THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18. 2012
PAGE 38
Carthy
VOLLEYBALL
his meet
brull and
Golden,
quad and
ay for the
Schaedo
Team beats K-State for first time since 2009
It's hard to pinpoint what stood out most for the Kansas volleyball team in their 3-1 victory against Kansas State Wednesday night.
GEOFFERY CALVERT
gcalvert@kansan.com
Kansas runs onto the court to celebrate after winning the match against the Kansas State Wildcats. Kansas beat K-State 3-1.
Or it could have been sophomore outside hitter Sara McClinton, who notched 19 kills and only one error.
Maybe it was junior middle blocker Caroline jarmoc, who earned her first career double-double with 11 kills and 11 block assists to accompany a solk block.
The again, sophomore outside hitter Chelsea Albers contributed seven kills.
eight digs and two block assists in her most extensive playing time of the season.
Albers
"Someone needed to be aggressive, so I was going to go all out, it didn't matter what happened," Albers said. "My teammates responded well to me, kept feeding me the ball."
For the first time in the series' history, both teams faced each other as ranked foes. K-State entered at No. 14, Kansas at No. 21. Jarmoc, who knew little about the rivalry before coming to Kansas, realized this would be one of the best matches in series history.
"I came into Kansas not really knowing about the rivalry as much, because from Canada, you don't really hear about that," Jarmoc said. "But once you get in it, you get it in, and I just wanted to crush them today."
The Jayhawks led the Wildcats in the middle of the second set when coach Ray Bechard decided to take freshman outside hitter Tiana Dockery out in favor of Albers, whose playing time has dipped this year because of injury. Although Albers didn't know beforehand that Bechard would use her in the match, she looked as though she had been playing all year, earning a kill and a block assist in her first two points of the match.
TRAVIS YOUNG/KANSAN
The jayhawks' defense also played a pivotal role in the second set, limiting K-State to a .025 hitting percentage. Kansas won the second set 25-15, responding well to a disappointing 28-26 first-set loss.
"The way we lost the first set could have created a really down mood or depressed stage," Bechard said. "For us to come right back and really get after them in the second set I think was critical."
Kansas was looking to end a four-match losing streak to the Wildcats. To do so, the Jayhawks knew they would need to win the third set, which would force K-State to play from behind. However, a 7-0 K-State run gave them a 14-8 lead and seemingly all the momentum.
But Kansas whittled away at the Wildcats' lead and eventually tied the third set at 23.
"You're not necessarily always controlling a set if you're ahead," jarmoc said. "I don't think at any point in the third set we felt it slip away from us."
Just like the first set, the third set came down to who could handle set points better. Unlike the first set, Kansas held their ground. The Jayhawks fought off three set points in the third set, and a K-State ball handling error gave Kansas a 27-26 lead. Senior middle blocker Tayler Tolefree and
junior outside hitter Catherine Carmichael then teamed up for a block to give Kansas the third set, 28-26.
Their block was one of 18 on the night for Kansas, a season high. The Jayhawks held K-State to five blocks, and it was the first time in the last four matches Kansas outblocked its opponent. Carmichael joined Jarmoc in setting career-highs in blocking during the match, as she finished with seven block assists and one solo block.
"Third set we made some aggressive plays to prolong the set at key times,"
Bechard said. "Tolefle was great. We ended the third set with a big block."
K-State had one final run left in them in the fourth set, using four straight points to close Kansas' lead to 17-16. But the next two points summed up the match for both teams. K-State committed one of their 10 service errors on the night, and Jarmoc and Carmichael followed that up with another block, giving Kansas a 19-16 lead. McClinton ended the match by scoring three of the Jayhawks' final four points, sending the sold-out crowd of 1,300 at the Horejsi
Family Athletics Center into a frenzy
"I love when we have a sold-out crowd, have all my Jayhawk fans there," McClinton said. "The environment is just incredible."
The Jayhawks are now 18-3 overall and 6-1 in Big 12 play. They face TCU Saturday at 1 p.m. in the Horejsi Family Athletics Center.
Edited by Sarah McCabe