The University Daily Kansan
Sports
Yesterday in sports
The hockey season opened just as it ended — with an overtime contest in Dallas. The Stars and Colorado Avalanche tied 2-2, as five of their last six games have ended regulation in a tie.
SEE PAGE 7A
Inside: The Kansas women's club soccer team has its sights set on a national title this season.
Inside: The baseball playoffs continued yesterday as the Mariners Giants and Yankees won in their second playoff games.
For comments, contact Melinda Weaver or Jason Walker at 864-4858 or e-mail sports@kansan.com WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPOR
SEE PAGE 6A
Outside hitter Nancy Bell , Orland Park, Ill., senior, gets up in the air to take care of the ball when it enters the Jayhawks' territory. The Jayhawks lost all three games against the Wildcats last night. The 'Hawks came closest to victory, 17-15, in the second game. Photo by Brad Dreier/KANSAN.
Wildcats use digs to beat Jayhawks 3-0
by Sarah Warren
Sports@kansan.com
Kansas sportwriter
Sophomore Jamie Morningstar, defensive specialist, led the Hawks with 12 digs, although she only played the first two games. Seven of her digs came in that first game.
"Obviously that dig differential really hurt us," she said. "Sometimes things just don't go your way and it goes the others' way, and they dig and convert."
Surrounded in a purple haze, confusion and uncharacteristic mistakes masked spurs of top-notch play from the Kansas volleyball team last night as they fell to Kansas State 3-0 in Manhattan.
After falling in the first game 15-6,
the Jayhawks put up a fight in games
two and three, losing 17-15 after four
separate match-point rallies in game
two and falling 15-13 in game three.
"We came close in games two and three, but K-State is a good sideout team, and that cost us," said coach Ray Bechard. "You live and die by being aggressive, and we just didn't fight hard enough tonight."
"That's what they do," Bechard said. "They dig and convert. The dig differential is huge."
K-State, now 10-4 and 4-2 in the Big 12, surpassed the Jayhawks in every category with the exception of blocks, which Kansas recorded 13 to the Wildcats' 10. The Wildcats recorded 30 more kills, 31 more sets and 19 more digs.
"That's what they do. They dig and convert. The dig differential is huge."
Ray Bechard volleyball coach
On the offensive end, Kansas State's Liz Wegner, a senior outside hitter, broke the Wildcats' school record, smacking down 29 kills.
However, the Jayhawks had their own killing machine in Amy Myatt, also a senior outside hitter. Myatt batted down more than 20 kills of her own while nursing a chronic shoulder injury and playing every third rotation.
"Myatt had 21 kills." Bechard said.
"Basically it was all Myatt."
The only other Jayhawk to log double-digit kills was freshman Sarah Rome, who recorded 10. Senior Nancy Bell, who is second on the team in kills for the season behind Myatt, was held to just seven after attacking 28 times.
After the match, Myatt's right shoulder was heavily wrapped in ice and an ace bandage.
"I don't think we've ever played a three-game match for two hours." Myatt said.
Kansas will try to end its threegame losing streak at 7 p.m. Saturday when it takes on Texas at the Horese Family Athletic Center.
Edited by Kimberly Thompson
Kansas feels effects of K-State's court
By Shawn Linenberger sports@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter
Kansas State's old barn was a rockin' last night.
But the rambunctious crowd was nothing new for the Javhawks.
The Kansas volleyball team, playing against the Wildcats in Ahearn Fieldhouse, had to handle roughly 2,000 purple-clad fans along with the six K-State volleyball players on the court.
Senior Amy Myatt said other Big 12 Conference schools such as Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor and Nebraska always - had large crowds at their home arenas.
Sophomore Jamie Morningstar said Nebraska's home court was as rowdy as Ahearn.
"It's very similar to Nebraska."
Morningset said about the fieldhouse. "They're very enthusiastic about the home team."
State basketball team, but is now solely home to Wildcat volleyball.
Ahearn once was home to the K
The structure seats 5,000 now for volleyball, compared to the 14,000 it used to seat for basketball.
But no matter the number, fans behind the bench last night weren't pulling for the Jayhawks. About 30 males wearing purple and white tie-dyed T-shirts heckled the Jayhawks throughout most of the match.
The large male contingent is becoming a popular trend in the Big 12. Mytt said other schools have similar sections.
The lively sections and overall large crowds weren't a concern for Morningstar, who said those factors were just part of the game.
"When you're on the bench, you're going to hear it from people," she said. "If you can't handle that, you're going to have problems. It really doesn't affect us altogether. We just play through
it."
Up until last year, the Jayhawks played in Allen Fieldhouse, an arena similar to K-State's Ahearn.
Allen Fieldhouse, however, didn't provide as strong a homecourt advantage as Ahearn does for K-State. The court at K-State is crammed into one end of Ahearn, while the court in Allen Fieldhouse was located in the middle of the basketball court.
Morningstar said the move from Allen Fieldhouse wasn't a problem. In fact, she prefers the 1,300-seat Horeksi Center as the home of the Jayhawks.
The Jayhawks moved into the cozier Horejsi Family Athletic Center last year.
"It's the greatest feeling," Morningstar said about walking onto the court in the Horejsi Center. "It feels so full and energized."
Edited by Shawn Hutchinson
Sarah Rome,
Eagan, Minn,
freshman, puts
the ball past two
K-State front
blockers. Rome
is one of five
freshmen on the
team.
Photo by Brad Dreier/KANSAN
Linebacker eager for Sunflower Showdown
Player discourages fans from assuming an easy K-State win
By Jason Franchuk
sports@kansan.com
Kansas sportswriter
Before confronting Kansas linebacker Dariss Lomax with an opinion about Saturday's game, understand that there are nerequites.
You must not be a member of the media. You must not be a fan of Kansas State or Kansas, for that matter.
You must have shoulder pads.
"This game is not played in newspapers or magazines," Lomax said. "A lot of people are already counting us out. None of them are putting on shoulder pads and playing."
Lomax has heard all the grumblings about how lopsided the Sunflower
Showdown has been the past few years, but unless you happen to be playing in Saturday's 1 p.m. contest at Memorial Stadium, he has no time for your views.
For the Jayhawks, suiting up the past seven years to play K-State has not been a problem. Winning has been.
The past two contests have been particularly memorable for Kansas. There was the 54-6 Halloween nightmare two years ago, in which then-quarterback Zac Wegner was knocked out by a devastating hit that left him with a concussion and a
Since winning at home in 1992, Kansas has lost seven consecutive games and has been outscored 262-72.
shattered finger.
"You can't help but look at it," Lomax said. "But you've just gotta go out and try to beat them on the front line every play." Lomax, who is from Kansas City, Kan., knows plenty about winning the battles up front. He also knows plenty about K-State
Last year Kansas State won again, 50-9.
Despite such recent results, Kansas coach Terry Allen said he always looked forward to this game. As does Lomax.
He originally committed to K-State for his freshman year in 1996 before then-Kansas coach Glen Mason lured him to Lawrence.
Of course, Mason left a year later and Lomax was left with the frustrations of wondering why he did not go to the fledgling Wildcats to begin with.
Lomax said when Mason recruited him, there was never any indication the coach
would be leaving soon. Lomax did not want to discuss why he reneged on his original commitment to K-State, but he said he was frustrated at the situation he was in when Mason left.
"Then, I thought 'Dang, why'd he leave,' Lomax said. "But I've learned it's a business. He had to make a decision. He has to put food on the table for his family."
Lomax said a transfer would have been a waste of time.
"It wouldn't really make a lot of sense," he said. "I didn't want to go somewhere and start over again."
What he would like to start again is winning in this series. Kansas has won more games (61) in the showdown than against any other opponent, and Lomax would like to change K-State's recent winning streak.
- Edited by Clay McQuistion
Volleyball dangerous for players
I worry too much.
I worry about whether the White Sox can rebound from a 2-0 series slump against the Mariners. I worry about the prospect of having my dirty Wescoe Terrace hot dog react badly with my innards. But mostly, I worry about the well-being of the Kansas volleyball players.
Not so much on the athletic front, because they've shown they can hang out on the big kids' playground. Last week, they pushed two nationally ranked teams, Baylor and Texas Tech, to five games, the maximum number per match. They lost both matches, but they didn't lose their lunch money either.
My concern lay in the dangers of playing the game. I'm surprised more athletes haven't been hurt while competing at the Horejsi Family Athletic Center.
Football players are issued pads, soccer players get shin guards, but little stands between a volleyball player and a humiliating injury.
Don't laugh—I'm serious.
First of all, there's the possibility of a ball slamming into your head at 60 mph. Talk about a bad hangover. No one wants a Nike swoosh tattooed on their nose.
Before the Nebraska bullies came to town two weeks ago, coach Ray Bechard joked that he should borrow football helmets for his players' protection. I'm sure sophomore defensive specialist Jennifer Kraft — who received a ball in the face compliments of a 'Husker spiker' would have appreciated the extra protection.
If you can dodge the flying balls, you've got to deal with the court. It looks harmless enough. But once the players start moving and sweating (yes, girls do sweat), the floor gets slippery, and feet start flailing.
Toweling off the floor can help after the point is over, but I don't want to see our Jayhawks laying flat on their backs because they slipped diving for a ball. Maybe Nike can sponsor a drain-off system to curb this problem.
But perhaps the most dangerous object on the court is the net. What harm could nine meters of interwoven rope do to a player? Plenty — take it from me.
OK, I wasn't playing volleyball, but that didn't change the consequences. My front tooth was ripped in first grade because of a stinky net.
We just finished the volleyball portion of gym class, so the nets still divided the room. The class was running relay races to decide which group would win free candy. My group consisted of most of the top athletes, so we were golden. I was the anchor leg, so only one lap stood between me and the nerds.
Then, disaster struck. I veered to the left, ran into the net just long enough for the netting to wrap around my front tooth, then pulled away and kept running.
Talk about your all-time backfire.
My tooth came out, my 300-pound gym teacher passed out and my Brownie uniform was permanently dyed red.
My dentist used a root canal to save the tooth, but I had to endure years of being called "Blue Tooth." To this day, my childhood friends still find humor in my humiliating move.
So when I see senior outside hitters Amy Myatt or Nancy Bell come inches away from snagging their teeth on the way down from a kill, I worry. I want their teeth to remain fully intact. After all, we don't want them to look like they're from Manhattan.
So to help me sleep at night, pray the White Sox win three straight games and the hot dogs at Wescoe Terrace aren't infected. And please don't let any Kansas volleyball players get hurt in the trenches.
Kanzhuba in a Flosmoor, Ill., senior in Journalism.
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