Pam Bechard, wife of 18th-year Kansas University volleyball coach Ray Bechard, gave her husband a homework assignment Thursday night — a day before KU’s 3-0 sweep of Western Illinois and Duke in always-electric Horejsi Center.

“My wife was asking me, ‘How many players have played for you at Kansas?’ She made me go through the media guide. We found out it was 93,” Ray Bechard said after the 16 players on this year’s team helped him to victory No. 300 Friday as Jayhawk coach.

“I thank them all and all the coaches — just the opportunity to be part of this for sure,” Bechard added.

The (5-0) Jayhawks’ 25-17, 25-18, 25-23 victory over (3-2) Duke, which gave Bechard a 300-226 mark at KU, was witnessed by KU basketball coach Bill Self and assistant Norm Roberts, athletic director Sheahon Zenger and a batch of assistant athletic directors, plus several basketball players including Wayne Selden, Devonté Graham and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, who was sporting a new beard.

Kansas coach Ray Bechard speaks with sophomore setter Ainise Havili during a time out during their volleyball match against Western Illinois in the Jayhawk Invitational Tournament on Friday at the Horejsi Center. Kansas defeated WIU, 3-0, and with the win, Kansas head coach Ray Bechard picked up his 299th win at Kansas. Bechard will not have to wait long to try for win number 300, as Kansas is set to take on Duke tonight at 7 p.m.

“It’s about time the basketball coaches came,” Bechard said, jokingly. “If they were playing Duke in basketball, I’d probably go, too.

“It’s good. That’s just the way it is here. If coach Beaty (David, football) could have gotten away tonight, he’d have been here, too. It’s just the way our coaches are. They support each other and want them all to do the best they can.”

Several players contributed to the two wins. Kelsie Payne had 10 kills, while Tiana Dockery and Madison Rigdon had nine and Tayler Soucie seven against Duke. Ainise Havili had 36 assists and nine digs. Cassie Wait had 14 digs.

Payne slugged 14 kills, while Soucie, Rigdon and Kayla Cheadle had six in a 25-14, 25-16, 25-6 victory over Western Illinois (0-4) on Friday morning. Havili had 34 assists and seven digs and Wait 14 digs.

“It was a pretty good day for our whole team, especially ‘Coach B’ having his 300th win. It’s really exciting,” Dockery, a senior from Richmond, Texas, said. “We were pretty eager this whole week trying to play this tournament. Tournaments are our favorite. Today was awesome. We have one more game to go (at 4 p.m. today vs. UMKC in Horejsi), so we’re not completely done.”

Kansas' Tayler Soucie (10) and Ainise Havili (11) watch at the ball drops over the net for a point during their volleyball match against Western Illinois in the Jayhawk Invitational Tournament on Friday at the Horejsi Center. Kansas defeated WIU, 3-0, and with the win, Kansas head coach Ray Bechard picked up his 299th win at Kansas. Bechard will not have to wait long to try for win number 300, as Kansas is set to take on Duke tonight at 7 p.m.

As far as celebrating with ‘Coach B’ in the locker room … “He chest-bumped (libero) Addy Barry. That seems to be a trend,” Dockery said with a smile.

Noted Bechard with a smile: “I’m going to do some cartwheels here a little bit, stand on my head. We made a pretty good rush the last four or five years to get from 200 to 300.”