THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2006
SPORTS
3B
SOCCER
Ron Garmisa/KANSAN
Senior midfielder and forward Lacey Novak shields Pepperdine midfielder Courtney Price at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex Friday. Kansas got ahead with an early goal by Senior midfielder Jessica Kilpatrick, only to lose courtesy of three second-half Pepperdine goals.
soccer notes
Psychic or soccer coach?
Kansas coach Mark Francis predicted good fortune for Kim Boyer, and it came true. He told the freshman forward she would make a difference before she checked into the game,and Boyer did just that by assisting her team's only goal against Pepperdine.
Pun intended, hopefully
A few Jayhawks fans painted "We
Luv Dix" across their chests as a shout out to sophomore Libby. Dix, Dix, a goakeeper, did not play in ether game.
If soccer doesn't work, there's always gymnastics
Central Florida showcased a couple of acrobatic moves Sunday. A Knight forward attempted a bicycle kick for a shot on goal, and a midfeilder dove head first for a ball and still managed to block it with her foot.
KU soccer hooligans
NO SCOOT HOGGLES The Jayhawk Soccer Complex crowd contributed a couple of rowdy comments Sunday. After Central Florida received the ball four times in a row on questionable out-of-bounds calls, the crowd erupted at the official with these remarks: "Is this a one-way street?" and "Why don't you just put it in the goal?"
Kansas splits weekend games
Mark Dent
The goal was Bush's first of the season, and the 2-0 victory gave No.18 Kansas (5-2-0) some breathing room. The game helped Kansas recover from a disappointing 3-1 loss against the Pepperdine University Waves Friday.
BY MARK DENT
On Sunday, the Jayhawks had possession of the ball for what seemed like the entire game. Their offense shot the ball 21 times, eight of which were shots on goal. Gault and Bush were also involved in Kansas' first-half goal.
No.18 Jayhawks defeat Central Florida, lose to Pepperdine
"We just both kind of went in and moved around the box well," Bush said. "I got open and it was lucky."
Jessica Bush put an exclamation point on the Jayhawks' victory against the Central Florida Knights in a slightly unorthodox fashion Sunday. The sophomore midfielder didn't even realize what was happening during the play when she scored the final goal of Kansas' 2-0 victory.
Gault collected a pass from Bush in mid-run, chipped it over a defender and flipped the ball above
"Gosh, everything happened so fast," she said. "It was kind of a weird situation."
The strange circumstance started in the 59th minute. Bush chased down a high-flying ball that was kicked from midfield all the way to the goal box. The charging Bush nearly collided with Central Florida goalkeeper Jennifer Manis. Bush distracted Manis with her attack and caused the ball to ricochet off Manis' chest and toward the feet of nearby Holly Gault. The senior midfielder had an open look but passed it to 'Bush in the center of the box. Bush proceeded to kick the ball into the wide-open net.
"I'd been working on tipping it over the goalkeeper all week." Gault said. "I got the opportunity and wanted to put it in the back of the net."
the goalie, who had tried to stop Gault by running at her.
The two goals were the highlights of a game that Kansas coach Mark Francis said was his team's best of the season.
The Kansas defenders held Central Florida to only three shots on goal, which sophomore goalkeeper Julie Hanley saved for her second shotout of the season.
The offense was able to possess the ball for most of the game because the defenders cleared the ball quickly every time the Knights invaded the jahywhacks backfield.
"Julie commanded the box and the defenders fed off of that," Francis said. "We forced them to make passes they didn't want to make and picked them off"
But Francis added that it was the defense that did most of the work.
Kansas' best 90 minutes, according to Francis, came after its arguably worst 90 minutes. The Jayhawks could do little right against the Waves on Friday night. Pepperdine quickly dissolved a 1-0 Kansas half-time lead by scoring three goals in the second half.
"We threw it away in the second half," Francis said. "We didn't play with the same intensity and gave them the game."
"We talked about learning from Friday's mental mistakes before the game," Francis said. "Today we didn't make those mistakes, and that is important for our confidence."
Friday's poor performance made Sunday's game against Central Florida crucial, and Kansas' response was more than adequate in the eyes of Francis. He said his team needed this game before starting conference play next weekend.
Kansan sportswriter Mark Dent can be contacted at mdent@kansan.com.
Edited by Kate Shipley
VOLLEYBALL 0-3
Lisa Lipovac/KANSAN
Jessica Bush, sophomore midfielder and forward, is stopped by Jennifer Manis, University of Central Florida junior goalkeeper, at Sunday's game. The Jayhawks shut out the Golden Knights 2-0.
Texas sweeps Kansas at sold-out home match
No.5 Longhorns dominate Jayhawks with height, hitting
BY DREW DAVISON
If everything is bigger in Texas, then that surely includes volleyball players. With six players listed at 6-feet-3 or taller, No. 5 Texas (7-2, 2-0 Big 12) had no problem sweeping Kansas (7-4, 0-2) Saturday night at the Horesei Family Athletics Center.
"I have not seen a taller team than that," Kansas coach Ray Bechard said.
"I don't want to get Nebraska upset, but they're one of the best teams in the country," Bechard said of Texas. "There is no question."
After the match, Kansas players said Texas was the best team they had played so far. Bechard agreed that Texas matched up favorably with the Nebraska team that swept Kansas earlier in the week.
This season, Texas has defeated defending national champion and current No. 3 Washington, as well as No. 4 Santa Clara.
"The key now is, hey, who is going to beat Texas or Nebraska in this league anyway, unless they beat themselves." Bechard said. "Let's move on and the next three or four
weeks, we've got matches that are winnable if we play well."
Texas won all three matches by the same score, 30-18. Texas committed just nine attack errors, for a stellar .458 hitting percentage, compared with Kansas' .176.
"We just played a team that was in a real good offensive system tonight and everything we tried just wasn't good enough," Bechard said.
Texas also dominated Kansas in blocks, Texas had eight team blocks and Kansas had three.
"They're so physical at the net blocking," Katie Martincich, freshman setter, said. "At every position, they must have strong players."
Martinicn led the Kansas offense with 23 assists.
Consistently during the match, the Longhorns were able to string together long runs, while the Jayhawks never found their offensive rhythm:
Jana Correa, senior outside hitter,
was the lone Jayhawk with double-digit kills, a match-high 14.
In game one, with the score tied at 11, Texas went on a 19-7 run, includ-
To complete the sweep, Texas started game three with six unanswered points. Texas outhit Kansas, .517 to .147.
ng several threatened points to wit. Texas led by as much as 14 in game two, thanks in large part to freshman Destinee Hooker, who led the team with five kills.
After consecutive matches against No. 1 Nebraska and No. 5 Texas, Kansas will now face a less dominating stretch in its schedule.
Kansas will try to notch its first conference victory when it takes on Texas A&M (7-3, 0-2) at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Horejsi Center.
ing seven unanswered points to win.
Game Notes:
» With 14 kills, Correa has had double-digit kills a team-high eight times.
» Martinicich was the only jayhawk to record a service ace. The aced tied the second game at seven.
Kansan sportswriter Drew Davison can be contacted at ddavison@kansan.com.
Fans eager to cheer on the Jayhawks, team appreciative
Edited by Catherine Odson
BY JEFF DETERS
Many KU administrators and athletes were in attendance to support the women, including sophomore forward Julian Wright.
Wright said he has been a regular
Texas swept the game, 3-0, and won all three games easily by a score of 30-18. Though the Jayhawks had trouble scoring throughout the game, fans were still supportive.' When the Jayhawks made a point, the PA announcer would say "Point KU!" and the KU crowd would repeat the phrase and loudly stomp their feet twice, every time.
Even a sold-out crowd of 1,300 could not propel the Kansas Jayhawks to victory against the No. 5 Texas Longhorns.
The volleyball team tried to get fans out by offering giveaways such as a signed volleyball, T-shirts and rally towels. The effort was successful, though the team was not.
fan at home volleyball games this season. He said showing his support for KU athletics is really just himself being part of the community.
With Texas leading 17-11 in the first game, the chant of "Let's go Jayhawks!" echoed from the crowd. Grant Taylor, Aurora, III., junior and Dave Kaleba, Naperville, III., junior led the cheer. The two would also yell at the opposing team when players went to serve.
"It's a great atmosphere tonight. Whether it is basketball, football or whatever, everyone is real supportive," Wright said.
Kaleba said trying to disrupt the opposing team is something he and his friends have been doing since high school.
"Volleyball is the kind of sport where you can get in the heads of the players," Kaleba said. "There's not 10,000 people like in football. And the court is more conducive to taunting and heckling."
Emily Brown, junior right side hitter/setter, appreciated the packed facility even though the team's performance was not what the capacity crowd had hoped for.
"There's so many people here," Brown said. "It's always nice to see everyone up in the stands. We get a lot of support, it really does help."
Coach Ray Bechard thought if the Jayhawks could gain momentum, the crowd would perhaps carry the Jayhawks to a victory.
"We just didn't get a chance to get them engaged very much," Bechard said. "I told the team if we get to a 20-20 game or a 25-25 game, obviously the crowd gets more involved. But it was great to see the stands full. That's for sure."
Kansan sportswriter Jeff Deters can be contacted at jdeters@kansan.com.
— Edited by Kristen Jarboe
Vanessa Pearson/KANSAN
a'
lana Correa, senior outside hitter, jumps to block the ball during Saturday's game against Texas at Horejsi Family Athletics Center. Texas swept Kansas, 3-0, in a match the Longhorns dominated. Despite she loss, Correa had a match-high 14 kills.