Horejsi Family Athletics Center will be a hotbed of activity for former prep volleyball stars from Lawrence during the next couple of weekends.

Saturday, former Free State High standout Jessica Scott comes to Horejsi with the Tennessee-Chattanooga Mocs to take on the Jayhawks.

Scott, in her final year at UTC, is a two-time captain and has been a fixture on the dean’s list during her time at the university. She is on schedule to graduate this spring and is majoring in civil engineering.

The UTC right-side hitter teamed with KU sophomore Taylor Manning at Free State High for two years and also played with KU senior Mel Townsend for five years on a club team out of Topeka.

UTC enters this weekend’s Jayhawk Classic winless and will face Akron (2-1) and Arkansas (4-0) before playing the Jayhawks (4-0) at 1 p.m. Saturday.

A week later, on Sept. 10, another former Firebird will return to Lawrence with the Winthrop University Eagles.

Kelsey Harrison, a senior captain at Winthrop, also has plenty of connections to this year’s KU squad. Harrison helped Scott and Manning lead the Free State volleyball team for two seasons. She, along with current Winthrop teammate Kelsey Hall, who hails from Topeka, also played club ball with Townsend and Manning during her prep years.

KU will play host to Winthrop at noon on Sept. 10.