Friday night, inside Horejsi Center on the Kansas University campus, KU’s ninth-ranked volleyball team knocked off No. 25 Missouri,
three sets to none, in a second-round NCAA Tournament match and the first meeting between Border War rivals since Missouri left the Big 12 for the SEC.
The victory, which came in dramatic fashion — KU won the third set 27-25 despite trailing 24-20 — pushed Kansas (28-2) into its second Sweet 16 in program history (and second in three seasons) next week in San Diego.
KU, the tourney’s No. 9 overall seed, will face Loyola-Marymount, which upset perennial power Stanford, the No. 8 seed, in the second round.
A victory against Loyola-Marymount would propel the Jayhawks to their first ever Elite Eight appearance, where No. 1 overall seed USC likely would be waiting.
Here’s a look at some highlights and the postgame comments following Friday’s Border War victory.
A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.
