8A the university daily kansan
monday, November 24, 2003
sports
Abbie Jacobson, senior outside hitter, celebrated during Saturday's victory against Texas A&M. Jacobson contributed eight digs to the sweep against the No. 21 Aggies.
Volleyball teams sweeps Aggies
By Mike Norris
mnorris@kansan.com
Kansan Sportwriter
Maybe the Texas A&M volleyball team should blame Nebraska.
Just three days after being dominated by the Cornhuskers 30, the Kansas volleyball team took out its anger on Texas A&M with a sweep of its own Saturday night in the Horejsi Family Athletics Center.
It was the first victory for the Jayhawks against the Aggies in school history, and they set a team record for Big 12 Conference victories with 11.
Sophomore middle blocker Josi Lima had a match-high 14 kills, and three other Jayhawks recorded double-digit kills as Kansas defeated the 21st-ranked Aggies, 30-21, 32-50 and 30-21.
"I don't know if I've seen a more consistent 90 minutes," Kansas coach Ray Bechard said. "It was Jayhawk volleyball in one of their finest hours."
Senior Jordan Garrison had a career-high 11 kills and an .846 attack percentage. The outside hitter also committed no errors.
"This team is determined to make it to the tournament, and
Ray Bechard
"It was Jayhawk volleyball in one of their finest hours."
Kansas volleyball coach
that was the next step," Garrison said. "Getting them in three makes it that much better."
The Jayhawks hit .338 as a team, used powerful kills, solid blocking and a little bit of luck to win the match. In game one with Kansas leading 16-13, a Texas A&M player pounded an attack that bounced off Lima's chest and arm, shot up in the air and junior middle blocker Ashley Michaels smacked it over the net for a kill. After that point, Kansas used a 13-7 run to close the game and win 30-21.
In game two, the Jayhawks came out ready to play again. Lima began the game by hammering a kill so hard that the Aggies' Beth Skypala had no time to make a play, catching the ball instead.
The Aggies, however, had one more run to make, using kills and strong serving to grab a 20-15 lead. That's when the game
became intense. Kansas went on a 6-0 run to take the lead, 21-20. During the run, the Jayhawks had a block for a point, four kills and a service ace. Several of the rallies lasted longer than a minute, and one ended as Michaels fired the ball off the shoulder of Aggies outside hitter Laura Jones.
The teams traded points for the rest of the game. Kansas continued to send powerful attacks across the net, causing the crowd of 931 fans to frequently jump to its feet. A kill by junior outside hitter Lindsey Morris gave Kansas a 30-29 lead before a service error by the Jayhawks forced the game into extra points. It would be the final mistake Kansas would make in the game. A block by Lima and a kill by senior outside hitter Sarah Rome finished the Aggies, 32-30. Rome leapt to the left side of the net, smashed the ball off two wouldbe blockers and watched it land for the winning point. She fell to her knees screaming, pumping her fists in the air.
"We played our butts off," Rome said, "and every single person on this team plaved well."
Coming out of halftime Kansas showed no signs of letting up. The two teams battled to
a 7-7 tie, but that was as close as it would be for the Aggies. Rome dropped an ace in the back corner of the Aggies' court for an 8-7 lead. The Jayhawks would never trail again. They completed a series of vicious kills, easy tips over the net and accurate serving to finish off the Aggies. On a kill that gave the Jayhawks a 19-12 lead, Lima timed her jump a second before setter Andi Rozum even made contact with the ball. She skied through the air and sent the ball flying past two diving Aggie players. The Jayhawks cruised the rest of the way, claiming victory, 30-21.
"Coming off Nebraska, where it seemed like nothing went right for us, we came out here and everything did," Michaels said. "Everyone brought their 'A game."
Kansas will travel to Baylor on Wednesday and return home on Saturday to take on Texas Tech to finish the regular season. The Jayhawks will find out if they will be invited to the NCAA Tournament for the first time, during a selection show on ESPN News on Sunday, Nov. 30.
'Hawks underestimate 'Roos prepare for Oregon Classic
— Edited by Doyle Murphy
By Jesse Newell
jnewell@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
KANSAS CITY, MO. — Compared to the Jayhawks' home at tradition-rich Allen Fieldhouse, Court 3 of the Swinney Rec Center on the UMKC campus could seem far from intimidating.
Students jogged on a suspended track surrounding the court. Fans gathered on benches with no chair backs available in the gvm.
The atmosphere resembled high school. The play by UMKC, however, did not.
UMKC was undersized compared to Kansas, but hustle and persistence paid off against a Jayhawk team that played without the same emotion.
The Kangaroos came out fired up at their home gym, and, in front of the third-largest crowd in their history, defeated the Jayhawks 63-50 Friday night in the season-opener for both squads.
No doubt the small gym and the scrappy team opened the eyes of the Jayhawks.
UMKC came out with a physical defense unlike anything that Kansas had seen in the preseason. The Jayhawks struggled to establish an offensive flow, passing out just six assists as a team, compared to 21 UMKC assists.
"It was just a wake-up call," freshman forward Lauren Ervin said. "I think we might have underestimated this team."
"It's definitely hard when in an exhibition season you don't have anyone to challenge you defensively," sophomore forward Crystal Kemp said, "but I think it's just a matter of responding to it and I don't think we did that at all today."
The 'Roos never trailed in the game, taking control with five minutes to go in the first quarter. Freshman guard Jowan Ortega hit a three from the right corner, and senior guard Casey Ellis followed the ensuing possession with a guarded three-pointer from the top of the key, sparking a 10-0 UMKC run to push the advantage to 35-20.
Two minutes later, a play developed that summarized the frustrations for the Jayhawks.
Following a steal, sophomore forward Michelle Roberts led a 2-on-1 fast break for Kansas. But, on a dead-sprint, UMKC sophomore guard Sammi Knapic showed the fire the Kangaroo had displayed all game, sliding on her knees and knocking the ball out of bounds at the last second to stop a Kansas scoring opportunity.
"They definitely outplayed us," coach Marian Washington said. "I don't think there's any question about that. They out-hustled us."
Kansas made its only run four
minutes into the second half as Ervin, in her first collegiate game, proved to be a bright spot for the team.
With the Jayhawks down 14, Ervin went to work. She grabbed a rebound and banked in a jumper, then emphatically blocked a Knapic shot on the other end, grabbed the ball and forced the guard's fourth foul.
In the next possession, Ervin again gained good inside position and, instead of just grabbing a rebound, caught it, pumped and placed it off the backboard and in before falling back to the court.
Junior guard Larisha Graves followed with a steal and lay-up to bring Kansas within eight, but it would be as close as the Jayhawks would come as they turned the ball over in their next two possessions.
In just 16 minutes of play, Ervin was the offensive highlight for Kansas. The 6-foot-4 forward had a team-high 14 points and seven rebounds, while adding a pair of blocks. Kemp added eight points and six rebounds in the loss.
The Jayhawks will travel to the Oregon Classic Friday, taking on Oregon in their first game of the invitational.
—Edited by Ashley Marriott
Jeff Jacobsen/KUAC
Kansas' Lauren Williams, junior midfielder, reached for the ball as UCLA midfielders Whitney Jones and Jill Oakes kept up with her at Drake Stadium in Los Angeles Friday. Williams made one of only two Kansas shots as the Bruins defeated the Jayhawks 1-0, knocking them out of the NCAA tournament and ending their season.
SOCCER: team can only muster two shots on goal
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12A
easily collected the ball.
goalkeeper Meghan Miller in the 43rd minute. Miller got her fingers on the ball but was unable to stop it.
"I got a piece of it," Miller said,
"which kind of pisses me off,
because if I get a piece of it then I
obviously think I should have it."
Miller finished the game with eight saves, just one shy of tying her career high.
The Jayhawks did not record a shot until the 61st minute. Junior midfielder Lauren Williams broke away from the UCLA defenders and shot from 15yards out. UCLA goalkeeper Arianna Cristione
The Jayhawks only other scoring opportunity came from sophomore forward Caroline Smith.
Smith tried to flick a shot past Criscione, but instead of tying the match, the goalkeeper recorded her second save of the game.
Smith said the Jayhawks didn't have their best performance against the Bruins.
"I think we were a little intimidated by them because they were bigger than us," she said. "So, I don't think we played as well as we could have."
Smith said experience may have played a role in the game's outcome.
probably won because they've been in this situation many times before," she said. "None of our girls have ever been in the Sweet 16."
Now that the Jayhawks have experienced the Sweet 16, Smith and Miller are already looking ahead to next year.
"They're a good team and they
"We're bummed that we lost but at the same time we've made a good run," she said. "Hopefully next year things will turn out better."
The Jayhawks will lose four seniors to graduation, but Francis said he thought the team could be even better next year with a strong recruiting class.
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