Friday, November 3, 2000
The University Daily Kansan
Section B · Page 5
Hawks ready for Bears' solid defense
Senior outside hitter Amy Myatt spikes the ball over an opponent. Myatt is third in the Big 12 Conference in kills per game. The volleyball team will play Baylor this weekend, whose Stevie Nicholas is No. 1 kills. Kansan file photo
By Sarah Warren
sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
Come this weekend, Roy's boys won't be the only ones nursing floor burns.
That's because the Kansas volleyball players plan to be diving all across the court when they take on the Baylor Bears at 2 p.m. tomorrow.
"Baylor plays great defense," said senior outside hitter Nancy Bell. "We'll have to match them dig for dig."
The Bears are ranked fourth in the Big 12 Conference in digs at 17.06 digs per game, while the Jayhawks are seventh with 15.61.
But digging the ball off the floor won't be the only thing that the Jayhawks have to worry about—the Bears have a full arsenal of ball killers too.
In fact, Baylor's freshman outside hitter Stevie Nicholas has quite the swing, allowing her to knock down enough balls to be
the best in the Big 12 Conference. Nicholas is No. 1 in kills per game in the conference with 5.76. Furthermore, this season the Bears have out-killed opponents by more than 200 kills, a sizable margin compared with Kansas, which has outscored its opponents by 88 kills.
However, Nicholas could find herself in a smack-down shoot out. The Jayhawks' senior outside hitter Amy Myatt is third in kills, bringing down 4.78 kills in a game.
This is where the digs become important: The one who digs prevents the kill.
"They have a lot of good go-to players," said Molly LaMere, junior setter. "We need to dig as much as they do."
Kansas put up a good fight earlier this season in a close match against Baylor on Sept. 27 in Waco, Texas. There the 'Hawks fell in five games 8-15, 15-1, 6-16, 17-15, 8-15. However, Myatt won
the shootout in Waco, killing a game-high 28 balls. Also in that game, Bell and senior middle blocker Danielle Geronymo recorded double-doubles. Geronymo had 15 kills and 11 digs, while Bell claimed 13 kills and 10 digs of her own.
"Especially with a win like tonight's, where everyone gets to play, it gives you confidence for the next game," LaMere said after Tuesday's match.
With how close the score was in teams' last meeting, as well as Kansas' shut-out of Iowa State Tuesday night, the Jayhawks are preparing for one confident fight.
And, as the season winds down, both teams are looking toward tomorrow's match up as a key match for a NCAA tournament birth.
"They're fighting to get into the NCAA tournament, and we're a team with an outside chance," Bechard said. "This is a huge match."
Edited by Erin McDaniel
No. Pos. Name Ht. Year
4 OH Sarah Kidd 5-11 sr.
7 MB Danielle Geronymy 6-2 sr.
8 S Molly LaMere 5-7 jr.
10 OH Nancy Bell 5-10 sr.
14 OH Amy Myatt 6-0 sr.
14 DS Jennifer Kraft 5-5 so.
kansasstarters
Kansas Leaders
Kills Kills
Myatt 392
Bell 283
Geronymo 226
Total 1375
Opponents 1287
Aces
Kraft
Sarah Rome
LaMere
Total
Opponents
Defeat
Kills per game
4.78 (3rd in the Big 12)
3.45
2.86
16.77
15.70
24
23
19
116
108
Diga
Geronymo 226
LareMere 195
Rome 190
total 1280
Opinions 1218
Blocks
Volleyball
Diga per game
2.86
2.38
2.30
15.61
14.85
Geronymo 27 77 Total 104 Per game
Bell 4 50 54 .66
K. Thomas 10 42 52 .69
Total 208.5 2.54
Opponents 219 2.67
Kansas (13-10, 4-10) versus Baylor (13-10, 6-8)
2 p.m. Saturday at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center in Lawrence
Baylor
Standings in Big 12
Kansas
Ratios
Hitting Percentage: 6th (2.50)
Kills per game: 6th (16.77)
Aces per game: 5th (1.41)
Blocks per games: 6th (2.54)
Digs per game: 7th (15.61)
Baylor
Hitting Percentage: 4th (.252)
Kills per game: 2nd (18.27)
Aces per game: 9th (1.17)
Blocks per games: 7th (2.34)
Digs per game: 4th (17.06)
lastmatch
Kansas shut out Iowa State for the second straight time (15,2- 15,4- 15,6) on Tuesday
lastmatch
Baylor fell in three games to Missouri in Columbia. Mo., on Wednesday, 11-15, 12-15, 6-15.
baylorstarters
No. Poa Name Ht. Year
3 OH Dana Atkinson 5-10 sr.
4 DS Kimmy Scott 5-11 jr.
7 S Dana Chuha 5-11 jr.
16 OH Stevie Nicholas 5-10 fr.
17 MB Sunny Nicholas 6-0 jr.
35 OH Tatiana Konen 5-10 jr.
Baylor Leaders
Killa per game
Kills
St.Nicholas 472
Kenon 255
Su. Nicholas 210
Total 1498
Opponents 1291
Aces
Atkinson 16
Kirsten Berg 14
Chuha 14
Total 96
Opponents 108
Digs
Atkinson 292
St. Nicholas 271
Chuha 187
Total 1399
Opponents 1185
Blocks
Blocks Assists
Su.Nicholas 8 55
T.Schwartz 7 47
Kenon 3 47
Total
Opponents
Kills per game
5.76 (1st in the Big 12)
3.23
2.73
Diea per game
FSU, Clemson game pits father against son
Diga per game
3.56 (5th in the Big 12)
3.30
2.28
17.06
14.45
Total Per game
63 .82
54 1.92 (19 in Bg 12)
50 .63
192 2.34
232 2.83
The Associated Press
So, how does a 70-year-old grandpa with only a handful of years left in his coaching career convince a recruit that he, not Tommy, has the player's best long-term interests in mind?
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — If the idea of a father coaching against his son seems awkward, consider the scene in a handful of living rooms scattered across the South last winter.
Walking out the front door after making his pitch would be Florida State's chief recruiter, Bobby Bowden. Walking in would be his son, Tommy Bowden of Clemson.
"I always say, 'Ask Terry,'" Bobby Bowden said, referring to another son, who left Auburn unceremoniously two seasons ago. "Terry used to say he'd be around longer than me, and where's he right now?"
Bowden says that kind of tongue-in-cheek, but there's some truth there, and an even deeper reality beyond that. The recruiting game is almost always personal, and now it's a high-stakes family affair between Clemson and Florida State.
That's especially true now that No. 10 Clemson (8-1, 6-1) has emerged as the main threat to No.4 Florida State (8-1, 6-0) in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The recruiting trail gives way to the football field tomorrow, when father and son meet again, in Bowden Bowl II.
"I don't think you ever really get used to it," Tommy Bowden said. "It's just not a normal occurrence."
Ann Bowden will be sitting in the stands as her husband and son square off in just the second fatherson coaching matchup in major college football history.
In the first meeting last year, there was history on the line. In addition to the first-of-its-kind matchup, Bobby Bowden was trying to become the fifth Division I-A coach to reach 300 victories.
This time, it's the future at stake.
This time, it's the future at stake. Because, as much as the share of the ACC title that's essentially riding on this game, this is a chance for Clemson to truly re-enter the landscape of college football powerhouses. It's a land the Tigers helped define decades ago, only to see the program ravaged by years of scandal and struggle.
"I know what's on the line for us," Tommy Bowden said. "But there are other things that need to be accomplished before that."
Still, it's a testament to Tommy that he has taken this program so far in such a short time.
Were it not for a spectaculare catch by Georgia Tech's Kerry Watkins last week in the waning moments, the Tigers would come here undefeated and this game would truly be a national-title playoff game.
Either way, Clemson would have been considered a major underdog
— the Seminoles are 18 1/2-point favorites — simply because of the program Bobby Bowden has built in the last 25 years.
In an era where storied programs fall and rise and fall again — see Alabama and Oklahoma this year
— FSU maintains its high status.
The Seminoles have won at least a share of the ACC title every year since they entered in 1992.
they have yet to lose a conference home game, an impressive feat no matter what the critics say about the strength of the conference.
These are daunting facts for anyone who thinks about knocking off the Seminoles. And the foundation is built not as much on Bobby Bowden's Xs and Os, but on his power of personality, a trait that hits home in the living rooms of those recruits, then pays off on campus and on the scoreboard.
"If you're going to beat them, you have to play a lot of people," said Georgia Tech's George O'Leary, the last coach thought to be the big threat to Bowden and FSU. "You have to get your depth to where you can play people and not have a major drop-off between the first and second teams. Because that's what you're really facing when you play Florida State."
The overriding feeling is that Tommy Bowden hasn't reached that point yet, but he's getting close.
If he does knock off Florida State, there's some sentiment, especially among those who know these coaches best, that the end might follow shortly for daddy.
"My mother is 100 percent Florida State." Terry Bowden said. "It's not the boy's time to beat the old man. My parents are smart enough to know that people will quickly want to put you out to pasture when you lose one or two games."
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...Every Little Bit Helps!"
You may think United Way only appreciates large gifts. But every donation helps someone, somehow. This is how United Way helps: by pooling a lot of small gifts from many people, help can be offered to our neighbors here in Douglas County.
Marge Hazlett Secretary Head Football Coach Athletic Department
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