PAGE 6
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3. 2011
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VOLLEYBALL
Nail biter ends in a loss to rival Missouri
TRAVIS YOUNG/KANSAN
Junior middle blocker Tayler Tolefree blocks a shot from Missouri freshman middle blocker Whitney Little during the first set of the match. Though Tolefree had four blocks and 14 kills, Kansas lost to Missouri with set scores of 24-26, 25-23, 23-25, and 25-19.
MATT GALLOWAY
mgalloway@kansan.com
twitter.com/UDK_vball
The volleyball team lost another game on Wednesday night, this time to rival Mountai at home. Despite the loss, the Jayhawks had one of their best games in conference play.
There is only one problem: Junior middle blocker Tayler Tolefree wants nothing to do with moral victories.
"The NCAA doesn't necessarily look at moral victories," Tolefree said. "You learn from them, and sometime down the road you can look back and see what the value was. But at some point we want a real one."
The Jayhawks (13-11, 1-10) dropped the first two sets against the Tigers (19-9, 5-6) by the slimest margin possible, losing the game in four sets, 26-24, 25-23, 23-25, 25-19.
There were eight ties in each of the first two sets, but the Jayhawks were unable to capitalize on late opportunities. With the score all tied up at 24 in the first, Kansas freshman outside hitter Sara McClinton committed back-toback attack errors that gave the victory to the Tigers. Not a single Jayhawk finished with a negative attack percentage, and the team continued its recent trend of outblocking the opposition.
Coach Ray Bechard said the team has not quit on him but added that effort is something he expects. It is execution, he said, that the team has to work on.
"If it's November and you're playing Missouri, and you're fighting to keep your nose above water, the effort sure as heck better be there," Bechard said. "And that effort has
got to turn into execution."
The Jayhawks rebounded to take the third consecutive two-point set in the third, capitalizing on a 'Tole-free kill and a Tiger error to win 25-23. But Missouri stormed out to an 8-2 lead in the fourth, and a kill by Missouri senior middle blocker Brittney Brimmage finished off Kansas.
Tolefree was arguably the most dominant player on the court, finishing with 14 kills and five blocks. She said her team wasted all the good vibes they gained in the third set early in the fourth.
"The momentum only stays if you keep making plays," Tolefree said. "A few points here and there switches it fast."
Perhaps the highlight of the night for the Jayhawks was a full-sprint, off-the-wall save in by sophomore defensive specialist Jaime Mathieu in the second set, but even that point would eventually go to the Tigers.
"Everyone is in it to win it, so we're always giving it our all," Mathieu said. "When we don't come out with a win, it's just tough."
Bechard tried to stop the bleeding in the fourth by inserting sophomore outside hitter Catherine Carmichael, who promptly recorded a kill. The Jayhawks made the fourth set interesting late, but Bechard's roster shake ups failed to keep the pressure on the Tigers. The coach admitted after the game that he is starting to get frustrated.
"Very, to say the least," Bechard said. "We've tried most of our bench, and we've got capable players. It wasn't a matter of what we were doing offensively those first two games. We just didn't stop them enough."
Edited by Alexandra Esposito
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CROSS COUNTRY
BOB GOLEN JR.
editor@kansan.com
Excuses come easily in the face of adversity. After losing senior Donny Wasinger to a torn Achilles tendon, the cross country team could have demonstrated this saving.
Team perseveres despite loss of captain, lead runner
Despite the fact that Wasinger was a team captain and coming off his third consecutive year as the team's leading runner, the Jayhawks refused to be stalled by this early season obstacle.
"Certainly we weren't happy about it," assistant coach Michael
Whittlesey said, "But I think the team really galvanized."
Senior Austin Bussing assumed the role of the vocal leader of a team that has great depth. The Jayhawks had three team top finishers in five meets this season, including Bussing and junior Zach Zarda twice and freshman James Wilson once. Junior Josh Baden, sophomore Josh Munsch and freshman Reid Buchanan have also been major contributors.
While recovering, Wasinger supports his teammates as his physical health permitted. Not being able
to contribute competitively, he has been a constant source of encouragement to his teammates.
"I know that's not an easy thing to do, so I think he deserves a lot of credit for that," Bussing said about his long-time teammate and friend Wasinger.
The loss of their unquestioned top runner meant the Jayhawks' identity required adjustment.
"When you don't have a bullet in Donny, who is going to be a single digit scoreer or a low scorer for you, you have to be tight from one to five," coach Whittlesey said.
This tough-running pack concept represents a significant shift in the cross country mindset. Bussing said the in-race strategy is to see how closely the team can run together and how far it can move up as a unit, rather than just a group of individuals. The team requires continuous mutual support from everyone. Gone are the days of relying on one runner to carry the load.
Wasinger found the shift encouraging.
"In the past, if it were me and a group of guys, I would take off
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and everyone would just kind of say 'there goes Donny, he's faster,' and nobody would really go after it," Wasinger said. "But this year if one guy goes, six guys are chasing after him. People are getting up there where I was and ahead of where I was because everyone is competing."
To veterans like Bussing and Wasinger, the program's progress is attributable to the runners buying into what the coaching staff is selling. While crediting the coaches for their leadership, Wasinger said the four-year runners have
contributed to the team's attitude toward workouts and practices. The runners come to practice with the mindset of doing whatever it takes to get better. Bussing's greatest personal desire is to be at least partially responsible for turning the program around and getting back on the national scene.
"That would be huge for me," Bussing said.
— Edited by Jonathan Shorman