After not having a sweep in a little over a month-and-a-half, Kansas has had two in a row, and freshman setter Nicole Tate could get used to this sort of thing.

“I kind of like it,” Tate said with a smile. “We get done pretty fast. It’s good.”

Fast might have been an understatement. The Jayhawks (12-12, 6-9) could have played another match after disposing the Red Raiders (5-21, 0-15) in three sets (25-15, 25-10, 25-22) in only an hour and ten minutes. It was by far the fastest and most impressive victory for Kansas all year.

“We’re gaining a little bit competitive confidence, a little momentum to next week,” coach Ray Bechard said.

Kansas was firing on all cylinders for a majority of the match.

A third set rally from Texas Tech made the score a lot closer than the match really was. The Red Raiders were never in the game and looked overmatched the first two sets. An impressive showing from the Kansas blockers in set two limited Texas Tech to a negative .233 hitting percentage.

“Our blockers were in front of their hitters all night,” Bechard said. “We forced them to hit shots they didn’t want to hit.”

Offensively, Kansas looked as comfortable as it’s been all year. Except for a sluggish third set, the Jayhawks maintained their tempo during sets one and two, hitting .419. Kansas had only one player, sophomore outside hitter Karina Garlington, hit for at least 10 kills, but five players in all had at least five kills. If there was one low point for the offense was the balance. While five players did get at least five kills, senior middle blocker Natalie Uhart only had six kills attempts.

“We’ve got some kids hitting some high efficiencies that aren’t getting the ball very much,” Bechard said. “But when Garlington is going like she is, you got to make that happen too.”

Tate holds the burden of getting those players involved. But with how bad the Jayhawk offense was playing a week ago, Tate has done a better job of controlling the offense.

“We were just determined to get back on track,” Tate said. “I just have to stay more consistent and distribute the ball better.”

Bechard also mentioned how impressed he was with his team’s execution of its game plan. It would have been easy for Kansas to overlook a Texas Tech team that hasn’t won since September, but junior middle blocker Brittany Williams knows that every team in the Big 12 can be a threat.

“I think every team in the Big 12 you have to respect them,” Williams said. “You have to respect each team.”

There is still a lot of volleyball left and next week Kansas will play Nebraska at home and any confidence the Jayhawks can gain before that will be great.

“Especially since it’s getting down to the end of the season that’s what we really need,” Tate said. “Going into Oklahoma next week and Nebraska, that is something we desperately need.”

— — Edited by Arthur Hur