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SPORTS
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KANSAN.COM/SPORTS | MONDAY, SEPT 21, 2015
Volleyball blazes through nonconference play
AMIE JUST
@Amie_Just
The Kansas volleyball squad has been absolutely dominant this year.
The team has knocked off 12 straight opponents, walking through conference play completely unscathed.
Senior Taylor Soucie spikes the ball into Missouri State territory on Saturday, Sept. 19.
Over the 12 matches, Kansas dropped just three sets out of 39. And out of those 39 sets, Kansas beat its opponents by at least 10 points on 16 different occasions. The Jayhaws also held their opponents to less than 10 points in four different sets.
How does a team sustain that much dominance? Overall team talent.
Kansas competed in four tournaments over the season (Arkansas Tournament, Kansas Classic, Pistol Pete Showdown, Jayhawk Classic). In each of those tournaments, a different Jayhawk was named tournament MVP.
"If we can continue to manufacture balance and that type of performance from everybody to where it's hard to decide when you only have two or three spots and there's much more deserving, then you're becoming more of a team," said coach Ray Bechard.
Sophomore setter Anise Havili was named MVP of the Arkansas Tournament. Junior libero Cassie Wait earned the honor for her performance in the Arkansas Invitational. Sophomore outside hitter Madison Rigdon won the title at the Pistol Pete Showdown. Senior outside hitter Tiana Dockery was awarded with MVP honors at the Jayhawk Classic.
Not only were there four different tournament MVPs, but six different Jayhawks were tabbed to the all-tournament teams as well.
Arkansas Tournament
All-Tournament Team: Havli,
Wait, Kelsie Payne, Dockery
Kansas Invitational All-Tourn-
ament Team: Wait, Payne,
Tayler Soucie Pistol Pete
Showdown All-Tournament
Team: Rigdon, Soucie, Havili
Jayhawk Classic All-Tourn-
ment Team: Dockery, Wait,
Pavne
ALEX ROBINSON/KANSAN
As of Sept. 20, the Jayhawks
an continue to manu- balance and that type of performance from everybody to where it's hard to decide when you only have two or three spots and there's much more deserving, then you're becoming more of a team"
RAY BECHARD Head Coach
are ranked No. 17 in the AVCA poll (rankings are updated every Monday). But that's not the only thing the Jayhawks are ranked in.
Havili reigns as No.1 in the nation as the assists-per-set leader. Thanks to Havili's help, the Kansas team as a whole is ranked No.1 in that same statistic.
Sophomore right side hitter Kelsie Payne is ranked No. 43 in the country in hitting percentage. Payne's hitting percentage . (408) is one reason Kansas is ranked No. 1 nationally in kills per set (15.4) and why it's No. 4 nationally in team hitting percentage . (310).
To start out the conference play, next up for Kansas is instate rival Kansas State. The Jayhawks host the Wildcats on Sept. 23 at 6:30 p.m. in the Horese Center.
- Edited by Maddie Farber
DEREK SKILLETT/KANSAN
The Kansas and Iowa State rugby squads get ready for a scrum on Saturday, Sept. 19.
KU rugby team starting to turn heads after win over Iowa State
DEREK SKILLETT
@derek skillett
After opening their fall season with a 27-22 victory over the defending Division III National Champion Wichita Barbarians RFC, the Jayhawks rugby team earned another big win on Saturday by defeating a tough Iowa State squad 27-12 at the Westwick Rugby Complex in Lawrence.
The Jayhawks are now 2-0 on the season, but more importantly, defeating the Cyclones means that Kansas has a 1-0 record in Merit Table Matches. The victory also qualifies the Jayhawks for the College Division 1-AA national rugby playoffs.
"This game is huge for us. This was our first Merit Table game, which are the ones that really matter, the ones that
Kansas got the scoring started early with senior Danny Buteyn giving the Jayhawks a 7-0 lead on a tough sprint through the Iowa State goalposts. Iowa State struck back later in the half, downing the ball in the try-zone for five points. The game was stuck at 7-5 heading into halftime.
count for national championships and everything," said Matt Harmon, the sophomore prop forward and team captain. "To come out for our very first Merit Table game against a really tough team like Iowa State and win is huge. I'm super proud of my team."
"It felt amazing [to score first]. I can't take credit for that though, because our center Sam Tanner gave the ball to me and he made two defenders miss. I had a straight shot for the try-zone," Buteyn said.
"It means everything to me [to get this win]," Buteyn said. "Me and my twin brother came into this club when I was a sophomore. [At that point,] this club wasn't really where we wanted it to be. It took a few years, but we finally got kids to start coming out. This was my last chance to beat the Cyclones [too]."
"That try was a team effort,
and this win was a team effort."
The game broke open in the second half, when the Jayhawks scored 20 of their 27 points. Iowa State only managed to score seven points in the second half, making the final score 27-12 in favor of the Jayhawks.
This win should give the Jayhawks a lot of momentum heading into the new season. The team last spring, which was composed mainly
of freshmen and sophomores, got some valuable experience near the end of the season. The Jayhawks hope that that experience will help kickstart a very successful fall season.
"Rugby is the kind of sport that a lot of times you're struggling with numbers and the commitment is not there," Harmon said. "I think just having this and getting two solid wins is going to really show these kids that we mean business and they're going to want to stay with the team."
The Jayhawks will remain in Lawrence next Saturday for a game against Truman State for their second Merit Table match of the season.
- Edited by Dani Malakoff
Women's tennis falls in semifinals at tournament
Kansas began its fall tennis season in Midland, Texas at the Midland Invitational this past weekend. Sophomore Summer Collins and senior Maria Cardona represented Kansas in the tournament, competing in both the singles and doubles tournament.
SHELBY DUFOUR
@shelbsdu456
For the first time in their career, Cardona and Collins were paired together, and they received an opening round bye. During the second round they faced off against Amy Lowter and McKenna Root of UAB. Kansas won 6-3, advancing to play in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
"For Maria, this was the second and third matches she has played in since the end of February due to injury," Chapman said in the press release. "She just needs to continue getting matches under her belt to get back to her old self."
During the singles tournament on day one, Cardona went 1-1. Cardona fell in her first match to Devin McCluskey of Penn State, who won in two sets 7-5, 7-5. In the consolation bracket Cardona won 6-1, 6-4 against Ana Spengler of Lamar.
While Cardona wasn't at her best on that first day, coach Todd Chapman said he wasn't concerned about her play.
Like Cardona, Collins faced a difficult match up, and eventually fell to jackie Zuhse of
With dearer skies on Sunday, Cardona and Collins walked on to the court to take on the doubles semifinals. They were matched against the duo of Sabrina Federici and Felicity Malty from Texas Tech. Unfortunately, Kansas took the loss at 6-4, which ended the team's tournament run.
"Today didn't go the way we had hoped." Chapman said in the press release. "It was a hard fought match. We definitely had chances to come out on the winning side of things. We will head home and look to work on the areas that we had trouble with this weekend."
Cardona faced Pereira again during the singles consolation, in a match that was shortened by inclement weather. Pereira won that match 8-6.
Kansas will continue its season next weekend at two tournaments, the Oklahoma Invitational and the Little Rock Invitational.
On Saturday, Cardona and Collins were set to face tougher competition. They began with the doubles quarterfinals where they faced TCU's Seda Arantekin and Alexis Pereira. Cardona and Collins won 6-3, leading them into the semifinals on Sunday.
Penn State (4-6, 7-6, 6-3). After that match, she faced Sabrina Federici of Texas Tech in the consolation bracket, where she won of 6-4, 6-1.
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Edited by Abby Stuke
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