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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY NOVEMBER 24, 2014
PAGE 11
Jayhawks stumble, drops three sets to Texas
MATT CORTE
@Corte UDK
Since a Nov. 1 loss to Texas Christian University, Kansas volleyball had been playing arguably its best all season.
The team compiled a four-match Big 12 winning streak in dominant fashion since defeating opponents a combined 12 sets to two, and finally had willed themselves back into the top four of the conference.
On Saturday, though, the royalty of Big 12 volleyball abruptly put the Jayhawks back in its place.
The No. 3 Texas Longhorns (22-1, 14-1) locked up the Big 12 championship outright when they defeated Oklahoma on Nov. 15, but took it to the Jayhawks all the same, sweeping Kansas 25-20, 25-23, 25-18.
"We could've done a better job out of the locker room in the third set, but we dug ourselves a hole," Kansas coach Ray Bechard said. "We were out of character for us, but playing a big-time opponent can create different issues. Congratulations to them, not only on their Big 12 title but also on playing a good match
today."
Kansas found some rhythm early in set one and looked competitive in the first 20 points of the match, tying the score at 10-10 after a Texas hitting error.
However, Texas middle blocker Molly McCage followed that with three- straight kills, opening the score up 13-10 before two Kansas attack errors extended it to 15-10, putting Texas in the driver's seat for the rest of set one.
"We could've done a better job out of the locker room in the third set, but we dug ourselves a hole."
RAY BECHARD Kansas volleyball coach
The Jayhawks were able to limit Longhorn scoring runs in set two, and it proved effective. Kansas played its best set of the day, and after senior outside hitter Chelsea Albers tied the match at 23-23 with a kill, it looked as if the Jayhawks could get back into the match.
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right back with a kill of its own, and Albers committed a hitting error on the next play to give the Longhorns a commanding 2-0 set lead.
Unfazed, Texas answered
"At 23-all we just needed to make a couple plays in the second set to really change the complexion of the match," Bechard said.
The Longhorns came out strong in set three by extending an early five-point lead at 8-3, and dictated the set by only letting Kansas get within four points the rest of the way. With the win, Texas extended its winning streak over the Javahaws to 22 matches.
Beachard has said the goal for Kansas (20-8, 8-6) is to finish top three in conference, but with Saturday's loss, that challenge becomes much more difficult.
Albers was really the only Kansas player able to thwart Texas' blockers, posting 16 kills in the match along with 11 digs for her eighth double-double this season.
The Jayhawks will need to win their final two Big 12 games in order to do so, and one of those matches comes against third-place Oklahoma.
Edited by Ben Carroll
Junior outside hitter Tiana Dockery passes a TCU serve on Oct. 18. Texas swept Kansas in three sets Saturday.
BEN LIPOWITZ/KANSAN
Team effort by Jayhawks earns Kansas Classic title
AMIE JUST
@AmieJust
Dominating performances from all members of the Kansas swim team led the Layhawks to victory in the Kansas Classic.
Kansas (6-1) won 12-of-18 events and recorded 70 best times from its swimmers.
The Jayhawks finished with 1,283 points. Iowa State came in second with 1,093 points. Northern Iowa was third with 441 points. Nebraska-Omaha scored 378 points. Tabor College rounded out the field with 146 points.
"Championship meets are a lot like a boxing match, it was like a six round boxing match and it's interesting to see the ebbs and flows," coach Clark Campbell said. "We really only had one session that wasn't as good as what we can do and we had five really good sessions. Out of the six, I thought five of the sessions were incredibly strong and that's really good to see because this team is going to be really good."
In addition to performing at the top of their game, the Jayhawks broke Notre Dame's old record Saturday in the 200-medley relay. Sophomore Yulduz Kuchkarova, junior Bryce Hinde, senior Deanna Marks and freshman Hannah Driscoll now share ownership of the fastest mark in Kansas Classic history in that event.
"Out of the six, I thought five of the sessions were incredibly strong and that's really good to see because this team is going to be really good."
CLARK CAMPBELL Kansas swimming and diving coach
Five different layhawks earned individual gold during the Classic. Junior Chelsie Miller won four events, Kuchkarova won two events, and sophomore Lindsay Manning, Hinde and junior Haley Molden all won one a piece.
Many other Jayhawks finished in the top eight in several events, as well.
In the 500-yard freestyle, six
of the top eight swimmers were donning Jayhawks on their swim caps. Miller won the event. Manning finished third, freshman Madison Straight placed fourth, sophomore Sammie Schurig came in fifth, Molden finished sixth and sophomore Allison Merecka placed seventh. In that race alone, Kansas came out with 99 points.
This team effort was showcased throughout the whole weekend.
The 1650-yard freestyle was the only event where fewer than four swimmers scored for Kansas.
"We still have a lot of swimming to do, the kids learned a lot this weekend," Campbell said. "We have a little different format in two weeks, but it's all about the process of growing the swimmer and making them fast and were further ahead than we have been."
The team splits up again for the next round of competition. Some athletes will travel to North Carolina for the USA Winter Nationals meet over Dec. 4-6. The rest of the squad will return to Lawrence for the Jayhawk Open on Dec. 6, with the first event starting at 1 p.m.
— Edited by Ashley Peralta
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