8B SPORTS
VOLLEYBALL
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN MONDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2008
Kansas fails to keep strong starts going
Loss to Nebraska marked by errors
BY JOSH BOWE ibowe@kansan.com
Nebraska native Savannah Noyes could not have dreamt of a better start.
The senior middle blocker had Kansas's first two kills as the Jayhawks roared to an 8-4 first set lead. But the Cornhuskers flexed their muscles soon after that.
Kansas fell in three sets to No. 3 Nebraska Saturday night, and the emotion on Noyes' face was obvious. She wanted this one more so than the others.
"Think of a team in any time of your life when that was the most important game of your career," Noyes said she told her teammates before the game. "That's how it is for Nebraska."
Kansas played as well as any team has played against Nebraska early during sets one and two. Set one had nine ties and three lead changes. Unfortunately, Nebraska held onto the last lead change, and prevailed late in set one, 25-21.
Set two was same song, different tune, as Kansas played well early and fought to a 10-10 tie before
Nebraska stepped on the gas and won 25-18.
But set three was a different story.
"We didn't react well, especially late in set three," coach Ray Bechard said.
It was hard to watch, as the Jayhawks seemed to fall apart right before everyone's eyes. An 11-3 run from the Cornhuskers filled with Kansas errors let Nebraska waltz to a 25-12 match and victory.
Sophomore outside hitter Karina Garlington had a night to forget as she had only nine kills while hitting 156. It was hard for her to find the right words to describe the atrocious set three after the match.
"With Nebraska it's hard to be down two sets to none anyways," Garlington said. "We were giving it our best, but just couldn't get it done tonight."
Set three was filled with errors, miscommunication, and bad offense as the Jayhawks had five kills with seven errors. That's a negative hitting percentage and against a team like Nebraska, the match won't last very long.
That third set was terribly disappointing considering how sets one and two went. Kansas hit an impressive .301 combined for the two sets, but Nebraska was just that much better.
The Cornhuskers hit .461 for
sets one and two combined with only three errors.
"The first two sets, we were in it offensively," Bechard said. "They were hitting at such a high clip that it made it very difficult on us to get any string of points together."
Kansas was actually out digging Nebraska after the first two sets, but coach Bechard said while Nebraska's digs were leading to offensive opportunities for the Cornhuskers, Kansas' digs weren't.
"Our digs got to lead opportunities for us offensively," Bechard said. "Our digs just prolonged the rally, and when you prolong the rally against Nebraska, eventually you're going to be in trouble."
It wasn't the way Noyes wanted to end her career against the Cornhuskers, especially at home. She will never get another shot to end the streak, but can only hope for what lies ahead for the program.
In the end, Nebraska continued its dominance over Kansas. The Jayhawks haven't beaten the Cornhuskers in Bechard's 11-year tenure. In fact they haven't won against Nebraska since 1975.
"I definitely want to break that streak," she said. "I didn't do it, but I hope some of these girls can, and it needs to happen soon."
— Edited by Arthur Hur
Sophomore outside hitter Jenna Kaiser attempts to hit a shot past two Nebraska blockers. Kansas was swept by Nebraska in three sets Saturday night at the Horesi Family Athletics Center.
Weston White/KANSAN
NFL
Chiefs fall to Saints 30-20,now only 1-9 on the season
BY DOUG TUCKER ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Like a slick and experienced salesman, Drew Brees knows how to close.
Kansas City, desperate for a win, scored in the fourth quarter to get within seven points and had the home crowd raising a ruckus. But Brees coolly took the NFL's top-ranked offense on a 12-play drive that ate 6 minutes and 27 seconds off the clock and was capped by Garrett Hartley's 35-yard field goal.
A moment later, Usama Young ended Tyler Thigpen's string of 161 passes without an interception and New Orleans preserved a 30-20 victory. It was the Saints' first win on the road since last Dec. 12 in Atlanta.
The Saints (5-5) were 0-4 on the road before Brees threw for 266 yards and a touchdown. New Orleans sacked Tyler Thigpen four times and made two great defensive stands near the goal line.
"The one with more than 3 minutes to go sealed the deal," Brees said. "Only being up by a touchdown, we realized we needed to put a drive together to put it away"
"This is our time to make a run," Brees said. "We've said that for a while now."
Thigpen connected with Dwayne Bowe on two touchdown passes and became the first Chiefs quarterback to throw for a score in four consecutive games since Trent Green in 2005. But it wasn't enough to keep the Chiefs (1-9) from losing for the 18th time in 19 games.
"It's really frustrating," defensive
tackle Glenn Dorsey said. "There were some things that we could have done differently. We were hanging with them and making some plays. But it always comes down to a couple of plays that we should have made that end up determining the outcome of the game."
Lance Moore had eight catches for 102 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown strike when he got behind Ricardo Coldlough on the Saints' second play of the third quarter.
Colclough was one of several unemployed players the Chiefs signed two weeks ago to shore up their injury-wrecked defense.
"It was a slant and go. Lance did a great job of selling it and the corner bit." Brees said, "The second play of the second half really set the tempo for what we were going to do."
Running back Larry Johnson, who had been benched three games by the Chiefs and suspended one by the league, made his long-awaited first start in a month and had 67 yards on 19 carries. Johnson also fumbled twice.
Jarrad Page intercepted Brees on the Saints' second possession.
Nine plays later, Thigpen connected with Bowe on a 6-yard TD pass and the Chiefs, for the fourth game in a row, had a lead they would let fitter away in a loss.
"I was so mad," Brees said. "I knew the coverage. It is one of those things where you look at it from the press box or on film tomorrow and say, 'What are you doing?'
"We've got to do better," Thigpen said. "We've got to win a game.
New Orleans Saints running back Deuce McAllister (26) goes up and over the Kansas City Chiefs' defensive line for a second-quarter touchdown during an NFL football game Sunday in Kansas City, Mo.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
That's the bottom line. It's not about me, it's not about what I
do or what I put up stat-wise. It's about this team and we want to
win a game."
The Chiefs' line didn't have a
good day, after showing improvement the previous two weeks.
SWIMMING & DIVING
KU has huge day against Division II opponent
BY ADAM SAMSON asamson@kansan.com
The Kansas swimming and diving team improved to 5-2 on the season with its 171-80 victory against Division II powerhouse Nebraska-Omaha on Saturday afternoon.
Kansas began the meet with a 1-2-3 finish in the 200-yard medley relay. The team of sophomore Iulia Kuzhil (backstroke), senior Danielle Herrmann (breaststroke), senior Ashley Leidigh (butterfly) and senior Maria Mayrovich (freestyle) won the event with a time of 1:46.11.
In the second event on the day,
senior Anne Liggett led the Jayhawks
to a victory in the 200-yard freestyle.
Liggett won the race with a time of 1:54.94 with freshman Shannon Garlie coming in second with a time of 1:56.11.
The next two events on the day were sprint events, not traditionally swam except for in relays. In the 50-yard backstroke, Kuzhil (.27.21) edged out teammate Abigail Anderson (.27.39) to earn first and second place points for Kansas. In the 50-yard breaststroke, the Jayha-wks went 1-2-3, led by Herrmann, sophomore joy Bunting and senior Rhythm Malloy.
Kansas also swept the 100-yard butterfly led by sophomore Brittany Potter who won the event with a time of 58.60. Freshman Kath Liggett and sophomore Alysa Potter finished
second and third respectively.
Sophomore Erin Mertz, senior Hannah McMacken and junior Meg Proehl dominated the diving portion of the meet. On the 3-meter board, Mertz finished with a score of 310.85, one of her highest scores during the dual meet season. Although the 1-meter diving competition was scored as exhibition for the Kansas women, Mertz placed first, followed by Proehl and McMacken.
Mayrovich won the 50-yard freestyle (23.73) and sophomore Amanda Maez earned second place points for the Jayhawks.
In the 50-yard butterfly, freshman Abigail Anderson took first place with a time of 26.97.
The layhawks coasted their way through the last two events on the day. In the 200-yard individual medley Herrmann, Bunting and Kuzhil placed 1-2-3, but like the 1-meter diving, only Nebraska-Omaha received points for the event.
To close out the day, a 200-yard freestyle relay that consisted of Mayrovich, Leidigh, A. Liggett and Mae placed first with a time of 1:37.73.
Kansas will have a two-week break from meet action and will finish the meet season for the fall semester with the Kenyon Invite in Gambier, Ohio from Dec. 4 to 6.
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— Edited by Arthur Hur