Houston’s setter Shannon Dworaczyk (9) serving against HCU during a NCAA women’s college volleyball match, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026 at Fertiita Center. (Cody Strickler/ The Cougar)
On Sept. 25, the Houston Cougars Volleyball team traveled to Lawrence, Kansas, to face the Kansas Jayhawks at home for the Big 12 Conference opener. Kansas was ranked No. 19 heading into the game and was largely favored to win.
Kansas and Houston volleyball have faced off against each other eight times over the last forty-nine years. They first met each other in 1977, then again in 1988 and 1987 respectively, Houston taking the win in all three of these games.
A thirty-six-year gap was surpassed before the teams would meet again in 2023, which began a losing streak for Houston. For the last five games, Kansas has beaten the Cougars.
Kansas scored the first points of the game off of a no-touch ace. For the majority of the first set, Kansas led but eventually Houston tied up the score at 23-23 and stayed even until the final 2 rallies, when Kansas took the win after another no-touch ace. The first set ended with a tight gap score of 31-19.
The next set went similarly, with Kansas scoring the first point, but the score stayed close up until the last few rallies, with the final score at 25-20.
The final set began with Houston scoring the first point and maintaining a small lead over Kansas before they eventually came back and took it. The game concluded with a victory for the Jayhawks with a score of 25-15, giving them a 3-0 win over Houston.
Although Houston did not come out with a win, a few players still had impressive performances. On the offensive side, junior outside hitter Sydney Jones managed fourteen kills out of a total of thirty-seven.
The Houston Cougars Volleyball team next faces Kansas State on Sep. 27 at the Morgan Family Arena.
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