sports
KANSAN.COM/SPORTS | THURSDAY, DEC. 1, 2016
KU volleyball expectations high as tournament begins
▶ JORDAN WOLF
@JordanWolfKU
ast season, the Kansas volleyball team ran the postseason tables and competed in the first Final Four in program history. Just under one year later, the team has its eyes set on another deep run, this time with higher expectations.
The Jayhawks enter the tournament this year as the No.5 overall seed.After a season spent consistently at the top of the national
title. The Bulldogs finished the season with a 21-13 record, winning nine of its final 12 matches.
The biggest threat for the Jayhawks comes from the Samford attack. Senior outside hitter Erin Bognar finished the season 10th in the nation with 542 total kills, and 17th with 4.48 kills per set. Containing her will be pivotal for Bechard's team, as he acknowledged her prominent presence.
"She's a dynamic kid with a dynamic arm, and
DAY IN THE LIFE
kansan.com
NICOLE HODGES PERSLEY
Challenging stasis through work
By Hannah Coleman
@KansanNews
Professor Nicole Hodges Persley needs to be an early bird if she wants to see her family before managing a trifecta of responsibilities for the day. She makes her daughter's lunch, drops her off at school and then makes it to Starbucks with her husband every morning before heading to her office at the University.
Hodges Persley said she's never limited herself to any field: she's made it her life's work to flourish in every department she's interested in. She is currently the acting chair of graduate studies in the Department of Theatre, teaching an African American Theater and Performance class, working on two books and preparing to direct Amri Baraka's "Dutchman" at Just Off Broadway Theatre in Kansas City, Mo.
"I tell undergrads to really seek out knowledge across campus, not just in your area of interest, so that you can find tools to build a life you want to live in," Hodges Persley said. "I've never limited myself by a category or
a disciplinary focus. Everything is relative if you work to make connections. But, you do have to work. I tell my students that there is no magical unicorn that shows up with your perfect life at your door."
For Hodges Persley, managing all of her work is difficult, but that's why it's been so rewarding.
Hodges Persley's drive to continuously learn and create stems from a fear of being stagnant.
"Ive learned that the moment I stop learning, I'm stagnant," Hodges Persley said. "I have to keep learning."
The idea of being herself without answering to anyone has fueled her ambitions to be a part of the theater program.
"Theater is a space that allowed me to be my full self without apology," Hodges Persley said. "I think that everyone deserves to be who they are without having to validate themselves through someone else's value judgement of their humanity. Using theater as a space to make openings for freedom has been exciting to me since I was in my first play in fifth grade."
Hodges Persley said being in a position to help students have a vision for themselves that is free of anxiety from judgement requires her to have patience, vision, organization, determination and inspiration.
Isabella Hampton, a student in Hodges Persley's theater class, said Hodges Persley has positively impacted her theater experience, as well as her personal goals.
Andrew Rosenthal/KANSAN Nicole Hodges Persley is an associate professor in the School of Art and acting chair for the Department of Theatre.
"Her personality is the type that makes you feel a lot taller and stronger and more capable every time you leave a conversation with her," Hampton said. "Nicole has helped me the most in really pushing me to understand that I have to write my own narrative, and she has given me a lot of resources to do so. I think that that's probably what I appreciate about her the most is that she's as much nurturing and kind and she is someone who motivates people to be better."
"I find sharing knowledge rewarding," Hodges Persley said. "I am inspired by colleagues and artists who are dedicated to creating new knowledge to make the world a better place. This interdisciplinary training has
Her upcoming book, "Sampling and Remixing Hip-hop in Contemporary Theater and Performance," has allowed her to lecture globally on how hip-hop has affected the arts. She is also one of the founders of the Hip-hop Archive at Harvard University's W.E.B. Dubois Research Institute.
I tell undergrads to really seek out knowledge across campus, not just in your area of interest, so that you can find tools to build a life you want to live in."
allowed me to contribute to multiple conversations in the academy. I am in a theater department by choice because this is a space where we improvise and devise to imagine new ways of being. I've been a professional in the performing arts since I was 19 years old and I am always excited to learn."
for Hodges Persley, it's just as rewarding to see a student of hers enjoy that as well.
Because learning is such an exciting process
Nicole Hodges Persley
"I love seeing a light bulb go [off] with a student who you can see doubts the validity of something you're teaching," Hodges Persley said. "Watching a student decide to happen to their lives instead of letting life happen to them. Watching students 'lean
in' is magical."
Hampton said she finds Hodges Persley's teaching a way to help her do this.
"To have such a motivative and dedicated professor that looks like me is extremely valuable," Hampton said. "Visibility is important, and when I see her pave a road that I might choose to walk on in the future, I feel like I'm in the right hands."
from deep last season Vick was off to a cold start. Hitting only 24 percent of his threes coming into the game, the Memphis native quickly returned to last year's form.
In his second consecutive start of the season, Vick followed up his 3-of-4 three point night with an even more impressive 4-of-4 from three and 9-for-9 from the field.
"He's not always going to shoot like that," Self said about Vick.
However, Self did say Vick is "going to end up being our best defender, he's really improved a ton."
Mykhaliiuk, another sharpshooter who's turned his season around after start-
top that.
Midway through the second half, Kansas was shooting just over 70 percent until a few missed threes dropped the Jayhawks to their eventual total of 54 percent.
Despite the hot shooting, Self wasn't convinced this was a cure for other issues the Jayhawks had had.
"You're not going to win relying on three point shots all the time," Self said.
What makes the performance against the 49ers even more impressive is that it was mostly without help from the usual suspects, guards Frank Mason III and Devonte' Graham. The two shot 3-of-7, but were overshadowed by the play of Vick and Mykhailiuk.
"He's not one that we were focused on," Monson said about Vick. "He just opened the game up with his shooting."
Dasket, Graham Saul.
Monson also mentioned that film on Kansas showed that Vick's aggressiveness on the offensive boards is what they focused on, but his multidimensional skill set was the problem.
As for Vick's perfect shooting night, that wasn't something Long Beach State coach Dan Monson necessarily expected.
Coach Ray Bechard received the Coach of the Year award after leading the Jayhawks to their first ever Big 12 Championship. This is his second consecutive time winning the award, and the fourth in his career.
Junior outside hitter Kelsie Payne was named Player of the Year. She ranked third in the Big 12 during conference play with 4.07 kills per set, and sixth with a .320 hitting percentage.
With all the recognition the duo of Mason and Graham have, Tuesday night was a reminder that Vick and Mykhailiuk are waiting in the wings for their time to shine.
Junior setter Ainise Havili was named the Setter of the Year for the second consecutive season. She is the first player to receive multiple titles since the inception of the honors in 2012. She ranked fifth in the conference with 10.70 assists per set.
this season marks the first time a Jayhawk has ever won either the Player of the Year or the Libero of the Year award in Big 12 history.
Payne, Wait and Havili all unanimous selections are joined by junior outside hitter Madison Rigdon on the All-Big 12 First Team. Senior middle blocker Tayler Soucie,
Senior libero Cassie Wait is the Libero of the
ware Monday afternoon, as several Jayhawks found themselves recipients of All-Big 12 honors.
Kansas will start its postseason play Thursday as it hosts Samford in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. First serve is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
Freshman outside hitter Jada Burse was named to the All-Freshman Team. While not ranking in the top 10 of any major statistical category, Burse's role has grown in recent weeks after she began the season as a reserve.
- Edited by Cody Schmitz
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