John Henry/Journal-World Photo.KU freshman Nicole Tate, center, and sophomore Brittany Williams, right, go up for a block against Mizzou on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2008 during the Jayhawks' home volleyball match at Horejsi Family Athletic Center.

KU freshman Nicole Tate, center, and sophomore Brittany Williams, right, go up for a block against Mizzou on Wednesday during the Jayhawks' home volleyball match at Horejsi Family Athletic Center.

KU junior Melissa Grieb (4) celebrates a point Wednesday with teammates Katie Martincich (2) and Melissa Manda, right, during the Jayhawks' home volleyball match against Mizzou.

This victory felt just a tad sweeter for Kansas University’s volleyball team.

Forget the fact that the Jayhawks snapped a two-match losing streak. Forget that the victory propelled KU into a tie for ninth in the Big 12 Conference with its opponent Wednesday night.

We’re talking about a nail-biting, teeth-grinding, come-from-behind 3-2 victory (25-12, 18-25, 15-25, 25-13, 16-14) in the Border Showdown against Missouri.

Wins like that tend to cure a season’s worth of ailments, even if it’s only temporary.

“It’s just a huge rivalry,” KU senior middle blocker Savannah Noyes said. “Every KU fan wants us to beat Missouri, even if they’ve never watched a volleyball game. So, a win against them helps all the KU fans.”

Remarked Kansas coach Ray Bechard: “There’s Jayhawks fans probably overseas right now or somewhere that are monitoring, the most important thing for them is ‘What’s the score between Missouri and Kansas in the Border Showdown?’ Seriously.”

Sweet indeed.

The Jayhawks needed every last bit of grit and endurance to pull out the victory inside a raucous Horejsi Center.

Kansas began well enough, more than doubling Missouri’s point total in the opening set behind seven kills from outside hitter Karina Garlington. But the Jayhawks inexplicably followed that up with two miserable sets, tallying nearly as many errors (19) as kills (21).

“It was a Jekyll-Hyde match from a standpoint of we controlled the beginning and the end, and they controlled the middle,” Bechard said. “I’m just glad we were part of the end.”

Kansas (10-11, 4-8 in Big 12 play) battled back in the fourth set, fending off what could have been the first of two momentum-killing points on the night for the Jayhawks. Clinging to a 10-9 lead, KU appeared to have a kill and a two-point lead wrapped up following a long rally as the ball caromed off a Tigers player. Instead of going out, however, the ball bounced high into the ceiling, allowing outside hitter Megan Wilson time to eventually slam a kill and tie the score at 10.

The Tigers’ fourth-set push turned out to be short-lived.

Garlington immediately recorded a kill for KU, and libero Melissa Manda tallied two aces to put the Jayhawks ahead comfortably.

The final set was not nearly as comfortable.

The teams exchanged the lead seven times in the decisive set, compared to a combined nine lead changes in the opening four sets. Despite remaining close early in the fifth set, Kansas trailed 11-7 and 13-10 before staging a wild comeback.

First came Noyes’ kill, followed by outside hitter Jenna Kaiser’s kill and a miss-hit from MU’s Julianna Klein to tie the score.

On the next point, Kaiser’s spike sailed long, allowing Missouri (10-12, 4-8) to serve for match point.

“After any error, I usually think through my head, ‘Where was the ball and body line? What did I do wrong?'” Kaiser said. “Then, I think what my coaches tell me. ‘Keep swinging. Never stop swinging.’ Especially when it’s either game point or it’s very crucial in the game. So that’s what I wanted to do.”

Redemption came not long after. Noyes slammed a kill to tie the match at 14, and Kaiser added a kill to give the Jayhawks a 15-14 lead and swing match point in KU’s favor. On match point, Kaiser calmly tipped a kill off middle blocker Weiwen Wang’s fingertips for a 16-14 victory.

“I’m very proud of a team that can come from behind with that kind of deficit, that type of pressure,” Bechard said. “I think this is the type of win that you gather a little momentum.”

Next up, Kansas will play Kansas State at 7 p.m. Saturday in Manhattan.