8B SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY HAILY KANSAN
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2007
SHROYER (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
where Talib found himself completely uncovered down the middle of the field. Granted, Kansas has more receiving options than the Big Ten has overrated teams, but leaving Kansas' lone All-American wide open is a mistake Kansas State won't make.
The layhawks reeled off another big pass play their next drive on a simple dump off from Reeing to Jake Sharp on third and 10. Sharp dodged, ducked, dipped, and dived through arm tackles for a 31-yard gain. Sharp won't be able to navigate Kansas State's defense that easily.
As generous as the Panthers were during the game, they were equally kind afterwards, heaping praise on the Jayhawks.
"They are an excellent offense. They are truly a machine," FIU coach Mario Cristobol said.
Few teams have played a tougher non-conference schedule than the Panthers. FIU opened its season at
Penn State, played Maryland, then played at Miami before Saturday's blowout. If any team can quantify how good this Kansas team is, it's the Panthers.
"I don't get into rating teams, but I know they are a great team." FIU running back Amod Ned said about Kansas. "They handed it to us in every phase of the game."
Then again, if I'd just received a 52-point beat down, I'd be singing pretty high praises for my opponent, too.
So, is Kansas really on the same level as Penn State, which thumped FIU 59-07. Probably not. Can the 2007 Jayhawks match the 7-0 start the 1995 Jayhawks tallied? Maybe. But first they'll have to get past Kansas State on the road. And Mark Mangino's 2-18 Big 12 road record doesn't inspire much confidence.
Kansan sports columnist Shawn Shroyer can be reached at shsroyer@kansan.com
Volleyball notes
ACES WILD
Kansas had eight aces compared with only one for Texas Tech. Freshman outside hitter Karina Garlington led Kansas with three, and sophomore defensive specialist/libero Melissa Grieb recorded two aces to give Kansas a team-leading 16 aces on the season.
"We saw on tape that there were certain zones that they were more vulnerable in and our kids did a great job" coach Ray Bechard said.
UHART UPDATE
Natalie Uhart was in uniform for the first time since the team's game at Michigan St. on Aug. 31. Uhart sat out the last 10 matches with an undisclosed medical issue. Uhart did not see any court time, but warmed up with the team and spent the game on the bench.
A
Rustin Dodd
middle blocker Savannah Noyes, helped Kansas gain a 5-1 lead. Kansas never trailed after that and edged Texas Tech 30-27.
Game two was even easier for the Jayhawks. Williams and Garlington started an early run that gave Kansas a 16-9 lead. Kansas kept the Texas Tech offense in check, and a Noyes kill on an assist from Brown clinched game two, 30-24.
Kansas saw its first deficit of the day in game three. Early offensive struggles put Kansas down 12-8. But the momentum shifted to Kansas on what may have been the point of the day.
Freshman outside hitter Jenna Kaiser finished a long rally with a kill after Kansas and Texas Tech each came up with point-saving digs. The point cut Texas Tech's lead to 12-9 and spurred an 8-3 run, giving Kansas a 16-15 lead. Later, with Kansas leading 29-25, sophomore setter Katie Martinchlo dropped in a ball between four Texas Tech players to clinch the match for Kansas.
VOLLEYBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
A BETTER BIG 12 START
Kansas, with a 2-2 conference record, has nearly reached its conference victory total from last season already. Kansas finished 3-17 in the Big 12 last year.
"I think last year it got to the point where other teams were saying, 'Hey, Kansas is coming in. We can relax and play.' Brown said. "We don't want it to be like that ever again."
Noyes added 11 kills, while Williams and Kaiser notched six kills each, but Garlington's emergence at outside hitter highlighted Kansas' offensive performance.
— Edited by Matt Erickson
Jon Goering/KANSAN
Savannah Noyes, junior middle blocker, goes up for a spike during the match Saturday afternoon at the Horeisi Family Athletic Centers. Kansas says tech Teach 3-0.
Anna Faltermeyer/KANSAN
Freshman outside hitter Karina Garlington reaches for a dig during the match against Texas Tech Saturday afternoon. Kansas never trailed in the first two games.
SOCCER (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
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tum, the Illini opened the scoring to
the 41st minute when a through-ball
into Kansas' penalty box drew keeper Colleen Quinn out of her net Illini
Jon Goering/KANSAN
Nicole Cauzillo, senior midfielder, jumps for a header during Sunday's game at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex. No. 19 ranked California-Berkley defeated Kansas 1-0.
forward Courtney Bell beat her to the ball and chipped it back into the mass of players gathered in the box where 2006 Big Ten defensive player of the year, Emily Zurrer, headed it in.
Illinois continued to create chances after halftime and capitalized on a mistake by the Kansas defense in the 54th minute for its second goal. 2006 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Chichi Nweke latched onto a loose ball at the top of the Kansas box and coily slotted it home over an onrushing Quinn.
Kansas was forced to push numbers forward in an attempt to chip away at the lead and produced a breakthrough ten minutes from time. Senior midfielder Emily Strindren's pinpoint cross found another senior midfielder, Nicole Cauzillo, unmarked for the Jayhawks' only goal and her Cauzillo's first since 2004.
"It was a great ball. It landed right on my foot, so I just had to finish it." Cauzillo said. "I was just kind of a little bit surprised that it landed right there. So I give her all the credit for that goal, and I just put it in."
Coach Mark Francis said he was encouraged by his team's play but said its inability to capitalize on opponents mistakes was something that had to change in order to turn their fortunes around.
"I thought we played well," Francis said. "It was one of our better performances in terms of how we played but I thought both of the goals they scored were soft, mistakes by us that they punished us for. We aren't punishing other people when they make mistakes and they made some today. You got to score goals to win games."
VS. NO. 19 CALIFORNIA
Despite matching California's offensive output, Kansas' second encouraging performance of the weekend once again ended disappointingly in its seventh loss in nine non-conference games. The loss was not the result Kansas had hoped for, but Francis said his team performed the best they had this season.
The first half was characterized by a lack of finishing as both teams
swapped quality offensive chances. Cauzillo once again led the Kansas attack, nearly scoring twice on long-range efforts from the edge of the box. One low drive forced a diving save from California goalkeeper Gina Pellegrini that prevented Kansas from opening the scoring.
After the half both teams seemed determined to craft the go-ahead score as the game began to open up. Unfortunately for the Jayhawks, they were victims of an incredible strike by Golden Bears forward Katherine Daiss.
"I thought we played very well today," Francis said. "That's the best game we've played by far."
Daiss was the beneficiary of a driving solo run down the right flank by sophomore forward Torrey Deplaplane. Delaplane blew by Kansas' defenders and curled a beautiful cross across the face of the goal which Daiss volleyed home off the bottom right post.
"We got beat today because they scored a really, really good goal," Francis said. "I mean it was an unbe
lievable goal that kid scored."
The goal was the end of scoring for both sides but Kansas came close to equalizing with a little more than three minutes remaining. Junior midfielder Jessica Bush's shot was deflected in the box and would have resulted in a goal had the deflection not fell to a perfectly positioned Pellegrini. Although Kansas co-naimed to push players forward in attack, it was not to be for the Jayhawks as they dropped their final non-conference game.
Bush said that in spite of another loss to a ranked opponent, the team was prepared for Big 12 conference play and the challenges that await them.
"We had a tough non-conference schedule and I think we are a little disappointed with what our record is," Bush said. "But it's a clean slate whenever we go into conference. Like coach said we aren't going to play anybody better than we have played already."
Edited by Luke Morris
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