PAGE 8
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2011
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VOLLEYBALL
Volleyball defends home court, stays perfect
MATT GALLOWAY mgalloway@kansan.com
The Kansas volleyball team remained undefeated with three victories this weekend at the Jayhawk Invitational. However, the Jayhawks' best plays may have come on a point the team actually lost.
The Jayhawks (6-0) notched consecutive wins over Belmont, Appalachian State and South Dakota State to claim victory in their own invitational this weekend at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center. Senior outside hitter Allison Mayfield recorded 43 kills and was named the most valuable player for the team's second straight tournament.
Mayfield said racking up tournament MVPs feels great, but is not what matters to her in the long run.
"It not something that is super important to me, but it's great to have," Mayfield said. "It really just shows my team is doing a really great job playing together. They're allowing me to play well with all the effort they're putting in on the court. Our main goal was to come out, get the wins and take care of
business."
Saturday afternoon's match against South Dakota State (5-2) was the decisive contest in the invitational as both teams won their Friday contests. Late in the second set, the Jayhawks had two consecutive spectacular digs that brought their fans for a standing ovation, despite the point being awarded to the Jackrabbits.
"There were a couple of times where we had some scrapy plays, and the fans love it," Mayfield said. "I wish we could win the point because it probably would have been the loudest I would have ever heard this gym, but it was a great rally."
The rally was an encouraging sign for coach Ray Bechard, but he said the team has to learn to finish those exchanges if they want to be successful this season.
"There were some times today where we really, really grooved and scrambled, whatever you want to call it," Bechard said. "But then we have got to figure out how to win those rallies, too. That kind of effort is good, but how do you end plays like that?"
South Dakota State by sweeping.
25-11, 25-21, 25-23.
Kansas finished the game with
In Friday afternoon's match against Belmont (2-5), the Jayhawks lost their first set of the season in the second. The team responded by jumping out to a 12-6 advantage in the third set and never looked back, defeating the Bruins on the next two sets. The Jayhawks defeated the Bruins, 25-17, 22-25, 25-19, 25-18.
Sophomore libero Brianne Riley had 13 of the Jayhawks' 52 digs on Friday night. Riley credited her middle blockers, junior Tayler Tolefree and sophomore Caroline Jarmoc, in helping her stand out over the weekend.
Mayfield set the tone early in the team's second match against Appalachian State (4-3), recording four kills in the Jayhawks' first eight points. Behind Mayfield's strong effort, the team jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the first set and won the game, 25-18, 25-14, 25-20.
"I still have more I can improve on," Riley said. "With the blockers I have I'm still able to make those digs, with Jarmoc and Tolefree in the middle, I can read my hitters way easier with them."
Tolefree and Jarmoc were both named to the all-tournament team, along with Mayfield. Bechard said he thinks Mayfield is playing the best volleyball of her career, but to Riley, it is just Mayfield being Mayfield.
The Jayhawks will return to action Friday night in Cedar Falls, Iowa, for the Northern Teva Invitational. Bechard said the team will need to sustain performances like they had in the first set against South Dakota State if they want their record to remain uncathed.
"That's just May(field) for you," Riley said. "That's what I expect out of her. But she is playing phenomenal, and as the year goes on, she'll probably get even better, which is awesome. Our team relies on her a lot."
"I was extremely pleased with the way we started the match today, but those are situations where you have to play at that level for an hour and a half, two hours, to beat really good teams," Bechard said. "Right now I think the mantra is that we have got to play better for longer."
Edited by Adam Strunk
Senior outside hitter Allison Mayfield celebrates after a point was awarded to KU Saturday, Kansas will play Nilowa north next Friday at 7 p.m.
MIKE GUNNOE/KANSAN
CHRIS BRONSON/KANSAN
Sophomore setter Kara Wehrs attempts to dig an attack by Belmont during Friday's home opener at Koresi Athletic Center. Her contributions 37 assists and eight digits in the Jawhaws 3-1 victory over Belmont. KU is now 4-0 for the season.
CLAIRE HOWARD/KANSAN
Caroline Jarmoc (9), a sophomore from Calgary, CA, and Sara McClinton (4), a freshman from Blair, Neb, defend the net from Belmont's Amy Van Buren Friday afternoon. The Jayhawks came away with a team total of 17 blocks compared to the Bruin's 6.5 blocks.
CROSS COUNTRY
Men's cross country team grabs first place
The KU cross country men's team took first place at the Bob Timmons Classic, while the women's team finished second.
It was the first win in Zach Zarda's
804 Massachusetts St.
Downtown Lawrence
(703) 529-6200
M's and W's Leadville Jacket
(785) 843-5000
www.techminds.com
"I had plenty of family there," Zarda said.
career, and the accomplishment took place on the Jayhawks' home course. Rim Rock Farm.
Still, the Jayhawks had a team oriented focus on Saturday.
"The focus was keeping the team and underclassmen running together as a pack." Zarda said.
Eventually, the KU runners separated more than they had intended, but in the end, they still managed to win as a team. Not all of the top runners were able to compete, but this allowed some of the younger athletes to step up under pressure.
Evan Landes and Emilio Trujillo, both freshmen, placed in the top 10 in the race.
The second place finish for the women's was a touch disappointing for coach Stanley Redwine.
"As a team, we need to compete much better in the middle of the race and hopefully our training will take care of that and we'll be ok," he said.
Allie Marquis finished fourth.
Max Goodwin
MIKE GUNNOE/KANSAN
Junior distance runner Zach Zarda leads the group Saturday during the Bob Timmons Classic. Zarda finished first overall with a time of 19.11.30.
Neosho County Community College | Ottawa
Day, Evening, Weekend, & Online Classes
www.neosho.edu
785. 242.2067