KU must end year on roll

There were times this season when Kansas University volleyball coach Ray Bechard wishes he could hit the rewind button.

But Bechard knows if KU is to make a return trip to the NCAA Tournament, there is no time to look back.

“The time to start is right now,” said Bechard, whose team will try to get back on track against struggling Oklahoma at 7 tonight at the Horejsi Center. “We would sure like to rewind a few of our games at home.”

The Jayhawks (13-9 overall, 4-9 Big 12 Conference) took Kansas State and Missouri to fifth games in Lawrence before losing, but KU was swept on return trips to Manhattan and Columbia, Mo.

Bechard said those fifth-game setbacks and a couple of other conference losses had made KU’s NCAA Tourney road difficult, but not impossible.

“We still think we have a shot looking at some of the history of past selections, but right now all we can worry about is taking advantage of each and every opportunity we have left,” said Bechard, whose remaining schedule features four home matches and matches at No. 3 Nebraska and No. 10 Texas.

“This is such a special year for this conference that they might take as many as eight teams,” Bechard said. “But we have to do everything we can over the last stretch to prove we are deserving.”

The Jayhawks certainly could use a boost from a Sooners squad they’ve beaten six straight times — including a sweep Oct. 20 in Norman, Okla., when Jana Correa tallied 17 kills. Oklahoma (10-12, 2-11) hasn’t won in Lawrence since 1997.