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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2008
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VOLLEYBALL
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Jayhawks' offense sags in loss to Longhorns
Kansas wins one set in Saturday's match against No. 3 Texas
BY JOSH BOWE
jbowe@kansan.com
On Saturday, the Hawks managed to take another set from a top-three team, But this time the Jayhawks and coach Ray Bechard did not sound as enthused after the match.
Kansas (7-6) fell to No. 3 Texas (8-2) at the Horejsi Family Athletic Center in four sets, winning the second set before losing two consecutive sets to close out the match.
The Hawks had also managed to win one set in their match against No. 2 Nebraska on Wednesday.
"I wish we were still out there." Bechard said right after the match. "The last three or four matches, it's been a slow start."
Slow could be an understatement for the Jayhawks. They have lost the first set of every Big 12 match this season, and Saturday was no different. Kansas lost 25-14 and they had just as many kills, seven, as errors.
"Once again you get down to a really good team 0-1, and then it's an uphill struggle." Bechard said.
Texas came out on fire, with a .429 hitting percentage. It looked as if it was going to be another long night for Kansas, but once again it took a first-set dismantling to wake up the Jayhawks.
While the Hawks won their second set, they began it with a shaky start. After starting the set down 1-5, Kansas fought back behind sophomore outside hitter Jenna Kaiser and junior and senior middle blockers Brittany Williams and Natalie Uhart.
Kansas was able to extend its lead to a match-high four points at 17-13, eventually winning the set 25-20 on a Williams kill.
But as with the Nebraska match, it went downhill from there. The Jayhawks lost the next two sets, though they fought admirably in the fourth set, losing 25-23.
"We had some people who struggled offensively tonight," Bechard said, noting sophomore outside hitter Karina Garlington's season-low four kills. "And when you do that you have to find some other ways to help the team."
And down the stretch, it was just too much of the Longhorns' junior All-American outside hitter Destinee Hooker, who finished off the fourth set with four straight kills, bringing her total to 20.
Although they neutralized the rest of the Longhorns' offensive attack, the Jayhawks just could not muster up enough offense to take more than one set, something Bechard said he was not happy with.
"That wasn't our goal tonight."
"We're not taking a pat on the back for taking Texas to four games," Bechard said.
Bechard's players feel the same way, with Uhart ready for the team to get rid of the slow starts.
"It's disappointing. It's like we're tasting victory," Uhart said. "It's hard on us losing that last set by two points."
With Garlington's bad game, it was at least nice for Bechard to see freshmen setter Nicole Tate continue to show signs of improvement. Tate had four kills to go along with three aces, as she used a short serve to get the Longhorns off balance during the second set.
"We saw that playing the ball short would probably help us out," Tate said. "Coach just gave me the go, and I just did what I could."
But once Texas figured out the short serve, the Longhorns regained their advantage.
Even as a freshman, Tate knows that no matter how daunting an opponent is, the victories have to come.
"We should of came out and performed a lot better than we did because losing is just getting unacceptable right now;" Tate said.
Edited by Adam Mowder
Junior middle blocker Brittany Williams blocks a shot at the net Saturday night against Texas, Kansas lost the match in four games to the Longhorns at the Horesi Center.
Weston White/KANSAN
TENNIS
Jayhawk Invitational starts well, ends with mixed results
BY WHITNEY HAMILTON whamilton@kansan.com
Senior Edina Horvath returns a shot from Air Force's Allie Chermel. Horvart went undefended Friday afternoon in the day of play, winning both her singles match, as well as one doubles match at First Serve Tennis Complex.
The Jayhawks had an explosive start to its three-day Jayhawk Invitational this weekend. The team's first home tournament — something new for everybody on the team, since usually it doesn't have a tournament at home — was a major success as the team finished strong the first two days.
To start off the tournament, seniors Yuliana Svistun and Edina Horvath each won their singles matches and a doubles match.
After watching the older players, the rest of the team glided along its opponents effortlessly and continued to use its agility and aggression to knock out other teams.
The four doubles teams performed well together and each set blew the opponents out of the water. Sophomore Maria Martinez and freshman Erin Wilbert defeated Arizona State with an 8-4 victory. As well as Kuni Dorn and Horvath, who earned a victory over Air Force 8-4. The other doubles cycles, partners Swistun and Kate Morozova and Kate Goff and Allie Dzuba each had an 8-3 victory against UMKC proving the Jayhawks strength in doubles once and for all.
Weston White/KANSAN
Throughout the first day, the singles matches seemed to favor the Jayhawks. The benefit of having a tournament at home, beside having a home-court
advantage, was the support of friends and family. Seeing familiar faces in the crowd appeared to be the driving force for the team's overall performance.
Five out of eight players were undefeated on the first day, which consisted of singles and doubles matches — a feat that is worthy of consideration when watching the young team in just its second tournament of the season before the spring.
"It is harder than the spring because you have to concentrate on playing more matches in a day than in the spring where you concentrate on just a singles or doubles game," Martinez said.
On the second day of the Invitational, Martinez continued to shut out her opponents and led the team as the only player still undefeated. "I was playing a little more aggressively and my positioning on the court helped," Martinez said. Martinez beat her opponent, Andrea Straznicka of Kansas State University with 6-3 and 6-0 victories, then had to defeat her own teammate, Svistun. Martinez and her doubles partner, Wilbert defeated Kansas State 8-6 and overpowered Air Force 8-0.
However, things started to head south for the team as Horvath. Dorn and Dzuba each lost their only match of the day, falling just short of a victory. Still, the Hawks had a team record of 6-5 in singles play, with the help of Martinez. Sadly, the luck ran out for the Hawks by the time Sunday rolled around and only
two players won in singles play during the consolation round. Svistun defeated Arizona State (6-1, 6-4) and Dzuba defeated University of Missouri-Kansas City (6-0, 6-1).
Still, the team won't be pining away at the losses, but instead learning from
the experience of playing different teams and making the necessary changes before the next tournament comes around.
"Today's match was pretty tough because the girl was from Nebraska and played really aggressive." Martinez said after her singles match.
The tennis team's next tournament will be the ITA Central Regional Tournament in Salt Lake City, Utah from Oct. 16 through Oct. 19.
Edited by Ramsey Cox
SOCCER
3-2 victory Sunday offsets Friday's double-OT loss
Lincoln, Neb. — No. 25 Kansas was bound to suffer some heartbreak this season.
awiebe@kansan.com
BY ANDREW WIEBE
Nebraska delivered the first stomach punch with a late golden goal Friday night in Lincoln, Neb., as freshman forward Molly Thomas slid the ball past junior goalkeeper Julie Hanley with the three minutes remaining in the second overtime to break a 1-1 tie.
"It hurts pretty bad," senior midfielder Jessica Bush said. "It was a good finish by them. They dominated us the whole game."
Nebraska's long-ball tactics put Kansas
on the back foot from the start. Coach Mark Francis said the team focused on combating the Cornhuskers' direct style of play last week in practice, but the home team consistently found space behind the Jayhawks' backline.
The loss was especially frustrating considering Nebraska is rebuilding after their once-proud program has struggled in recent years.
"We just came out and underestimated them," junior defender Estelle Johnson said. "The younger girls don't really know, but we should by now that any team in the Big 12 can beat any team."
The Huskers outplayed Francis' team for most of the 90 minutes of regulation, but Hanley made two key stops in the early going to keep the game scoreless. Kansas
made the most of its first opportunity just before halftime when senior forward Sara Rogers slipped a pass to junior forward Kim Boyer at the top of the 18-yard box.
Boyer took one look at the goalkeeper off her line and drove a shot into the top netting to send the Jayhawks to the locker room with a lead to protect.
Hanley and her left post kept Nebraska off the scoreboard in the opening 20 minutes of the second half, but the home side finally broke through in the 71st minute.
Sophomore forward Michaella Fulmer latched onto yet another ball behind the Kansas defense and sent a square ball across the race of goal. The pass found junior forward Shay Powell, but sophomore defender Katie Williams deflected her shot.
"They deserved to win," Francis said. "They out-hustled us. That's the bottom line today. First time all season someone out-hustled us."
sent a volley past a helpless Hanley.
Neither team could muster much more in regulation, but Kansas seemed the most likely to walk away with a victory during overtime. Freshman forward Kortney Clifton was alone with the goalkeeper, but she couldn't make the most of the chance.
But Powell was first to the loose ball and
Seven minutes later, Thomas was sprung behind the defense and her deft finish sent the Nebraska bench into wild celebrations while Kansas left the field with their heads down.
"It's a wake up call for all of us." Bush said.
JAYHAWKS BEAT IOWA STATE 3-2
The Jayhawks outshot the Cyclones 22-14, and senior goalkeeper Stephanie Baugh filled in capably after junior goalkeeper Julie Hanley was shaken up in the 76th minute.
Two days after beginning Big 12 conference play with a loss, Kansas defeated Iowa State in Ames, Iowa, behind goals from junior Monica Dolinsky, sophomore Sarah Salazer and freshman Kortney Clifton.
4.
After beginning conference play with two road games, Kansas returns to Lawrence next weekend for games against Texas Tech and Colorado.
Edited by Rachel Burchfield
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