THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN 3B
SPORTS
MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2005 VOLLEYBALL
Poor serving leads to loss
1
Baylor defeats Kansas 3-1
The time for a turn-around is growing short for the Kansas volleyball team.
Kansas was paced by senior middle blocker Josi Lima, who tallied 16 kills, 11 digs and 4.5 blocks on the evening. She was one of four Jayhawks to record double-doubles. Senior setter Andi Rozum finished with 52 assists and nine kills in the losing effort.
The Jayhawks' woes continued Saturday night in Waco, Texas, as Baylor dispatched its guests 5-1 in an important Big 12 match. With nine matches to go, the Jayhawks are now 12-8 and 4-7 in conference play. The latest loss was their fifth in a row and sixth in their last seven matches.
Baylor junior middle blocker Desiree Guillard-Young, who has battled injuries this season, turned in a career performance for the Bears. Her 18 kills and 11 blocks led Baylor to its fourth conference victory, which matched the team's total from last season and tied it with Kansas for eighth place.
BY MATT WILSON
nwilson@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Junior outside hitter Megan Hill had her best match since replacing injured junior Jana Correa. She had 13 kills, a new career high.
Kansas volleyball coach Ray Bechard said he was disappointed in the outcome but applauded the team's effort.
"There are some technical things we need to improve on but they are fixable," he said. "The team is in the right frame of mind right now and extremely united in what they know they can accomplish this season."
Both squads were efficient on
Once again, serving was a problem for the Jayhawks. They had 15 service errors and only four aces. In contrast, Baylor had a successful night serving, with nine aces and only eight errors.
offense. Baylor posted a .285 attack percentage against Kansas' .229. A key for the Bears was defense. Their unit recorded 18.0 blocks to the Jayhawks 10.0.
“It's kind of like shooting free throws in basketball,” Bechard said. “The more you think about it and work on it, it doesn't necessarily get worse but it doesn't get better either.”
Bechard said the team worked on serving every day in practice, but sometimes putting so much emphasis on one area was counterproductive.
Things will not get easier for the Jayhawks. If they hope to snap their skid, they must do so on the road against No. 1 Nebraska on Wednesday night. If that task weren't daunting enough, history is also railing against Kansas. The Jayhawks' only win against the Cornhusker was in 1975. They have never won in Lincoln.
"We'd like to get a win, but we're looking at it as a 10-game season from here on," Bechard said. "We need our share of wins to extend our season. It's another opportunity for us to get better."
Kansas has averaged 3.13 errors per game this season from behind the line. That has negated its 1.71 aces per game average, which is second in the Big 12 Conference.
"We took a few more risks," Bechard said. "They were going to side out and score points if we didn't become aggressive, so it's kind of a catch-22."
Edited by Katie Lohrenz
NFL
New York Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce tackles Denver Broncos tight end Jeb Putzier on second down in the second quarter of their game Sunday at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
Kathy Willens/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Eli leads New York to Giant comeback
BY DAVID PORTER
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Eli Manning was backpaddling under pressure, spinning away from a defender and heaving the ball in what looked like desperation.
The second-year quarterback's education took another huge step forward with the 2-yard touchdown toss that capped a brilliant comeback drive and snapped Denver's six-game winning streak, despite another stellar running effort by the Broncos.
Except there was nothing desperate about this pass, caught in the end zone on the run by a leaping Amani Toomer with :08 remaining to give the New York Giants a 24-23 victory against Denver on Sunday.
The second-year quarterback's education took another huge step forward with the two-yard touchdown toss that capped a brilliant comeback drive and snapped Denver's six-game winning streak, despite another stellar running effort by the Broncos.
Trailing 23-17 with 3:29 left,
Manning drove the Giants from their 17 to the Denver 2. The big play that got them there was a 24-yard pass to tight end Jeremy Shockey on third-and-10 at the Denver 32.
Manning, who had been kept on the run by Denver for most of Sunday's game, finished 23-of-42 for 214 yards and two touchdowns for the Giants (4-2), who trailed from midway through the second quarter until the final drive. His other touchdown pass came to Plaxico Burress in
After an incompletion and a short pass to Tiki Barber, Manning, off-balance and under heavy pressure, found Toomer just inside the goal line for the score.
It's was a familiar sight, but with a different result: Last week, Manning led his team on a similar drive in Dallas, spinning away from a blitzing defender and hitting Shockey in the end zone to tie the game with less than a minute left. But the Giants never got the ball in overtime and lost to the Cowboys 16-13.
the first quarter.
Denver (5-2) quarterback Jake Plummer finished 18-of-29 for 194 yards and one touchdown, and Jason Elam kicked three field goals for the Broncos. Elam missed a 49-yard with 5:18 left in the game after Barber scored on a 4-yard run to bring the Giants within 6 points at 23-17.
Mike Anderson gained 120 yards on 24 carries and scored on a 2-yard touchdown run for Denver, while Tatum Bell had 60 yards on 8 carries.
Manning was intercepted by Champ Bailey on the Giants' next possession, but New York held Denver on downs and got the ball back one more time.
The Broncos, the NFL's third-best rushing team, ran for 191 yards, 38 yards more than their average coming into the game.
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