10A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN VOLLEYBALL
Kansas' future looks promising
SPORTS
BY MATT WILSON
mwilson@kansan.com
KANSAH STAFF WRITER
LOS ANGELES —The Kansas volleyball team ended an era Friday against UCLA, but coaches and players are not worried about the program's future success.
Kansas enjoyed the most successful four-year stretch in school history during the careers of seniors Paula Caten, Josi Lima and Andi Rozum. During Lima and Rozum's time in Lawrence, the Jayhawks compiled a 75-48 record and made the program's only three NCAA tournament appearances.
Kansas coach Ray Bechard said the seniors would be missed because they meant so much to the program.
Caten contributed to the program's success during the past two seasons when she transferred from Barton County Community College.
"They're just a great group," Bechard said. "They have been outstanding."
Despite the departure of those three mainstays in the Kansas lineup, the Jayhawks have reason to be optimistic for the future. Jayhawk fans need to look no further than the match against the UCLA Bruins for evidence.
Kansas used a rotation that included junior outside hitter Megan Hill, junior defensive specialist Dani Wittman, sophomore middle blocker Caitlin Mahoney, freshman middle blocker Savannah Noyes and freshman defensive specialist Liz Ingram.
Noyes tallied 10 kills against UCLA, second only to Caten's 12. Hill had 8 kills and 2 blocks, and Mahoney finished with 4 and 2, respectively.
Those young Jayhawks will
be joined next year by sophomore opposite hitter Emily Brown and junior outside hitter Jana Correa, who were both starters this season.
In addition, freshman setter Katie Martincich will run the offense after taking a redshirt this year.
Bechard saw signs of their potential in the team's one-match trip to California.
"That was Caitlin's first fulltime match in three years, and I thought she did a really nice job," Bechard said.
"Savannah's really moving up. She looked more mature and attacked well. That undoubtedly is going to give them some confidence going into the spring knowing that they can compete at a high level."
Lima said that the Jayhawks would quickly rebuild and see success without a drop-off.
"All they have to do is stick together and they'll be fine," Lima said.
"Katie is an awesome setter. She's going to do a really good job for KU. They're also going to have Jana coming back. They're going to be a very good team."
Caten agreed, saying that she saw great improvement in players such as Noyes and Hill who learned by being forced into heavy action because of Correa's knee injury.
"The team got more mature. The girls that weren't playing before are now better," Caten said.
She said the way the team pulled together and fought hard, despite several badbreaks during the season, was something that she would always remember and was a good sign for the future.
Edited by Nate Karlin
They were sparked by an 8-1 run midway through the game that gave them a commanding 15-6 lead. UCLA's junior middle blocker Nana Meriwether symbolized the ease with which they took care of business. She recorded one of her three kills of the frame while blowing a bubble.
Volleyball CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12A
UCLA posted a gaudy .412 attack percentage as opposed to Kansas' .030. The Jayhawks also hurt themselves by committing four service errors.
The Jayhawks looked like a completely different team in game two, a 30-26 victory that evened the match. Every Jayhawk who took the floor had a hand in the effort. Freshman middle blocker
Savannah Noyes made the game's two biggest plays, a block and a kill back-to-back to give Kansas a 28-24 lead that it wouldn't relinquish. Noyes had four kills in the game.
Sophomore middle blocker Caitlin Mahoney, who saw substantial playing time in Rozum's absence, added three kills.
Kansas' defense was much better, holding UCLA to a .132 attack percentage. Junior libero Jamie Mathewson recorded seven digs and senior middle blocker Josi Lima had two blocks.
Bechard was happy with the way his team bounced back after a blowout in game one.
"We knew we couldn't get off to a slow start," Bechard said. "We played really well from the
Whatever momentum the Jayhawks took to the locker room was quickly lost, however, as game three started in nightmarish fashion. The Bruins scored the first 11 points of the game behind the serving of freshman defensive specialist Blair Socci. UCLA went on to win 30-17 and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
middle of the game on."
The Bruins closed out the Jayhawks' season with a 30-24 victory in game four. They jumped out to a 16-10 lead and never looked back. Meriwether finished the match with 18 kills to lead all players.
Meriwether had seven kills to lead the Bruins. Noyes tallied three to pace the fawhaws.
Senior outside hitter Paula Caten led the Jayhawks' attack. She accumulated 12 kills in her last collegiate match. Noyes finished with 10 kills and two blocks.
"They've got a few more weapons than we do," Bechard said. "They didn't panic after the second game."
Josi Lima said she was proud of the way her team closed out the season despite the outcome.
Beachard admitted that the Bruins were a tough match-up for the depleted Javahawks.
"We played with everything we had tonight," said Lima, who ended her career at Kansas with 4.5 blocks per game.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 5.2005
"We had nothing to lose and we played really hard," she said.
- Edited by Jonathan Kealing
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Kansas had less than 24 hours to correct the turnover woes, which led to 14 Birmingham Southern points and a 40 percent free-throw percentage, before its game Saturday afternoon against the University of New Orleans.
Poor play in game 1 rectified in game 2
BY RAN SCHNEIDER
rschneider@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Unforced turnovers slowed the Jayhawks' fast-paced offense, holding the team to a season-low eight points in transition after averaging nearly 15 in the first games.
In the game against New Orleans, trailing by one nearly five minutes into the first half, Kansas finally started to play with the intensity and focus it lacked the
Bonnie Henrickson declared herself the crabbiest 4-0 coach in America after Kansas' victory against Birmingham Southern on Friday night. She had good reason.
Her team committed a seasonhigh 20 turnovers and went 7-of-17 from the free-throw line in a game filled with less-than-inspired play at both ends of the court.
"What I struggle with is the intensity," Henrickson, Kansas women's basketball coach, said. "We expect to be successful, but do we understand how to be successful? I'm happy with the win, but I just think right now we can be better and we need to be better."
previous night.
Senior guard Erica Hallman's three-pointer from the corner with 15:36 remaining in the first half gave Kansas a 10-9 lead. The basket set off a 14-2 Kansas run that essentially sealed the victory.
"I thought we came out today and did a good job of being more focused and concentrating, being disciplined and taking care of business early," Hallman said.
The Jayhawks committed a season-low six turnovers, hit more than 70 percent of their free throws and had six players — including all five starters — in double figures.
The lone bench player in double digits against UNO was freshman forward Marija Zinic. Henrickson criticized Zinic's timid play against Birmingham Southern, when she scored six points and missed several open shots under the basket. Zinic responded with the best performance of her young career at Kansas, scoring 12 points off 50 percent shooting from the field in 17 minutes on the floor.
"It's a good feeling, especially when you come off the bench," Zinic said. "We did not play well from the bench yesterday. Today we all had good effort, good in transition and we shot the ball better from the free throw line and from the field."
Edited by Jonathan Kealing
Sweep
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12A
ed shots.
During that game the starters left at the 10-minute mark after establishing a 61-36 lead.
The backups struggled, and Henrickson put the starters back in with four minutes remaining in the game.
Henrickson acknowledged after Friday's game that she must be "the crabbiest 4-0 coach in America." After Saturday's game, she updated her status.
Henrickson singled out Sharita Smith as a bright spot for the evening. Smith, junior guard, played 14 minutes and had seven points. She made all three of her attempt-
"Not as crabby at 5-0," Henrickson said.
Notes:
◆ The tournament was originally scheduled to be played in New Orleans, but was moved because of Hurricane Katrina. Lady Privateers women's basketball coach Amy Champion said having to move to Tyler, Texas, for the semester had affected the team.
"This was supposed to be our tournament, and here we are playing in Kansas," she said.
Catic had 10 assists on Friday and set a new freshman record.
♦ Hallman had a career-high six three-pointers on Friday. Saturday she moved into third place on Kansas' all-time
three-point shooting list.
*Taylor McIntosh's younger sister, Marani McCurtis, sang the National Anthem on Saturday. When asked if she sang, McIntosh laughed and said, "Only at home, not in public."
♦ Birmingham-Southern beat New Orleans 67-45 for second place in the tournament Sunday at Allen Fieldhouse.
— Edited by Tricia Masenthin
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