THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2013
PAGE 3B
VOLLEYBALL
Freshman middle blocker Tayler Soucie goes for a hit against her opponent from TCU on Sept. 28. Kansas defeated TCU in three sets.
FRIN RRFMFR/KANSAN
Kansas faces West Virginia in second conference match
BRIAN HILLIX
bhillix@kansan.com
Kansas (14-4, 4-1) travels to Morgantown, W. Va., on Saturday to face the West Virginia Mountaineers (15-4, 2-3) in its second straight road conference match.
The Jayhawks landed the No. 23 spot in the latest American Coaches Volleyball Association Top 25 poll on Monday after winning 10 of their last 11 matches, with their lone loss coming to defending NCAA champion Texas.
In two matches against the Mountaineers last season, the Jayhawks lost just one set. Aside from that set, Kansas never surrendered
more than 18 points in a set. The Mountaineers finished 0-16 in the conference last season and were picked to finish last again this year.
The Mountaineers have fared much better this season. They have won two conference matches and are tied with Oklahoma for the most total wins among Big 12 teams. However, the Mountaineers have benefited from a light pre-conference schedule.
game was played.
In the NCAA Division I Rating Percentage Index rankings, West Virginia ranks No. 66 while Kansas stands at No. 11. The rankings take into account a team's strength of schedule and looks at team record, opponent records and where the
Kansas leads the conference in assists, kill and blocks. West Virginia tops the conference in lowest hitting percentage allowed with a 152 mark.
Two of the conferences kill leaders go head-to-head as first-ranked West Virginia freshman outside hitter Jordan Anderson goes up against fourth-ranked junior outside hitter Sara McClinton.
Prior to their loss against Texas, the jayhawks had dropped just one set in their first four conference matches.
West Virginia has lost in straight-sets in its last two matches.
Edited by Jessica Mitchell
Jayhawks overcome Raiders in straight sets after Texas loss
BRIAN HILLIX
hhillix@kansan.com
bhillix@kansan.com
Coming off their first loss in more than a month, the Jayhawks topped the Texas Tech Raiders (8-13, 1-5) in straight sets 25-16, 25-23, 25-16 on Wednesday in Lubbock, Texas.
letting it affect their play.
Five players recorded at least six kills to lead a balanced offensive attack in the bounce-back win. Kansas (15-4, 5-1) fell to first-place Texas at home on Saturday in four sets for its first conference loss of the season. Coach Ray Bechard said his team did a good job of not
"That's when you get in trouble is when you let the losses linger." Bechard said. "We needed to bounce back to reach some of our Big 12 goals."
No. 23 Kansas improved to 5-1 in conference play and is undefeated in conference road matches.
The Jayhawks shut down Texas Tech junior outside hitter Breeann Davis as they held her to just seven kills on a .043 attack percentage. Coming into the match, she ranked second in the Big 12 in kills per set.
tine for Kansas, but the second set got off to a slow start after four attack errors in the first six points. The Red Raiders enjoyed leads of 8-2, 19-12 and 23-18 throughout the set, but the Jayhawks kept fighting. Redshirt senior middle blocker, Caroline Jarmoc, took over at the end of the frame and closed the set with four consecutive kills to lead a 7-0 run and take the set. Senior outside hitter Catherine Carmichael, who helped erase the deficit with two kills midway through the set, said it was a full team effort.
The first and third sets were rou-
"We have really good team chemistry," Carmichael said. "We know that we can come back and
win no matter what."
Junior outside hitter Sara McClinton led all players with 13 kills to go with a .462 attack percentage. McClinton has now led the team in kills in five straight matches. Jarmoc notched nine kills and five blocks in the match including six kills in the game-changing second set.
Senior setter Erin McNorton tallied 36 assists and junior outside hitter Chelsea Albers and senior libero Brianne Riley each contributed double-digit digs with 12 and 11, respectively.
Continuing their road trip, the Jayhawks head east on Saturday to play an improved West Virginia team that leads the conference with 16 wins this season.
"They've made a great turnaround," Bechard said. "It will be another quality Big 12 opponent who will have our full attention."
Kamas Comebacks in the Past Week
The lajayhaws continue to fight back in sets after being down late.
Edited by Hannah Barling