THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2007
SPORTS
3B
》 VOLLEYBALL
State, sibling rivals tonight
BY RUSTIN DODD
rdodd@kansan.com
Melissa Townsend knows she's getting a pre-game phone call from one of her opponents. And while it may seem odd that the freshman libero/defensive specialist would share a pre-game moment with the competition, it isn't at all when you realize that the opponent is Townshend's older sister, Leslie.
Leslie, Melissa and the entire Townsend family will be present for the Big 12 Conference opener. Kansas will host Kansas State at 7 p.m. at the Horeysi Family Athletics Center. "My mom bought like 40 tickets," the younger Townsend said. "Cousins, anuts, uncles — they're all going to be there."
Melissa always followed in her older sister's footsteps. Both sisters played volleyball at Shawnee Heights High School in Topeka and helped Shawnee
Townsend
Heights finish second at the 5A state volleyball tournament, Leslie in 2003 and Melissa in 2006. But when it came time to choose a college, Melissa took a different route. Even though Leslie had been at Kansas State for three seasons Melissa decided that Kansas was where she wanted to be.
"When I came down here it seemed like they really wanted me around." Townsend said. "Everybody made me feel really comfortable."
Early in her freshman season, Melissa has earned a role off the bench. Once or twice a game, Coach Ray Bechard will substitute her in to serve, and she responded with the first ace of her career against the University of Wyoming last Friday.
"My sister's really excited for me because she wanted me to have the opportunity to play as fast as 1
could," Melissa said.
KANSAS BUILDS MOMENTUM
Kansas comes into tonight's match riding a five-match winning streak. The Jayhawks, 7-3, began their winning streak with a 3-1 win against Missouri State on Sept. 6, then followed that with a 3-0 win against UMKC. The Jayhawks racked wins against St. Peters, 3-0, Wyoming, 3-2, and Morehead State, 3-0, in last weekend's Jayhawk Classic. According to senior Emily Brown, the streak isn't the team's focus at the moment.
"No matter what streak you're on, with KU playing K-State, you're going to be ready to play," Brown said.
Brown was named MVP of last weekend's Jayhawk Classic and averaged 7.45 assists per game.
Freshmen lead the Jayhawks in two key statistics after 10 matches. Outside hitter Jenna Kaiser is averaging 2.47 kills per game. Melissa Manda amassed 3.73 digs per game. With Kaiser, Manda, and fellow freshmen Townshend and Karina Garlington getting playing time, Brown said she has tried to prepare the newcomers for the rigors of the Big 12 conference.
"We've tried to talk about it a little bit when we've struggled in some games that, hey, in the Big 12, this isn't going to work," Brown said.
K-STATE A CHALLENGE
Bechard has good reason to be impressed with Kansas State. The 10th year coach said he thought that Kansas State was the third best team in the Big 12 behind Nebraska and Texas.
Sixty NCAA coaches ranked Kansas State 19th in the latest CSTV/AVCVA Volleyball rankings. Nebraska is ranked No. 1 and Texas No. 7. With an 8-2 record and a victory against No. 14 Cal Poly, Kansas State has the team to support Béchard's
claim. Kansas State's only tosses were against No. 5 UCLA and No. 16 Hawaii at the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic in Honolulu.
"We'll see a whole new level of physicality over the next 20 matches," Bechard said. "That's what we'll have to deal with more than anything."
Kansas State junior Nataly Korob'ova leads the Wildcat offense with 4.55 kills per game, while fellow junior Rita Liliom has added 3.57 kills per game. Senior Angie Lastra has been Kansas State's top defensive player, averaging 4.20 digs per game.
INJURIES MOUNT
Junior Natalie Uhart will likely miss her seventh straight match against Kansas State. Uhart suffered an injury on Aug. 31 against Michigan State and hasn't played since. Uhart, who transferred to Kansas from Long Beach State before last season, has been plagued by injuries throughout her time at Kansas. Uhart missed all of last season with a knee injury.
Brown has been suffering from a nagging ankle injury but did not miss any time this past weekend. Bechard said that Brown and the rest of his team just needed a few days off after playing three games in two days.
Game Time Location
Kansas vs. Kansas State 7 p.m.
Horejsi Family Athletics Center
Last Year: Kansas split two games with Kansas State in 2006, winning 3-1 at home while falling 3-0 in Manhattan. Up Next: Kansas will travel to Norman, Okla., on Saturday, Sept. 15, to play Oklahoma at 11 a.m. Kansas lost twice to the Sooners in 2006, 3-0 at Oklahoma and 3-1 at home.
》 WOMEN'S GOLF
Jayhawks place fifth in Nebraska
BY ANDREW WIEBE
awiebe@kansan.com
When the University of Kansas Women's Golf team concluded the first round of play at the University of Nebraska's Chip-N-Club Invitational on Monday, it was tied for fifth.
Despite improving scores during the following 36 holes, the team was unable to move up the leader board, and finished in sole possession of fifth after all 54 holes of play. Kansas' team score of 921 strokes put the team 24 strokes behind tournament champions Texas State. Solid performances by sophomore Emily Powers and senior Annie Giangrosso powered Kansas to a top five finish despite being
unable to gain ground in the final two rounds.
Giangrosso
Powers finished with an 11-over-par 224, tying her for 11th overall, while Giangrosco finished with a 14-over-par 227 to tie for 13th. The remaining three golfers included in the team's score were sophomore Meghan Gockel and freshmen Megna Bal and Sydney Wilson. Each struggled to find consistency, but played well enough to maintain Kansas' foothold on fifth place.
Members of the Kansas Women's Golf team practice their iron shots to improve their game. The team placed fifth at the Chip-N-Club Invitational in Nebraska Monday.
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Competing individually, freshman Grace Thiry overcame a rough first 18 holes to finish tied for 19th. She shot consecutive three-overpar rounds of 74 in her last 36 holes to secure a top 20 finish.
to improve on their fifth place finish as the team travels to Denver, Colo. to compete in the Ron Moore Intercollegiate on Sept. 17 and 18.
-Edited by Luke Morris
Next week Kansas will attempt
Kansas Team Scores
Emily Powers - Tied for 11th
76-73-75=224 total strokes
11 over par
Meghan Gockel -Tied for 42nd
85-75-79=239 total strokes
26 per cover
Sydney Wilson - Tied for 59th
84-82-77=243
30 over par
Megna Bal - 30th
76-81-77=234 total strokes
21 over par
Annie Giangrosso - Tied for 13th
77-76-74=227
14 over par
INDIVIDUAL
INDIVIDUAL
Grace Thiry - Tied for 19th
82-74-74=230 total strokes
17 over par
TEAM SCORE
5th
313-305-303=921 total strokes
**TOP 5** (team score)
Texas State (897)
Kansas State (902)
Arkansas-Little Rock (906)
Nebraska (911)
Kansas (921)