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MONDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2012
VOLLEYBALL
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Jayhawks to face struggling Mountaineers
GEOFFREY CALVERT
gcalvert@kansan.com
It would be pretty easy for Kansas to overlook West Virginia in tonight's home volleyball match at 6:30 p.m.
After all, the Jayhawks have a 19-4 record, including 7-2 in 12 play. The 8-16 Mountaineers have lost 10 straight matches and are 0-10 in Big 12 play.
But sophomore outside hitter Sara McClinton said the Jayhawks won't write off West Virginia because Kansas needs to win every Big 12 match to catch up to conference leader Texas in the standings.
"We just have to focus during practice that we're training to beat Texas, and so these games in between, we have to be flawless," McClinton said.
With seven freshmen players and just one senior, the Mountaineers are one of the youngest teams in the Big 12. West Virginia's freshmen lead the team in most statistical categories. The Mountaineers enter tonight's match with a .161 hitting percentage, but that number dips to .094 in conference play. Meanwhile, Kansas is hitting .238 overall and .216 in Big 12 play.
The Jayhawks beat West Virginia 3-1 during their first matchup Oct. 3 in Morgantown, W. Va. However, Kansas came out flat during the first set, which the Mountaineers won 25-15.
"If you're going to try overlooking them, they're going to come up and they're going to take a set away from you," McClinton said. "I think that's what we saw when we
were at West Virginia, and then we realized after that point that there's no overlooking anyone in the Big 12."
While West Virginia struggles statistically in most categories, they rank third in the Big 12 with 1.43 service aces per set. West Virginia recorded eight service aces in its first match with Kansas, although the Jayhawks got seven aces of their own.
Against Iowa State Wednesday, Kansas conceded five service aces in the first set alone. Coach Ray Bechard said Kansas conceded so many because they did not do a good job making first contact on the ball.
Serve receives will be key against West Virginia as serving will be the Mountaineers' best hope to keep sets close.
"That's their equalizer," Bechard said. "They really come after you and try to get you out-of-system, so you become more predictable and much like a lot of teams in the Big 12."
Junior outside hitter/defensive specialist Amy Wehrs said West Virginia's style of play is different from other Big 12 teams because this is the Mountaineers' first year in the conference. However, she said West Virginia uses a left-handed right side hitter, which is the norm for most Big 12 teams and something Kansas is used to defending against.
"You'll find a lot of right sides being left-handed because when the set's coming from that way, it's a lot easier for left-handed hitters
to hit the ball versus right-handed hitters." Wehrs said.
The Jayhawks are also in the midst of an nonstandard schedule. Kansas played Iowa State last Wednesday, but did not have a match this past weekend. Usually the team would play Wednesday before having another Saturday match.
But because West Virginia was already in Lubbock, Texas for a match against Texas Tech Saturday, the team asked Kansas if tonight's match could be moved from Wednesday.
According to Kansas Athletics,
the Jayhawks haven't played on a Monday since Sept. 22, 2003, when they swept UMKC.
Bechard said the team practiced Friday, Saturday and Sunday after taking last Thursday off, but that the change in routine would help because it gave the Jayhawks a little more time to rest. But West Virginia travels directly to Kansas after playing Texas Tech, so it will see a similar benefit.
"So I think it a win-win for both sides," Bechard said.
Edited by Joanna Hlavacek
CLAIRE HOWARD/KANSAN
Taylor Tolefree, the senior middle blocker from Lawrence, prepares to send a hit over the net to the TCU Horned Frogs on Oct. 20. The 19-4 Jayhawks will face the 8-16 Mountaineers tonight.
SOCCER
Kansas dominates 5-0 on Senior Night
TYLER CONOVER
tconover@kansan.com
The wind blew frigid and steady at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex Friday afternoon, but that did not put a damper on Senior Night as Kansas and its seven seniors rolled over Northern Colorado 5-0.
Early in the match, it was easy to see Kansas was the more complete team. But despite out-shooting the Bears 11-2 in the first half, the lavwhaws went into half time
with the score
tied at zero.
Throughout the
match, Kansas
was tagged with
a few question-
able off-side calls
that stymied the
attack, but with
about 20 minute
gone in the second half everything fell into place for the Jayhawks as the team rattled off all five goals in the last 30 minutes.
Francis
"I thought we played well in the first half but we just couldn't convert in the attacking third," coach Mark Francis said. "We were just a little bit more clinical I think at the end. That was probably the biggest difference."
Kansas' win Friday was a true team effort as five different players scored. With Ali Kimura's goal in the final minutes, the Jayhawks were able to show off their depth as a team. The team now has
seven players who have recorded a goal this season.
Kimura is a walk-on who started seeing more time as the season progressed, and with the Big 12 tournament starting on Wednesday, Francis is glad that his whole team is able to contribute to winning.
"That was huge for Ali I think," Francis said. "I was excited for her. She kind of came on late this year, and it's been a pretty big learning curve for her, but she is starting to pick things up, and she was in the right place at the right time on that one."
For the Jayhawks to be able to get to the NCAA Tournament, they will have to win the Big 12 tournament. First in line for Kansas is a Texas Tech team that got a win 3-1 here in Lawrence on Oct. 21. With that memory still fresh in their minds, the players will look to build on this convincing victory and make a run for the NCAA Tournament.
Francis said a solid win in the team's last home game is a positive building block for post-season success.
"For us today, I mean, a lot of people scored, we played well and dominated the game, so I think those things are important just in terms of our confidence," Francis said.
- Edited by Brittney Haynes
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