6A
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2004
Volleyball says farewell to four native Kansans
Seniors leave mark on volleyball program, school record book
By BUL CROSS
bcross@kansan.com
KANSAN CREDITSURGLY
KANSAN SPORTSWITER
Kit Leffler/KANSAN
Seniors Jill Dorsey, Ashley Bechard, Ashley Michaels and Lindsay Morris are honored after the match against Colorado Saturday. The girls thanked their coaches, families, friends, and fans for the support they received during their time at KU.
The Kansas volleyball team honored its four seniors before and after its 3-1 victory against Colorado Saturday night.
Setter Ashley Bechard, libero Jill Dorsey, middle blocker Ashley Michaels and outside hitter Lindsey Morris started and finished the match in the lineup together.
Before the contest, the four seniors and senior student assistant Renita Davidson, a scholarship player whose career was ended by two knee injuries and a torn hamstring, walked on the court with their parents to the applause of the near-sellout crowd of more than 1,200 fans.
Many of the fans were friends and family of the four active seniors, all of whom are from Kang.
Dorsey, who hails from Wellsville, said the other seniors were some of her best friends.
"We're a bunch of Kansas girls. I played club ball since I was six years old with a lot of them," she said. "They've been around playing volleyball for as long as I can remember, and it's been a fun four years with them."
Coach Ray Bechard said the seniors had a better winning percentage during their four years than any other group since 1983, when Kansas joined the Big 8 Conference.
Dorsey and Michaels contributed the most on the court. They
have both been key parts of the team since their freshman year in 2001, when Dorsey played in 30 matches and Michaels played in 25. They are both candidates for postseason conference honors this year.
Dorsey recorded her 1,000th dig on Sept. 19 in home match against North Dakota State, while Michaels became the eighth player in Kansas history with 1,000 kills Nov. 20 at Oklahoma
Ashley Bechard, Ray's daughter, made her most significant contribution to the team during its first-ever tournament season in 2003, when she started the first 13 matches of the season in place of injured starter Andi Rozum. She scored the matchending kill against Colorado Saturday. Ashley Bechard is also
a copy editor for The University Daily Kansan.
"She was in the net, but they didn't call it," the smiling Ray Bechard said after the match.
Morris started several matches late last season and early this season in place of the injured Jana Correa before suffering an injury of her own in practice. She returned to the lineup Nov. 17 against Texas in a limited role where she played only in the back.
"I've never really been strong there, but I'm working hard to get that way," said Morris, who had three dips on Saturday.
Each senior gave a tearful speech thanking the fans, coaches, families and teammates after the match.
Kit Leffler/KANSAN
Senior libero Jill Dorsey holds back tears while thanking her parents for their support Saturday night at the Horesei Family Athletics Center. The game, a 3-1 victory against Colorado, was the final regular season match for the four KU seniors.
- Edited by Steve Schmidt
Jayhawk swimmer earns top national honor
BY NORA KELLAM
nkellam@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWINTER
Kansas senior swimmer Amy Gruber was named National Collegiate Swimmer of the Week by CollegeSwimming.com after her strong performance at the Nike Cup, in Chapel Hill, N.C., Nov. 18-20. Gruber is the first lavwhack to ever receive the honor.
Gruber was selected by a panel of collegiate coaches and nominated by coaches, sports
information directors, conference representatives and CollegeSwimming.com staffers.
"This is a huge honor," Gruber said. "I didn't expect to receive this honor and am very excited about it. This definitely helps the team and shows how well we swam at the Nike Cup. It is a good stepping stone for our team this season."
At the Nike Cup, Gruber became the first Jayhawk woman swimmer to record an NCAA 'A Standard time as she won the 100-
meter freestyle event with a time of 49.70 — the sixth-fastest time recorded in the nation this year. She also collected three individual second place finishes in the 50 freestyle, with an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 22.99 — the eighth-fastest time in the nation this year. She finished second in the 100 butterfly in a time of 54.58, and in the 100 backstroke with a time of 56.14. Each individual time was the best recorded by a Kansas swimmer this season.
Gruber also competed as a
member of each of Kansas' top relay teams at the Nike Cup. The 200 medley relay team finished in first place with a time of 1:43.33.
The 200 freestyle (1:34.06), the 400 freestyle (3:24.47) and the 400 medley (3:46.60) relay teams each finished in second place. The 800 freestyle relay team finished in third with a time of 7:27.09. Each of the relay times were the best recorded by Jayhawk relay teams this season.
"Amy's performance was very special at the Nike Cup," Kansas
coach Clark Campbell said,
"Achieving an NCAA 'A'
Standard time was a first for the
Jayhawks and we are very proud
of her for that and for this honor.
Her performance was a direct
reflection of how our entire program performed at the Nike Cup."
The Jayhawks will face Houston and Harvard in simultaneous duals, Dec. 3 at 6 p.m. and Dec. 4 at 12 p.m., in Robinson Natatorium.
— Edited by Ryan Greene
VOLLEYBALL: Kansas ends Big 12 schedule with victory
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10A
The Buffaloes registered seven more kills than the Jayhawks (23 to 16), but blocking again helped Kansas to victory, Bechard said.
which they won easily, 30-19. Two of Kansas' first three points were service aces.
The Jayhawks carried the momentum of their game three comeback into game four,
"That ace to error ratio is something we've improved since we were struggling last month," Bechard said.
He said continued improvement in serving and blocking would determine whether the
team could be successful in possible NCAA tournament matches
Bechard said his team was intent on winning because of senior night and tournament implications.
"It was a pretty quiet locker room. Usually the music's pretty loud and there's a lot of noise in there," he said. "You could tell
there was a certain level of focus tonight."
Junior middle blocker Josi Lima led the Jayhawks' rejuvenated blocking with eight total blocks. She also had 16 kills, second only to sophomore outside hitter Jana Correa's 17. Colorado middle blocker Allie Griffin also had 17.
Kansas was ranked second in the country in blocking during its 9-0 non-conference season, but rapidly declined in early Big 12 contests.
The victories against Texas Tech and Colorado gave the Jawhaws a 19-11 record to end the regular season, the third best finish since Bechard came to Kansas in 1998.
— Edited by Steve Schmidt
STRUGGLES: Jayhawks defeat Kangaroos for second consecutive victory, 47-36
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10A
Again it was Kemp, who led Kansas with 17 points and 12 rebounds, who jump-started the Jayhawk offense in the second half, sinking a hook shot with two seconds left on the shot clock.
Kansas missed its next 12 shots and UMKC turned the ball over on six of its first seven second half possessions.
"We are learning to be pretty good defensively and the offense will come," coach Bonnie Henrickson said. "Offensively, we are disappointed, but when we run things and execute, good
Even with the numerous UMKC miscues, Kansas only scored 11 points off the turnovers.
The Kangaroos finished with 21 turnovers, nine more than the lajhawks.
UMKC tried to make a run at Kansas in the second half, but well-timed scoring helped quell the threat.
At the five minute mark, junior center Liz Obrecht converted a spin move into a bucket and a foul, and her free throw pulled UMKC to within six. 37-31.
On the next possession, Kansas junior guard Kaylee Brown nailed a three-point
things happen.
UMKC did not convert on the offensive end and a Burras turnaround jumper put the Jayhawks up by 11. Burras finished with 10 points and five rebounds.
shot to increase the lead to nine.
Freshman forward Taylor McIntosh put the Kangaroos away for good at the 2.57 mark when she gathered an offensive rebound from a Hallman miss and scored to bring the
lead to 10.44-34.
Kansas cleaned up on the glass and out-rebounded UMKC 38-31, including a 17-8 advantage on the offensive glass.
Denver comes to Allen Fieldhouse tomorrow for a 7 p.m. tipoff.
- Edited by Ryan Greene
REVENGE:
'Hawks poised to avenge loss
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10A
Meanwhile, Pinkney has contributed 11.7 points to give the Wolfpack a pair of inside players to complement each other.
Nevada, with a 3-0 record, is coming off a 58-47 victory against Georgia on Friday.
"I hope our fans are juiced for that game because we definitely owe them one," Self said.
Kansas players have also become motivated because of flip-flops in the rankings. After a 68-61 victory over Vermont two weeks ago, Kansas dropped in both polls from No. 1 to No. 2.
Last Tuesday, Kansas gave its most complete performance in a 91-51 rout against St. Joseph's.
"It caused everybody to come out and play harder," freshman forward C.J. Giles said, "just to prove to people that we are the top team."
Though the players realize the rankings don't mean much in November, they still said it had an impact.
"Being No. 1 right now is not going to win anybody any championships," freshman guard Russell Robinson said. "We just try to use that drop as motivation."
Giles said he believed Tuesday's outing was just a beginning in proving the team belongs among the elite.
"I think as we go on we're going to prove a lot more," Giles said.
— Edited by Steve Schmidt
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