PAGE 8
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2014
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
BEN LIPOWITZ/KANSAN
Sophomore libero Cassie Wait passes the ball to freshman setter Ainise Havili. Wait earned the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week award the week of Oct. 12.
Jayhawks head home to take on Red Raiders
KYLE PAPPAS
@KylePap
The Kansas volleyball team (15-5, 3-3) returns home to take on Texas Tech (15-5, 3-4) Saturday afternoon at the Horeksi Family Athletics Center.
The Jayhawks appear to be well on the road to recovery after suffering a 0-3 start to conference play. At the bottom of the Big 12 standings only a week ago, they currently sit in fourth, and will look to improve that position with a win against the Red Raiders.
Coach Ray Bechard's squad has seemed to find its happy medium over the past few matches. It's distributing the ball better than it has all season and giving its middle blockers an opportunity to become more involved. Senior outside hitter Chelsea Albers has been a force all season; her 3.17 kills per set are seventh-best in the Big 12, and she's recorded double-digit kills in six of her last eight contests.
While Albers has been the backbone of this Kansas team all year, there are several other players who have increased their contributions to propel the jayhawks out of the league's cellar as well. Sophomore outside hitter Taylor Soucie and sophomore libero Cassie Wait have been two such players. Each was awarded a Big 12 weekly award for the week of Oct. 12, with Soucie earning the offensive player of the week, and Wait earning defensive player of the week.
dropped three of its last four in the Big 12. After a light non-conference schedule that included matchups with Gardner-Webb, Incarnate Word and Texas-Pan American. Tech's sluggish start isn't necessarily surprising.
defensive player of the Though Soucie had been relatively quiet this season prior to her 16-kill performance against TCU, the sophomore has been extremely efficient with her opportunities - her .374 hitting percentage is second in the conference. Wait has been stellar on defense for Kansas, as her 4.81 digs per set rank third in the Big 12.
The Red Raiders are led by sophomore middle blocker Lauren Douglass and senior libero Rachel Brummit. Douglass, a transfer from Ole Miss who sat out last season due to NCAA rules, leads the offensive attack, averaging 2.62 kills per set on a .318 hitting percentage. Brummit, a 2013 honorable mention All-American, leads the defense, averaging 5.14 digs per set —good for second in the Big 12.
Texas Tech has struggled mightily since beginning conference play. After winning its first 13 matches, it's now
As a team, Tech's biggest strength is likely defense. The .160 hitting percentage it allows to opponents is secondbest in the league.
The match begins at 1 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN3.
Edited by Alyssa Scott
Texas, Oklahoma top Big 12 power rankings
3. KANSAS (15-5, 3-3)
After falling to 0-3 in conference play for the first time since 2011, Kansas has bounced back in a big way claiming three straight Big 12 wins. The Jayhawks rank top five as a team in every Big 12 statistical category and are first in conference kills with 354, averaging 14.16 per set. Even better for Kansas, the team brought home all three Big 12 weekly awards on Monday for the first time in program history. Sophomore middle Taylor Soucie was named Big 12 offensive player of the week, sophomore libero Cassie Wait brought home the defensive player of the week award and freshman settler Ainise Havilli was the
Who else? Texas is the only undefeated team left in conference and started the week ranked second in the country by the AVCA coaches. The Longhorns strong play coincides with the team's ability to hit and block with minimal errors. Texas leads the Big 12 in hitting percentage at .311, and also tops the conference in opponent hitting percentage at .143.
1. TEXAS (14-0, 6-0)
MATT CORTE
@Corte_UDK
2. OKLAHOMA (14-5, 5-1) Oklahoma struggled with four losses before conference play began, but has been nothing short of spectacular since. The Sooners only conference loss was a shocker at Iowa State on Oct. 12, but the team has rebounded nicely with back-to-back conference wins since. A majority of Oklahoma's success comes from the team's two best hitters, sophomore Madison Ward and junior Kierra Holst. Ward ranks second in Big 12 kills per set with 4.05, and Holst is fourth on the list at 3.71 kills per conference match.
6. TEXAS TECH (15-4, 3-4) Texas Tech played a relatively weak nonconference schedule which resulted in a strong 12-0 start, but the team has faltered since by dropping four of seven. The Red Raiders 3-4 Big 12 record gives them one more conference win than West Virginia, who's in the fifth spot, but because the Mountaineers beat Texas Tech, that means the Raiders drop to sixth. One statistical category haunting Texas Tech in conference play has been the team's hitting percentage.
They rank dead last in the Big 12 with a .159 hitting percentage, and the teams 172 hitting errors also lead the league.
5. WEST VIRGINIA (12-8, 2-4) West Virginia has an odd statistic that no other Big 12 team can boast thus far. The Mountaineers are the lone conference team to take Texas to a fifth set this season, something only volleyball powerhouse Nebraska has been able to accomplish. Although they went on to lose the match, it still shows how much potential West Virginia has. Much of that potential comes from sophomore outside hitter Jordan Anderson. She leads the Big 12 in kills per conference match at 4.73, and her 5.0 points per set also rank her first in conference.
As mentioned in the Kansas State section, Baylor's one conference win surprisingly came against the Wildcats in Manhattan. The Bears have lost every conference match since, going 0-5, and have only taken one team to a fifth set during that span. Baylor earns the last spot in these rankings not only because they lost to TCU, but also because the team is statically worse than the Horned Frogs in multiple categories, including hitting percentage and blocks.
7. IDWA STATE (10-7,2-4)
9. BAYLOR (11-10, 1-5)
— Edited by Logan Schlossberg
It was a toss up between TCU and Baylor for the eighth spot but because the Horned Frogs beat Baylor in the two teams only head-to-head match means TCU is just that much better. Statistically, the only thing going for TCU right now is serving. The Horned Frogs lead the conference in service aces per set with 1.27, and sophomore setter/outside hitter Trisha Langley sits atop the Big 12 with .60 aces per set.
The Cyclones have been a confusing bunch to say the least. Why? Iowa State has defeated contending conference teams like West Virginia, but has also lost to the low-ranked like TCU, which makes the team nearly impossible to rank. What's helping the team most is without a doubt the ability to dig and set the ball. Iowa State as a whole ranks first in conference in both categories, digging on average 16 balls per set, while assisting a kill 13.38 times per set.
8. TCU (12-9, 2-5)
Big 12 rookie of the week.
4. KANSAS STATE (17-3, 4-2) Kansas State has already shown they can win big matches by beating Kansas in Lawrence, but the teams 3-1 loss at home against Baylor is still puzzling, and pushes them to fourth in these power rankings. Coaches around the country are a bit less skeptical than I, ranking Kansas State as the 22nd best team in the country, the only Big 12 squad besides Texas in the top 25. Kansas State leads the Big 12 in blocks per set with 3.11, and the team's senior Natali Jones leads the league individually with 1.68 blocks per set.
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Isaiah 59:14 And judgment is turned away backward, and justice stands afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.