INTRAMURALS: Team O'Malley loses second consecutive game to the BV All-Stars and is eliminated from tourney. PAGE 4B
SPORTS
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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2004
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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Softball season to begin
Team geared to win first fall games of the year at Classic
BY MATT WILSON
mwilson@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWRIETER
www.kansan.com
The Kansas softball team will take the field for the first fall ballgame this weekend as the team hosts the Jahawk Fall Classic at Arrocha Ballpark.
The Jayhawks have not played since last year's Big 12 Tournament. Kansas ended the tournament with a loss to Oklahoma, and the team has been waiting for an opportunity to get back on the field.
It has been a long off-season, but the team said it was ready to play again.
"It exciting to take what we've been working on and put it together in a game," said junior infielder Jessica Moppin. "It's fun to play in front of a crowd as opposed to practice."
The field for the two-day event includes Washburn, Emporia State and Johnson County Community College. Kansas' first game is at 2 p.m. Saturday against Washburn.
These first games will provide the layhawks with needed experience.
With three freshmen, the team will have an opportunity to jell this weekend.
JAYHAWK FALL CLASSIC
SCHEDULE
Saturday
vs. Washburn at 2 p.m.
vs. Emporia State at 4 p.m.
Sunday
"It's good for us to see different teams and different pitchers," Moppin said. "It's good for the freshmen because they will get an opportunity to experience this level of play.
vs. Johnson County at noon vs. TBA at 2 p.m.
The coaching staff is also looking forward to game action.
"We're excited and anxious to get out there and play," coach Tracy Bunge said. "Game speed is a lot faster than practice speed, and we have a lot of work to do."
Kansas is the favorite to take the title, and the players and coaches expect to win.
However, they know the tournament mainly serves as a tune-up for the spring season.
"We should definitely win, and we will be disappointed if we don't," Moppin said. "But that being said, it won't really hurt us if we lose a game. The ones that really count in the spring are what we are preparing for."
Edited by Anna Clonic
Height advantage helps hitters, blockers
BY BILL CROSS
bcross@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
Fans who attended the Kansas volleyball team's Wednesday match against Nebraska might have noticed one Cornhusker who stood out from her teammates during warmups, 6-foot-5 outside hitter Sarah Pavan.
Attendees likely noticed her again once the match was under way, as she notched 11 kills.
"It definitely helps to have a height advantage," said freshman opponent hitter Emily Brown of front-line positions in Big 12 Conference volleyball.
Outside and opposite hitters attack and block on the perimeters of the court.
But in volleyball, it's an advantage for a hitter to have her strong hand on the inside.
The two players do the same jobs on opposite sides of the court: outside on the left, opposite on the right. The positions are not much more different from each other than left and right fielder are in baseball.
"It's all in the angles," the 6-foot-2 Brown said.
She said right-handed players playing on the right side of the court had to wait for a pass to cross their bodies before they could attack.
"I played outside all my life, and the transition from the left side was hard for me," she said.
"In the middle, everything's a lot quicker," Brown said. "You usually have more hands in front of your face."
Two middle blockers, or middle hitters, round out the quartet of hitters of a typical college volleyball team.
After successfully making the transition, Brown has been temporarily moved back to the left side to fill in for injured sophomore starter Jana Correa.
The Jayhawks boast one of
In the middle, everything's a lot quicker. You usually have a lot of hands in front of your face."
Emily Brown Freshman opposite hitter
the sport's best middle blockers. 6-foot junior Josi Lima.
"She's a great athlete with a great attitude," Brown said. And she's very confident.
Lima is also aware of how demanding her position is.
"Middle is one of the hardest positions," Lima said. "You have to be aware of every single ball."
She said middle blockers had to be completely involved with every point because they had to time a jump every time the ball was on their side of the court.
"Outsides don't have to jump every ball," she said. "Middles have to jump even if the setter's not going to set you."
Lima said when the ball was passed outside, she jumped in the middle to distract the other team's blockers.
Brown said middle blocker was also difficult because the player had to shuffle back and forth, whereas outside and opposite hitters are responsible for blocking on on their edge of the net.
On the court, Lima said she relied on her teammates to guide her actions.
Brown and Lima both said scouting and communication were key for the front line.
"Before the games, we go through their hitters' techniques," Brown said. "If a girl hits mainly cross court, we talk about where the outside hitter's going to set up the block."
SEE HEIGHT ON PAGE 4B
Ashley Michaels, senior middle blocker, and Emily Brown, freshman outside hitter, both go up at the net in Wednesday's game against Nebraska. Brown said that everything is faster in the middle because the front line players had a lot of hands in their faces.
Kansan file photo
Kansas file photo
Andrew Price will head to his hometown of Lake Forest, Ill., to compete Oct. 4 and 5. The tournament will be held on the course Placed on while growing up. He is pictured from a tournament last year.
Golfer sees if summer practice pays off
BY Eric SORRENTINO esorrentino@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
The Kansas men's golf team may travel away from Lawrence next week, but senior Andrew Price will return home.
Price will compete with the Jayhawks in the Windon Memorial Intercollegiate from his hometown of Lake Forest, Ill., on Oct. 4 and 5. The tournament will be held at Conway Farms Golf Club, the course Price played on growing up.
Price said he was one of the first members to join the club when it opened 14 years ago. Family, friends and members of the club will be in attendance to support Price and the lavhawks next week.
"I can't wait to get back," Price said. "The course is in great shape. It should be fun."
Price was a regular at Conway Farms this summer, when he returned to the Chicago area during summer break. He said that he practiced there every day to strengthen his game. He also traveled to tournaments at Pinehurst, N.C., Ann Arbor, Mich., and Albuquerque, N.M., to gain experience.
Price talked strategy with coach Ross Randall this week concerning ways to succeed in the tournament. Price said that he just had to keep hitting it in the right spots and good scores would follow.
The players will have time to spend with their families this weekend before tournament play. Price said that the team's parents would play the course on Saturday with the players. The practice round would ensue on Sunday.
The Jayhawks are coming off a victory last week at the Kansas Invitational in Lawrence at the
SEE PRACTICE ON PAGE 4B
Kansas soccer prepared to mess with Texas teams
BY JASON ELMQUIST
jelmquist@kansan.com
KANSAN SWIPERWITHER
The No. 12 Kansas soccer team continues conference play this weekend with two more home games. The Jayhawks head into the weekend with an overall record of 9-2 and a 1-1 conference record.
retention record. The team will first face 2-7 Texas Tech today. In last year's meeting in Lubbock, Texas, the Red Raiders came away with a 3-2 victory.
In today's game, senior goalkeeper Meghan Miller will look for vengeance for last year's loss.
"We've been talking about it in our scouting reports this year, and we can't go off of what happened last year."
Miller said. "Obviously we would like to avenge that loss, but this is a completely different team that we are playing.
They've improved greatly, so we're going to have to take them just as we would any other team."
The leading Jayhawk scorers — senior Rachel Gilfillan, junior Caroline Smith and sophomores Nicole Cauzillo and Holly Gault — will look to add to their totals, as each have scored at least three goals this season.
Miller is currently leading the Big 12 in goals against average with 0.36, save percentage with 0.922 and shutouts with seven.
Freshman Priscilla Esquivel leads the Red Raiders offensively with seven goals for the season.
SOCCER SCHEDULE
TODAY
vs. Texas Tech at 4 p.m.
SUNDAY
vs. Baylor at 1 p.m.
Kansas coach Mark Francis said Esquivel was talented.
To control her, he said the team needed to not dive in on her and not give her an opportunity in front of the goal.
On the defensive side, Texas Tech has a goalie-bv-compete.
Juniors Megan Knauss and Beth Lippert and freshman Tina Rincon have each started at least three games in goal.
In Sunday's game the Jayhawks will battle the Lady Bears of Baylor. Baylor has an overall record of 4-4-1 and are 1-1 in conference.
Knauss has the best stats of the three with a 1.60 goals against average and a 0.778 save percentage.
Anna Schuch leads Baylor team with 12 points on four goals and four assists. Freshman goalkeeper Ashley Holder has seen most of the action in net for Baylor.
The Lady Bears are coming off an upset victory against No. 22 Texas last Sunday in Waco, Texas.
Holder has a 1.81 goals against average and a 0.758 save percentage.
Miller said she wants intense play and victories this weekend.
"I think it is crucial we step up our
play." Miller said. "Obviously, if we don't get scored on we can't lose. So looking from that stand point, I'm going to do my best to be focused for 90 minutes each day."
With a victory during the weekend, coach Francis will get his 100th career victory.
He enters the weekend with a career record of 99-66-7.
Francis is already the winningest coach in program history with 66 victories at Kansas.
"More important to me is beat Texas Tech," Francis said. "The 100th win is a nice milestone, but right now the most important thing for us is it is a win that we need."
Edited by Anna Clovis
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