THE UNIVERSITY OF DARY KANSAN
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2006
SPORTS
VOLLEYBALL 3-0
3B
Cyclones snatch away postseason hopes
Iowa State sweeps Kansas in Hilton Coliseum; Setter Katie Martincich passes 1,000-assist mark
BY DREW DAVISON
Kansas volleyball coach Ray Bechard struggled to eat his barbecue dinner after his team lost at Iowa State Saturday night.
The Cyclones (17-7, 9-5 Big 12 Conference) swept the Jayhawks (10-14, 3-12) by scores of 30-18, 30-22 and 30-23 in Hilton Coliseum.
"It's been that type of day, I can't oven eat my food," Bechard said. "It seems like the harder you try, the more you get in your own way."
Bechard said the team had a great day before the match started as the队 warmed up well and they put together a good game plan. But everything fell apart for the
Jayhawks once the match started.
"We were fired up for the match,
Meagan Hill, senior outside hitter.
We were tired of Megan Hill, senior said. "I think that, individually, people didn't have their best matches. And, right now, we are struggling to play as a team."
Kansas has now lost five straight, while Iowa State picked up its fifth straight victory.
have been better in their home environment."
Bechard pointed to the sideou
"I think that, individually, people didn't have their best matches. And, right now, we are struggling to play as a team."
"We keep playing teams when they're hot," Bechard said. "We changed our routine up and tried different things, but ultimately teams
MEGAN HILL Senior outside hitter
the sideout percentage as the difference in the match. Kansas' sideout percentage was 44 compared to Iowa State's 59 percent.
A sideout is when the receiving team wins the rally
point against the serving team.
The Cyclones also led the Jayhawks in several other categories including, serving aces (7-1), blocks
(8-3) and hitting efficiency (.344
..162).
The lone bright spot for the Jayhawks was freshman setter Katie Martinicich. Martinicich had 34 assists on the night and notched her 1,000th assist of the season.
"I didn't really think about it," she said. "It's nice to get it, but it would have been nicer with a win."
Hill led the Kansas offense with a team-high 11 kills. She also had a team-high .409 hitting efficiency.
A few weeks ago, the Jayhawks were still in the hunt to make their fourth straight NCAA tournament. But with postseason hopes shot, staying motivated will be difficult.
"We can still have some great moments and gain some moment-
tum heading into spring," Bechard said. "We've got to play hard for each other and the school we represent."
Kansas has just tvo more opportunities to get its first conference road victory this season - against Baylor and Kansas State. The Jayhawks defeated both teams in Lawrence earlier in the season.
Kansas will next take on Colorado (13-9, 9-6) at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Horejsi Family Athletics Center. Admission is free for students with a valid KUID.
Kansan sportswriter Drew Davison can be contacted at ddavison@kansan.com.
— Edited by Kate Shipley
TOP 25 No.1 sweeps panel
Record through Nov. 4 • First-place votes
Previous ranking
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | PVS |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 1 | Michigan | 10-0 | 1,554 | 2 |
| 3 | Texas | 9-1 | 1,438 | 4 |
| 4. | Texas | 9-1 | 1,438 | 4 |
| 6. | Florida | 8-1 | 1,314 | 7 |
| 7. | California | 8-1 | 1,136 | 10 |
| 9. | West Virginia | 7-1 | 1,024 | 3 |
| 10. | West Virginia | 7-1 | 1,024 | 3 |
| 12. | LSU | 7-2 | 996 | 13 |
| 19. | Boise St. | 9-0 | 742 | 14 |
| 15. | Wisconsin | 9-1 | 689 | 17 |
| 12. | Wisconsin | 9-1 | 689 | 17 |
| 18. | Wake Forest | 8-1 | 509 | 22 |
| 10. | Wake Forest | 8-1 | 509 | 22 |
| 20. | Virginia Tech | 7-2 | 333 | 23 |
| 21. | Virginia Tech | 7-2 | 333 | 23 |
| 22. | Boston College | 7-2 | 230 | 16 |
| 24. | Texas A&M | 8-2 | 137 | 21 |
*Note: The rankings are based on points scored by each player.*
>> NFL
Others receiving votes. *Nebraska 63,*
*Clemson 31, Oregon St, 33, Hawaii 11,*
*Houston 2, TCU 1, Tulsa 8.*
Chiefs defeat Rams, win third straight under Herm Edwards
BY R.B. FALLSTROM ASSOCIATED PRESS
ST. LOUIS — After backing up pregame braggadocio about dealing out the hits rather than taking them, Larry Johnson had a lot more to say.
Johnson rushed for 172 yards, becoming the second straight running back to punish the St. Louis Rams' defense in the Kansas City Chiefs' 31-17 victory on Sunday. It wasn't nearly enough.
City, capitalized en route to a 17- point cushion.
"I'm a little disappointed because I feel we did leave 200 yards of rushing on that field," Johnson said. "The way we were going out there and just pushing them backward and shakings things up, we should have done even more."
The Chiefs defense forced three early turnovers against a team that emphasizes ball security, and Kansas
"You can't put Kansas City in a short field like that," Rams offensive tackle Orlando Pace said. "It makes it tough on us and a lot easier on those guys."
Jared Allen stripped Marc Bulger on a sack and recovered Steven Jackson's fumble for the Chiefs, who have won three in a row for the first time under new coach Herman Edwards.
Two touchdown catches by Tony Gonzalez, who broke Otis Taylor's franchise career mark, helped Kansas City (5-3) raise its record to an NFL-best 21-5 in interconference play since 1995. Damon Huard was mistake-free again, going 10-for-15 for 148 yards and three touchdowns.
Jackson had 219 yards in all for the Rams (4-4), who have lost three
in a row to negate a fast start under new coach Scott Linehan. Jackson had 86 yards on 19 carriages with a 1-yard touchdown, and caught a career-best 13 passes for 133 yards, but also had one of the Rams' three lost fumbles.
It was the first' 100-yard receiving game by a Rams running back since Marshall Faulk in 2001.
Johnson had 172 yards on 27 carries, including a 1-yard score for his fifth touchdown in two weeks; a 45-yarder when the Chiefs were backed up in the second quarter; and a 16-yarder that set up a field goal. He secured his fifth 100-yard game of the year and the 18th of his career before halftime against a beleaguered Rams defense that LaDainian Tomlinson gouged for 183 yards last week.
"There's no reason to try to sugarcoat it," Rams safety Corey
Chavous said. "We're doing a good job, I think, 90 percent of the time stopping the run. But we're giving up chunks of yardage _ I mean, big chunks of yardage _ on two or three plays.
"Those two or three plays are the reason why somebody's rushing for 170 yards rather than 70 or 80 yards in a game."
The Chiefs lost left guard Brian Waters, coming off an All-Pro season, with a leg injury in the first quarter. Johnson, who said "I don't get hit, I give hits" on a conference call days after -getting 155 yards against the Seahawks, wasn't slowed down much.
"I can't concentrate on who goes down," Johnson said. "If everybody goes down I've got to find a way to get yardage."
The Rams entered the game among the NFL leaders in turnover
margin at plus-10. They're minus-4 the last two games after the three costly fumbles helped the Chiefs take a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Dane Looker, in for his sure hands with the Chiefs punting from the St. Louis 45, fumbled a fair catch in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Allen ran down Bulger on a rollout and stripped him, and then stripped Jackson on a 3-yard gain up the middle.
Johnson's 1-yard run came six plays after the first Rams turnover. The Chiefs made it 14-0 after the second when a wide-open Gonzalez snared a 3-yarder.
Four plays after Jackson coughed up the ball at the St. Louis 33, Lawrence Tynes' 42-yard field goal made it 17-0 with 10:22 to go in the first half.
The rest of the way it was a game of catch-up for the Rams. They closed to 24-17 on Kevin Curtis's 2-yard catch late in the third quarter before the Chiefs answered with Huard's 11-yard pass to Kris Wilson with 6:20 to go.
Gonzalez has 59 career TDs receiving, two more than Taylor for the franchise record. He needs three more to catch Shannon Sharpe, who holds the NFL record for a tight end.
Bulger's fourth straight 300-yard passing game was wasted for St. Louis. He was 31-for-42 for 354 yards with no interceptions.
The game ended on a sour note for the Rams. Kevin Curtis was taken to a hospital for observation after a blow to the ribs from Sammy Knight on a meaningless 23-yard catch near the Kansas City sideline.