Manhattan ? If Kansas University’s football team could do it earlier this fall, then why not the Jayhawk volleyball squad?

At least that is the attitude KU coach Ray Bechard has about trying to snap rival Kansas State’s 19-match win streak over Kansas.

“It’s gonna take a great effort, but we think we’ve got it in us,” said Bechard, whose team tangles with the Wildcats at 1:30 p.m. today at Ahearn Fieldhouse.

“They know since they’ve been here that it hasn’t worked out as well as they’d hoped,” Bechard said of the streak that extends beyond his coaching career at Kansas. Bechard started in 1998, but the Wildcats’ win streak dates back to Nov. 16, 1994.

“This is one last shot to go into Manhattan for those seniors that really want to get this done.”

A win today over the 18th-ranked Wildcats (13-7 overall, 7-4 Big 12 Conference) certainly would help the Jayhawks (13-7, 4-7) improve their bid for a return trip to the NCAA Tournament, not to mention extend their current conference winning steak to three straight.

But the Wildcats are a tough opponent on their home court. K-State is 6-2 this season in Manhattan, suffering setbacks to only top-10 teams in Nebraska and Texas.

“This is our last chance,” said KU senior middle blocker Ashley Michaels, a Wathena native. “We came real close the last couple of years a couple of times. So we’re gonna go down there and just give it our all and try to win.”

Earlier this season, behind a career-high 24 kills from Michaels, the Jayhawks appeared poised to knock off the Wildcats at the Horejsi Center, but KSU came out with a 3-2 victory, winning the fifth game, 15-12.

“We played our butts off last time when they came here,” Michaels said. “We just have to pick up our serving and go out there and give it everything we have.”