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KANSAN.COM/SPORTS | THURSDAY, AUG. 25, 2016
Hannah Edelman/KANSAN
Kansas volleyball huddles together just moments before taking the court in the NCAA final four match against Nebraska.
No.5 KU volleyball starts season this weekend
▶ EMMA GREEN
@emmalee_green
After unveiling its 2015 NCAA Final Four banner at the Crimson and Blue scrimmage, the No. 5 Kansas volleyball team will open the 2016 season at the Bulldog Invitational this weekend.
The Invitational, hosted by Mississippi State in
Starkville, Miss., will also feature Eastern Washington and Lamar. The Invitational will be round-robin style, with each team playing every team in the Invitational once.
"We just want to get a little better each day," Kansas coach Ray Bechard said. "We're looking forward to playing somebody other than the Jayhawks, get a different colored jersey on the other
side."
Opponent breakdown
At No.5 in the first AVCA poll of the year, the Jayhawks are the only ranked team participating in the Invitational, as well as the only team with a winning percentage over .600 last season. They finished the year 30-3,with a .903 win percentage. Kansas is also the lone team in the Invitational who played
in the NCAA Tournament in 2015.
Of Kansas' opponents at the Invitational, only Mississippi State finished with a record over .500 in the 2015 season, going 17-15. Eastern Washington ended its 2015 season at 14-14, exactly .500. Lamar finished 14-16 on the season.
Despite its opponents' lackluster 2015 seasons,
Kansas will remain focused going into the Bulldog Invitational, looking to start strong like they did last year.
"We'll stay true to the things that are important to us," Bechard said. "Technically, we want to be sound, and we want to compete hard every time."
Kansas will play its first match of the Invitational and
Gametime
of the season against Mississippi State on Friday at 7 p.m. The match will be broadcasted on SEC Network+.
On Saturday, the Jayhawks will face off against the Eastern Washington Eagles at 10 a.m., followed by a match against the Lamar Cardinals at 5 p.m. Those matches will be radio broadcast on KUAthletics.com.
KU soccer working on finishing
Sophomore forward Grace Hagan chases a fast break against Marquette defender Cali Przdrowski.
Andrew Rosenthal/KANSAN
SKYLAR ROLSTAD
@SkyRolSports
With a couple standout seniors in Liana Salazar and Ashley Williams graduating and leaving last year behind, at least one thing carries over from last season's Kansas women's soccer team: inefficient finishing.
"We've just got to be more consistent," coach Mark Francis said. "We're creating a lot of opportunities in all the games we've played which is good. We've played four games already [and are] creating a lot of chances, which is good. We've just got to be more clinical and consistent with that."
In the first two games for Kansas, the team has only scored one goal in the run of play. Freshman Mandi Duggan scored with her head from short range in the team's 1-0 win over Marquette last Sunday.
A penalty kick goal from
Grace Hagan is the only other goal the team has scored so far this season. That goal came in a season-opening 2-1 loss to Minnesota.
Scoring hasn't been easy for the Jayhawks. The team had trouble putting the ball in the net at an efficient rate last season, especially with a lack of depth on the front line. In seven of its eight conference games last season, the team scored one goal or fewer.
The Jayhawks are going to have to improve in that facet of the game if they want to achieve their goals this season. After losing in the Big 12 tournament final last season to Texas Tech, Francis has focused his efforts on a return to that stage. So does senior team captain Hanna Kallmaier.
"This year I just want to win. I want to win a Big 12 Championship," Kallmaier said. "I want to go to the NCAA Tournament. I want
to put it all out there and fight for everything."
Young pushed the group of forwards hard at practice Wednesday, which includes the team's highest-scoring returner Hagan, emerging starter senior Ashley Pankey and recent scorer Duggan.
New coaching signing Bri Young,a former forward at Texas A&M,joined the coaching staff to focus on the forwards.
But this season, Kansas has a lot more depth at forward. It also has a new face.
Francis recalled Young's time at Texas A&M, where she faced Kansas each season when A&M was in the Big 12. He now counts her as a valuable agent of change for the team.
"She's done a good job with the attacking players with the expectations of what we have and holding them accountable to that expectation consistently every day," Francis said. "She's been
working with them every day, just holding them to that standard."
Young's sense of accountability in the team, Francis said, is what makes her different. He said the team was looking for a different personality to bring along the attack this season.
While scoring goals is the name of the game, Francis said things could be worse.
"If we weren't creating chances then I'd be a lot more worried," Francis said. "We're doing a lot of things very well. We just have to improve."
This Friday, Kansas takes on Colorado at Rock Chalk Park in the third game of the season at 7 p.m. A 6-9-3 record last season puts Colorado nearly 100 spots below Kansas in the RPI rankings.
Edited by Madi Schulz
Missu Minear/KANSAN
Coach Bill Self argues a call during a 2016 game.
'Champions series renewed through 2019
It seems like every year Kansas basketball coach Bill Self emphasizes the importance of a tough non-conference schedule.
Since 2011, the fourteam Champions Classic - playing one of Duke, Kentucky, or Michigan State every year - has helped bulk up that schedule, adding a guaranteed game against a perennially-ranked basketball program. Now, the four blue-blood programs have renewed their deal through 2019, according to ESPN.
CHRISTIAN HARDY
@byhardy
After Kansas plays Duke at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 15 in New York City, the next three opponents are: Kentucky at the United Center in Chicago on Nov. 14, 2017; Michigan State at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Nov. 13, 2018; and Duke at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Nov. 12, 2019.
Kansas is 1-4 in the Champions Classic since 2011, its only win coming over Duke in Chicago in 2013. The three other teams have gone 3-2 in
It's obviously the top event of the regular season."
Larry Keating Assistant athletic director
past Champions Classics. But still, the value of having a top opponent outweighs the risk of taking an early-season loss.
"It's obviously the top event of the regular season," Larry Keating, assistant to the athletics director, told ESPN. Keating also deals with scheduling men's games. "You usually have four of the top 10 and it should be that way again. No one has ever thought of not doing it. Everyone knows the value of it."
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