4B THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2004
SPORTS
Team tries to rekindle confidence
By Bill Cross
bcross@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWITHER
At the midpoint of 2004 volleyball play, the Kansas volleyball team has seemingly played two distinct seasons.
In non-conference play, the Jayhawks won all nine games, including a match against Wisconsin that vaulted the team to its first top-25 ranking.
Less than a month ago, the Jayhawks had climbed to No. 21 in the USA Today/CSTV coaches' poll.
then they hit the Big 12 Conference. After dropping home matches to nationallyranked teams Texas and Nebraska, Kansas lost to Baylor for the first time since 2001. The losing streak stands now at five matches, and the Jayhawks' conference record is 1-6.
"We knew the Big 12 was going to be difficult," senior libero Jill Dorssey said. "It's really difficult, we're finding out."
Coach Ray Bechard said the team's recent struggles could be traced to a loss of confidence after early losses in conference play.
That's what we've got to try
"We knew the Big 12 was
going to be difficult It's really difficult, we're finding out."
Jill Dorsey Senior volleyball player
to regain," he said.
He said injuries, particularly at the outside hitter position, forced the team to re-shuffle its lineup.
Sophomore Jana Correa and senior Lindsey Morris both had early-season knee injuries. Correa has since reclaimed her spot in the starting lineup, but Morris, whom Bechard called the Jayhawks' "most valuable teammate," is out of action indefinitely.
"Everybody's going to have injuries, but ours seem to come at the same position," he said. "We've had to move some people around, and it really hasn't allowed us to get into a really smooth playing rhythm since."
Beachard experimented with different lineups that gave sophomore outside hitter Megan Hill
and freshman opposite hitter Tessa Jones their first career starts, but the team could not rekindle the hitting power of Correa.
In order to move on, the team needs to rekindle the confidence of the early season, Dorsey said.
"It's something you have to cope with and move on," Bechard said.
"That's a big positive that we look back to and remember how successful we were."
Junior middle blocker Josi Lima said the team's serving and blocked paving the way for its 10 victories, but they have been inconsistent this month.
"We need to be more stable," she said. "Sometimes we have a very good game, and another game we just throw away."
Dorsey said that passing was a highlight in practice in recent weeks.
Lima said the team's passing had contributed to poor hitting.
"Our hitting percentage is something that Coach has highlighted. It's a direct reflection of everything: our passing, our setting. Everything."
She said the team's preseason goal, to reach the Sweet 16 of December's NCAA tournament,
was still attainable.
"They might take eight or nine teams from this conference," she said of the selection committee. The Jayhawks are currently ranked 10th.
Bechard said the team needed to focus on the next game, not the tournament.
"We started the season with tremendous confidence," Dorsey said. "We're on the down side of our season right now."
The team is now focused on Iowa State. The Jayhawks play the Cyclones at 7 tonight in Ames, Iowa.
Bechard said Iowa State, who has not beaten Kansas since 1999, was different than other Big 12 teams Kansas had faced.
"They won't overwhelm you physically, but they're very consistent," he said. "They're one of the top digging teams in the Big 12."
"It doesn't matter who were playing at this point," Bechard said. "We have to give every match our best effort."
The Jayhawks return home for a 7 p.m. match Saturday against the Missouri Tigers at Horejsi Family Athletics Center.
Cross country team bound for Indiana during fall break
- Edited by Rupal Gor
BY FRANK TANKARD
tankard@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWITCHER
As Kansas students enjoy fall break this weekend, the Jahawk cross country teams will be back in action.
After a three-week hiatus from competition, the teams will run Saturday at the NCAA Pre-National meet in Terre Haute, Ind.
The Pre-National meet is held at the site of the NCAA Championships every year to prepare teams for both the course and the level of competition they hope to face at the national meet in November.
Such a large number of teams are participating in the meet 87 Division I men's and women's teams that the competition has been divided into two equally seeded races, a white race and a blue race, for both the men and the women.
Kansas distance coach Doug Clark said the women's goal is to finish in the top 20 in their six-kilometer race, while the men's
is to place at least in the top 10 in their eight-kilometer race.
Jessie Violand, Wildwood Mo., sophomore, said she was excited to race again after three weeks off, during which time the team has been through five tough interval workouts.
Kansas coach Stanley Redwine said the intensity of training has gone up since the Roy Griak Invitational in St. Paul, Minn., on Sept. 25.
"They've been doing more race-related work," he said. "The athletes are aggressive and ready to go."
The race, hosted by Indiana State, will be held on the same course as the 2002 NCAA Championships.
Mike Putzke, New Buffalo,
Mich., junior, raced the course
twice during his two years at
Western Michigan before transferring to Kansas this season.
"It's pretty wide open, so the turns aren't too tight," he said. "Overall, it's a good course, and it has great footing."
Putzke said a fast start would be crucial.
"When you race against the nation's best teams, they take it out from the gun," he said. "That's how it will be."
Clark said the race will be extremely competitive, but added that the Roy Griak meet gave the Jayhawks early-season exposure to racing in large meets.
"When you're in a race like we saw in Minnesota or Pre-Nationals where you've got hundreds of people, it's a lot different than the smaller meet we had at KU earlier in the year or the K-State meet," he said. "I think running in that type of competitive environment in Minnesota should prepare us for Pre-Nationals."
The women's blue race will start at 11 a.m. followed by the white race at 11:35 a.m. The men's blue race is at 12:10 p.m.; white, 12:45 p.m. The meet coordinators have not yet released whether the Jajahkw teams will run in either the blue or white races.
— Edited by Steve Schmidt
FOOTBALL
Tigers' defense claws its way to top of Big 12
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri entered the season known for a potent offense, but it's the defense that is among the nation's best.
The Tigers (4-1, 2-0 Big 12)
are tops in the Big 12 and
ranked eighth nationally in
defense, allowing just 259 yards
per game. Missouri will get a
stern test Saturday with a game
at No. 9 Texas (4-1, 1-1), which
is coming off a 12-0 loss to second-ranked Oklahoma.
That is quite a departure from the 381 yards per game the Tigers allowed last season which ranked 64th. Before the season, coach Gary Pinkel said he hoped his team would crack the top third of the conference in defense.
Behind the unit's strong start, the Tigers sit alone atop the Big 12 North for the first time since the conference opened in 1996.
"We're improving," Pinkel said. "I'm very pleased that our defense is making progress, but we have to continue to work hard to get better, and I think we can."
The Associated Press
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