Bechard wins No. 200 in KU volleyball victory over A&M

Brianne Riley makes a dig as teammate Allison Mayfield watches during the Jayhawks match against the Texas A&M Aggies Saturday evening in the Horejsi Center. Kansas rallied from being two sets down to eventually win the match in five sets. The victory gave head coach Ray Bechard his 200th victory.

Karina Garlington led Kansas University with 14 kills, and the Jayhawks topped Texas A&M, 3-2, in Big 12 volleyball on Saturday to earn coach Ray Bechard his 200th career victory at Kansas.

Kansas won in five sets by scores of 25-23, 18-25, 20-25, 25-22 and 15-10.

The Jayhawks stopped a seven-match skid against the Aggies and improved their record to 10-3 this season (1-1 Big 12).

Texas A&M, which was coming off a 3-0 sweep of No. 8 Texas and riding a four-match win streak, dropped to 7-5 (1-1 Big 12).

“I’m proud that we persevered when we weren’t really clicking offensively and defensively,” Bechard said. “We played our best at the end making some great plays. We also had our best blocking effort of the year, particularly toward the end.”

Garlington, a senior, scored six of her team-high 14 kills in the final frame.

Junior Allison Mayfield contributed 13 kills, along with three solo blocks. KU recorded a season-high 16 team blocks, including six by sophomore Tayler Tolefree. Red-shirt freshman Caroline Jarmoc chipped in with five blocks.

Kansas will travel to take on Nebraska at 7 p.m. Wednesday.