With eight matches remaining in the Big 12 Conference season, the Kansas University volleyball team is on the NCAA Tournament hot seat once again.

A sixth-place finish and 10-10 conference record a year ago weren’t good enough to get the Jayhawks in the Big Dance. This year, Kansas (14-9 overall) is 6-6 in the Big 12 and once again in sixth place. That tells KU coach Ray Bechard it’s time for his team to do some moving and shaking if it wants to reach the postseason.

The first step is a Border War match against No. 25 Missouri at 7 tonight at Horejsi Center.

“November’s a critical month with eight matches to go,” Bechard said, “and this is a critical week with a ranked team, as well as a team like Texas that’s right there with us in the rankings. We know there’s no margin for error.”

In the previous meeting this season, the Tigers edged Kansas in five games in Columbia, Mo. The Jayhawks played well overall, but had some communication breakdowns in Game 5.

“We played great in the five-game match, but in the fifth game we made some errors that we know we shouldn’t have made,” sophomore middle blocker Josi Lima said. “This time we need to be more focused and not make those mistakes.”

The loss to Missouri came in sophomore setter Andi Rozum’s fifth game back from a hip and groin injury. The Jayhawks have been much more in sync in the eight matches since then, but have gone just 4-4 during that span. That includes two more five-game losses.

Kansas has played 10 five-game sets this season and is just 4-6 in those matches. It’s a number Bechard says he’d like to see reversed. If that were the case, the seat wouldn’t be quite so hot and the Jayhawks would be on easy street to the postseason.

Instead, they’ll try to reverse their fortunes tonight.