LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas Volleyball announced its complete 2023 schedule on Thursday, which features 28 total matches, including 15 matches at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena. Kansas will play a competitive mix of teams, with 12 matches against NCAA Tournament qualifiers from a year ago. The Jayhawks have 10 non-conference matches to begin the season before playing 18 conference foes.
The Jayhawks start the season with three consecutive tournaments. First, Kansas will head to Omaha, Nebraska, to face Pepperdine and Omaha on Aug. 25-26. KU will then have its home opener and host its first tournament the following weekend when Purdue and Marquette come to Lawrence for the Kansas Invitational from Aug. 31-Sept. 2. The third tournament will be a trip to Wichita, Kansas, for the Shocker Volleyball Classic. Kansas will play on Sept. 7-8 against Wichita State and Colorado.
Kansas hosts its lone non-conference match that is not in a tournament on Sept. 12 against Oral Roberts. That will be followed by the Jayhawk Classic on Sept. 15-16, where Kansas will host three matches in two days against Bellarmine, New Hampshire and Texas State to end the non-conference portion of the schedule.
“There are a number of reasons why our 2024 schedule could be as competitive and entertaining as we have played in many years,” Head Coach Ray Bechard said. “We will have the opportunity to compete against nationally prominent programs early and often during our pre-conference schedule. We also welcome four new schools to the Big 12 who have all had consistent success on the national stage. The Big 12 Conference will showcase great matchups every night and will be one of the premier volleyball conferences in the country.”
As previously announced, Kansas will play each Big 12 opponent with a volleyball program at least once this season, beginning with a pair of matches on Sept. 22-23 at Texas Tech.
The first home conference matches will follow on Sept. 29-30 against new Big 12 member Houston.
Other home dates include Oct. 14 against Oklahoma, Oct. 26-27 against West Virginia, Nov. 3-4 for the Dillons Sunflower Showdown against Kansas State, Nov. 15 against Baylor and Nov. 25 against UCF for the final regular season match of the season.
“Having 15 matches at home in the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena will give our loyal fans plenty of opportunities to see some high-level action,” Bechard said.
The Jayhawks will make trips to Texas, TCU, Iowa State, BYU and Cincinnati to complete the conference schedule.
Kansas returns 13 players from the 2022 roster, a team which finished 19-11 and made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Jayhawks have a pair of returning All-Big 12 Second Team selections in Camryn Turner and Ayah Elnady. Turner, a junior setter, was voted to the 2023 Preseason All-Big 12 Team by the league’s head coaches and received Midwest All-Region Honorable Mention accolades last season. Elnady, a junior outside hitter, was also named Midwest All-Region a season ago.
Bechard will be entering his 26th season at Kansas in 2023. In 2022, Bechard moved into second all-time in the Big 12 Conference in league wins, and currently has 209 entering the 2023 season.
Season tickets for the 2023 Kansas Volleyball season are on sale and start at just $115. Fans can purchase season tickets by contacting the Kansas ticket office at 785-864-3141, or by simply clicking here. Information about single-game ticket options will be released at a later date.
All dates and times are subject to change. Broadcast and promotional schedules will be announced prior to the start of the season.