Was there anything about the experience of making it out of the first week and preparing for the second that sticks with you? Soucie: And their dancing on the sidelines? Our team can definitely relate to them on that one. It’s kind of the underdog approach I’m seeing now: Every game they win it’s like, “Oh wow, they’re here again. When we kept winning and having a good time, it was a big surprise to a lot of people. We were projected as a middle-of-the-pack Big 12 team that could maybe make the tournament and then get ousted early. Havili: I know we were ranked ninth, but at the beginning of that season nobody expected us to really do anything. Seeing that they have fun on the bench, that’s really important too, getting that energy from every single player. Soucie: I’d say the way they play for each other and cheer one another on. We knew if we played our best we’d eventually be paired up with USC, and when that happened, we had a similar underdog mindset to what I’m seeing now: We weren’t scared, we were resilient and we were ready to fight for every point. I know they’re at a different point than we were - we kind of knew we were going to make the tournament, and since we were the ninth overall seed, we were the favorites for the first couple of rounds - but the parallels are still there. Rigdon: They have the same fight in them that we did in 2015, kind of a go-get-it attitude. Q: Do you see any parallels between this group and your Final Four squad? But I’ve been keeping up through stats and social media, and I think what they’re doing now is so awesome. Payne: I’m in my fourth season playing professionally and in my second season with a team here in South Korea, so the time difference has made it kind of hard to follow them as closely as I’d like.

It seems like they’re always having a good time - especially when they’re winning. They’re fun, and they look like they’re having fun, so that’s always a plus. Havili: They’re a pretty young team, but they’ve got a lot of fire, a lot of fight.

They fought hard and it sounds like they’re playing their best volleyball of the entire season. They look like a team that plays together and plays for each other, and those are always great qualities to have. Soucie: I’m a physician assistant at a family medicine clinic about 30 minutes outside of Omaha, so when I saw KU would open tournament play up here I was excited to get a chance to see them in person.

Q: What are your thoughts on what you’ve seen from this year’s Jayhawk volleyball team?

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