The Jayhawks had been in it this situation before. Down two sets to none, Kansas needed to win three sets in a row to complete another miraculous comeback. It accomplished two, but that was as far as it got.

Kansas ended up falling to Texas A&M in five sets last night in the Horejsi Family Athletics Center. It was another frustrating start for the Jayhawks, creating another 0-2 hole to dig themselves out of.

“Obviously that’s not our plan,” coach Ray Bechard said. “We just did not respond like we needed to.”

Texas A&M, to its credit, played about as well as any opponent Kansas had seen this year. Texas A&M hit an astonishing .413 after two sets with only five errors combined in the two sets.

Meanwhile, the Jayhawks had six errors apiece in the first two sets, failing to hit .200 in each of the first two sets. The Aggies’ balanced offensive attack kept the Jayhawks blockers at bay, as four Aggies had at least 12 kills, with junior outside hitter Sarah Ammerman leading the way with 17.

After those first two disappointing sets, Kansas came out for set three and four looking like a completely different team. Behind sophomore outside hitters Jenna Kaiser and Karina Garlington, the Jayhawks cruised to two set victories in a row. It is what makes that ever more frustrating for Bechard that his team came out so flat for set five.

“You throw out all the stats when you go to a set five,” Bechard said of the match in general. “Whoever makes the most plays, and once again we came up short on that deal.”

In that set five, it was the six Kansas errors, compared to the one of Texas A&M’s, that did Kansas in. Especially when it compares to the four errors seen in set four for Kansas. Bechard knows not too many teams are going to win a 15-point set five with six errors.

“We have six errors in the fifth set,” Bechard said. “Granted there were some blocked balls you still got to make better adjustments with our swings.”

If there was one bright spot in a match full of darkness, it was Kaiser’s performance. She notched a season-high 18 kills playing in her second match without her elbow brace. Kaiser hopes this is a sign for more consistent play on her part.

“I felt like I was missing something,” Kaiser said of playing without the brace. “It just took me awhile to get adjusted.”

Kaiser, along with Garlington were able to form a nice one-two punch the Jayhawks have lacked all season. At times, it felt Kansas had to rely on Garlington too much. But Garlington just hopes that Kansas’ early set struggle will be hammered out.

“We’ve just been struggling to come out strong,” Garlington said. “We’re right there, we just have to fix one or two things.”

NOTES

Inside the match: Texas A&M defeats Kansas (20-25, 19-25, 25-16, 25-19, 8-15)

Why Kansas lost: It is becoming a broken record now: the Jayhawks inability to start a match strong. While the dominating victories in sets three and four are nice, Kansas’ starts are taking a toll on the team, as a fifth set plagued with six errors stopped the Jayhawks winning streak bid.

— - Edited by Arthur Hur