WEDNESDAY,FEBRUARY 19,2003
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 7B
Volleyball squad hosts tournament
By Ryan Copeland
rcopeland@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
The KU women's volleyball club hosted the third annual Crimson and Blue tournament Saturday at Robinson Center. The team didn't come out on top, but it did display its best performance of the year.
Megan Lacroix, Olathe sophomore and club president, said she was more than happy with the team's performance.
"It was nice to have our best showing so far at home," she said.
The two KU teams, blue and red, finished second and sixth respectively. The University of Colorado wore the 10-team tournament by defeating KU's蓝 team in a best-of-three final. KU won the first game 26-24, but CU bounced back to steal the next two games 25-17 and 15-11 to win the match and the tournament.
The tournament was set up with a first-round round-robin. The 10 squads were divided into two groups, in which every team played each of the other four teams in its group. The roundrobin part of the tournament was used to seed the teams in a bracket system with the top eight teams advancing.
Megan Wood, Dallas sophomore, had a strong showing throughout the tournament at the setter position. Wood provided most of the assists for the team's points. The Jayhawks' defensive star was middle blocker Kristi Charlson, Lincoln, Neb., sophomore.
The women's volleyball club played in four tournaments in the fall. The team was supposed to travel to Ames, Iowa, this weekend to play in a tournament hosted by Iowa State but canceled the trip because of a lack of players.
Scott Reynolds/Kansan
Nationals for club volleyball
Kristin Hayes, Overland Park freshman, spikes the ball against Colorado State University. The KU women's volleyball club entered two teams in a tournament it hosted at Robinson Center Saturday. The KU blue team placed second in the tournament.
will be April 10 to 12 in Columbus, Ohio. Last year the Jayhawks finished 21st out of 60
teams at nationals in Dallas.
— Edited by Erin Chapman
Mike Tyson to battle unknown opponent in weekend match
The Associated Press
LAS VEGAS — Just when it seemed Mike Tyson's world couldn't get more bizarre, he outdid himself.
Faced with an uncertain future and the reality of throwing away a reported $5 million-plus payday, Tyson pronounced himself ready to fight Clifford Etienne after all.
A day before, the former heavyweight champion backed out of the bout.
Tyson planned to get on a chartered jet yesterday to Memphis, Tenn., despite the misgivings of his trainer.
"I told him, 'Mike, as your friend, I don't think you're ready for the fight," trainer Freddie Roach. "He said, I'm going to knock him out. Are you going to be with me?"
"He made the decision and I'm going to stand behind him," Roach said.
While Tyson's mood swings are
well known, Etienne had a little fit of his own and refused to fight on Saturday night.
His manager, Les Bonano, said he had tried to talk Etienne into fighting, but the boxer was adamant.
Promoters said they had four fighters lined up to replace Etienne if he went through with his threat.
"If I were him, I'd be jumping for joy that he's fighting a Mike Tyson who hasn't trained for days," said Tyson's manager, Shelly Finkel.
Tyson's erratic behavior took another twist yesterday when he said he wanted to go through with the fight. The night before, Tyson said he wasn't 100 percent and didn't want to risk not being his best against Etienne.
Tyson's recent run of odd behavior began a week ago, when he got a large tattoo on his left temple. He then missed three straight sparring sessions.
Point production, defense keys to win against Jayhawks
Kansan file photo
Sophomore guard Aquanita Burras drives past a Colorado defender in the game on Jan. 18. The Jayhawks will take on Nebraska at 7tonight in Lincoln, Neb.
By Shane Mettlen
smettlen@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
The Nebraska women's basketball team will try to pull itself out of the Big 12 Conference cellar when they host Kansas at 7 tonight.
Nebraska (8-14 overall, 1-10 Big 12) is tied with Oklahoma State (1-10 Big 12) for last place in the conference, but a victory over the Jayhawks (9-13, 2-9 Big 12) would give both teams two victories in the Big 12 and avenge a 67-
64 loss in Lawrence, Jan. 29. A victory for Kansas could move the Jayhawks into ninth place in the conference and provide a twogame lead over the Huskers.
The Huskers allowed Jayhawk
If Nebraska wants to stop Kansas this time around, the Huskers must get quality production in the paint. Forward Alexa Johnson leads the Huskers in scoring, 15.8 points per game, and center Katie Morse is second, with in 12 points per game, but Nebraska may have to worry defensively.
freshman forward Crystal Kemp to score a career-high 26 points when the two teams played earlier this season. Nebraska also must matchup with another Kansas post player, freshman Tamara Ransburg. Ransburg had 19 points and 12 rebounds Saturday against Missouri.
"I am not really excited," Ransburg said. "I just wanted the team to come out and play. It isn't about
Ransburg said she was happy to be able to put up big numbers but wanted to convert individual success into a victories at Nebraska.
"It's a game that we will go in there with a lot of confidence," Washington said. "I think if we can keep playing defensively the way we are playing right now, we will have a shot at them on the road."
Kansas coach Marian Washington said that despite the narrow margin of victory at home earlier this season, her team sees an opportunity to get a victory in the Huskers' home gym.
Edited by Jason Elliott
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