THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY OCTOBER 27, 2015
MONDAY,OCTOBER 27.2008
SPORTS
3B
VOLLEYBALL
This time,offense sputters
BY JOSH BOWE
jbowe@kansan.com
Coach Ray Bechard wanted his team to reverse its fortunes for its last ten Big 12 matches. But he probably did not want his Jayhawks to take it so literally.
What was not reversed was the outcome as Kansas was swept again Saturday afternoon in College Station to Texas A&M. After playing well offensively but failing on defense against Baylor last week, the Jayhawks sputtered offensively against Texas A&M.
It was a rough ending to a two-match road trip to say the least. Kansas hit an anemic .041 percent and almost had as many errors (24) as kills (28). No Jayhawk reached double-digits in kills as sophomore outside hitter Jenna Kaiser led the team with nine.
"In this conference, on the road especially, you have to have both sides of the net in order," Bechard said. "We didn't have our side of the net in order offensively."
However, the defense that was non-existent against Baylor, showed up for the Aggies. Three players finished with double-digit kills as sophomore libero Melissa Manda paved the way with 12.
Kansas now sits with all alone in seventh place in the Big 12 with a 3-8 record. The only team with a worse record in conference is winless Texas Tech. With the team stagnant in the standings, Bechard wants his players to look at themselves individually.
"It's frustrating, a matter of us taking a little more personal
accountability" Bechard said.
It was not even as if the Aggies had a standout match on offense. A&M only finished with one player in double-digits in kills, junior Mary Batis with a match-high 11. After that, the Jayhawk defense did a solid job of not letting any other players step up and hurt the team.
Sophomore outside hitter Karina Garlington does not see the situation as bleak as it may be. But she was at a loss of words for the offense's drab performance
"We just ran into a lot of trouble putting the ball away and getting clean swings," Garlington said. "So we're just struggling in a lot of different areas."
But regardless, Saturday's match was a backbreaker for Kansas. During a season there are moments that could be singled out as the beginning of the end for a team. But Beachard won't let that happen for the Jayhawks. He never questioned the Jayhawks' effort throughout the match, even if the execution was not there.
If there is a bright spot at the end of the tunnel for Kansas, it is that they finally can return to the comforting confines of the Horejsi Family Athletics Center on Wednesday. To add fuel to the fire, Kansas will be playing archival Missouri as well. If there was ever a moment the Jayhawks needed a spark, this Wednesday could be it.
"That's going to be huge," Garlington said of the upcoming match. "I really think it'll help us get some momentum back."
"We (the coaching staff) never get together and say, 'Wow, I wish this
details
A strange stat tells the tale of Kansas' offensive woes Saturday after noon. Three players finished with as many kills as errors. Middle blockers Natalie Uhart and Brittany Williams and outside hitter Jenna Kaiser were the culprits. Their 16 combined kills were nullified with the accompanying 16 errors.
Freshman Allyson Mayfield saw her most action since Jenna Kaiser was sidelined with her elbow injury and she took advantage. Mayfield had four kills in nine attempts, leading Kansas with a .444 hitting percentage. She was the only Jayhawk to hit above .200.
kid would work harder," Bechard said. "But we let Kansas down in that regard from the standpoint of just having that competitive confidence that we needed to be successful."
Sophomore defensive specialist Mel Townsend has not played since October 4th as she recovers from a fractured wrist. Townsend was involved in some parts of practice this last week, but her return is still uncertain.
Edited by Arthur Hur
Falcons' new quarterback still learning in NFL
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NFL
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — Matt Ryan's homecoming game turned out just as most folks figured, perhaps even Ryan: He and
the theta Falcons lost to the Philadelphia Eagles.
But Ryan and his young teammates learned more about themselves on Sunday — a lot of it positive — in one of the more
difficult venues for a visitor in the NFL, and against one of the more perplexing defenses.
The score was 27-14, but the game was closer than that.
FOOTBALL
Texas Tech jumps two spots
Texas Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree flexes for teammates after completing one of the Red Raiders' nine touchdowns against the Jayawards during Saturday's game at Memorial Stadium. Texas Tech moved up to No. 6 in the AP poll on Sunday while Kansas fell out of the Top 25.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ryan McGeeney/KANSAN
NEW YORK — Texas Tech has its highest ranking in the AP Top 25 in 32 years, and a chance to make another momentous leap coming up.
For coach Mike Leach's Red Raiders, the Texas game will likely be the second of four straight against ranked teams
The Red Raiders moved up two spots by overwhelming Kansas, 63-21 on Saturday. Texas Tech hasn't been ranked this high since Nov. 15, 1976, when coach Steve Sloan had the Red Raiders 8-0 heading into a big home game against No. 9 Houston. Texas Tech lost to Houston, 27-19, and finished that season 10-2 with a loss to Nebraska in the Bluebonnet Bowl.
The Red Raiders moved up to No. 6 in the poll released Sunday as they get ready to host No. 1 Texas. In the process, Texas Tech knocked Kansas from the rankings.
A second consecutive weekend when highly ranked teams ruled produced little change at the top of the media rankings.
No. 7 Southern California slipped a spot after edging Arizona 17-10 on Saturday night. No. 8 Georgia moved up a spot heading into its huge Southeastern Conference game against East Division rival Florida.
Texas is a unanimous No. 1 for the second week in a row, receiving all 65 first-place votes, and the rest of the top five remained the same: No. 2 Alabama, followed by Penn State, Oklahoma and Florida.
No. 10 Utah, No. 11 Boise State and No. 12 TCU all have hopes of breaking into the Bowl Championship Series from conferences without automatic bids.
No 9 Oklahoma State dropped two spots after losing 28-24 in Austin to the Longhorns.
Texas Tech's big win at then-No. 19 Kansas knocked the Jayhawks out of the rankings. After Texas comes to Lubbock on Saturday, the Red Raiders are home for Oklahoma State, then have a week off before playing at Oklahoma.
For the Longhorns, the Texas Tech game will be their fourth straight against a team ranked in the Top 11. The Longhorns has navigated safely through Oklahoma, Missouri and Oklahoma State in October, but those games were all at home or on a neutral field. The trip to Lubbock will be the Longhorns' toughest road test yet.
Ohio State dropped three spots to No. 13 after losing 13-6 to Penn State in a game for first-place in the Big Ten.
No. 14 is Missouri and LSU dropped four spots to No. 15 after a 52-38 loss to Georgia.
No. 16 Florida State, BYU,
Ball State, Tulsa and Minnesota round out the first 20. The Golden Gophers, 7-1 after going 1-11 last season, have their highest ranking since the final poll of the 1999 season.
The final five include three teams that have yo-yoed in and out of the rankings this season.
No. 21 North Carolina and No. 22 Michigan State both dropped out last week but are back in this week.
No. 23 Oregon is back in the rankings for the third time this season and first time in a month.
No. 24 South Florida is the only Big East team left in the rankings. The Bulls dropped 10 spots after losing 24-20 at Louisville.
No. 25 Maryland is ranked for the first time since 2006.
Along with Kansas, falling out were Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech and Boston College.
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