reduced considerably; at one point she went seven matches without tallying double-digit kills.
The Jayhawks will go on to play at Kansas State, versus BYU for senior night and then at Iowa State to conclude the regular season.