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In a packed and rocking Horesji Athletic Center, #10 Kansas gave #5 Texas one helluva match, but ended up falling in five sets, 20-25, 25-20, 30-28, 22-25, 15-9.
I know I'm a little biased here, but this night was all about missed opportunities for the Jayhawks. KU shot themselves in the foot all night long with service errors, 17 total, with 8 in the third set alone. KU ended up dropping that third set 30-28, which is ten extra points.
(In volleyball, a service error is very similar to tennis, except you don't get a second shot. You just lose the point without getting a chance to win it. Or, imagine if every time KU basketball missed a free throw, the other team got one point. Kinda like that.)
Despite the mistakes, the Jayhawks hung tough, and almost overcame tonight against UT.
So what did we learn tonight? We learned that Kansas really is one of the top teams in the country. Forget what happened in Austin a couple of weeks ago; that was the fluke. The Jayhawks have been smoking opponents all year, and tonight, they went toe-to-toe with one of the top teams in the nation in a match that easily could have gone the other way.
The Jayhawks are an exciting team to watch, and KU has a realistic shot at making a deep run in the NCAA Volleyball Tournament this December.
Up next
KU Volleyball has four regular season matches left: vs TCU, @ WVU, @ KSU, vs TTU. If the Jayhawks don't finish 4-0 it will be a surprise. Look for KU to be a high seed and be host for the first and second round of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament.