THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2005
WWW.KANSAN.COM
PAGE 1B
NSAN
VOLLEYBALL
Kelly Matherly/DAILY TOREADOF
senior blocker Josi Lima tips the ball during the game at Texas Tech last night. Texas Tech steered Kansas 3-0, however Las Vegas set the career record in kills.
'Hawks fall again
Kansas loses but Lima hits milestone
BY MATT WILSON
mwilson@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
The Kansas volleyball team committed countless unforced errors at Texas Tech last night and was swept for the first time this season, despite a performance by senior middle blocker Jos! Lima that broke the KU kills record.
Kansas' 3-0 loss added to the team's road struggles. The Jayhawks have lost all three of their games away from home.
Kansas coach Ray Bechard said that was typical in a conference as tough as the Big 12 Conference. He said the team would have to be able to win road matches if it wanted to finish near the top of the league.
The Red Raiders dominated the match from the outset and dropped the Jayhawks to 11-3 and 3-2 in the Big 12.
"I think Texas Tech was better prepared than we were tonight," Bechard said. "We'll get another opportunity when they come to Lawrence."
frame despite being tied as late as 25-25. The Jayhawks committed 13 errors and posted a .041 attack percentage. A hitting error by junior outside hitter Jana Correa ended the proceedings.
The Red Raiders jumped in front with a 30-28 victory in game one. Kansas never held a lead in the
Game two saw the Jayhawks bounce back to take an early 8-5 lead. Texas Tech responded with a run to tie the game at 9-9. From there the Jayhawks struggled again, allowing the Red Raiders to build a 21-18 advantage. They kept Kansas at arms length the rest of the way to win 30-25, putting the Jayhawks down 0-2 for the second straight road match.
An early 6-1 run by Texas Tech gave it the cushion it needed to close out the match. The Red Raiders extended their lead to 26-16 before putting the Jayhawks away, 30-19.
Bechard lamented the errors and blamed much of the outcome of the match on the Jayhawks' sloppy play.
The final stanza was the Jayhawks' worst from an efficiency standpoint. Their .024 attack percentage was their worst of any game this season.
"Many of our errors were unforced," he said. "We have to get back to work."
For the match, Kansas hit just .075 as a team. It wasted a good defensive effort in which the team held Texas Tech to .171.
Junior outside hitter Philister
“0
Ray Bechard
Our team understood that you don't take anyone lightly. After Oklahoma pushed us to five games a couple of weeks ago, we knew that it was going to be tough every match."
Ray Bechard Kansas volleyball coach
Sang led a balanced attack for the Red Raiders with 10 kills and 10 digs. Senior outside hitter Paula Caten had 15 kills for the Jayhawks while hitting a team-high 290.
Lima had 11 kills, which made her the Jayhawks' all-time kills leader with 1,308 total.
Beachard dismissed the idea that Kansas might not have taken Texas Tech seriously.
"Our team understood that you don't take anyone lightly," he said. "After Oklahoma pushed us to five games a couple of weeks ago, we knew that it was going to be tough every match."
Kansas returns to action Saturday, when it will have a chance for its first conference road victory when the team visits Colorado.
- Edited by Erin Wisdom
FOOTBALL
Players prepare for crowd distractions on the road
BY RYAN COLAIANNI rcolaianni@kansan.com KANSAN STAFF WRITER
The road stretch has Jayhawk players preparing for hostile environments.
Beginning Saturday against Texas Tech, the Jayhawks will play their next four football games away from the friendly confines of Memorial Stadium.
The Texas Tech band could be one of the crowd distractions Kansas will face as it travels to Lubbock, Texas, Saturday. The Red Raiders have averaged 48,000 fans a game at Jones SBC Stadium this season.
Contributed photo
The Jayhawks have struggled on the road since Kansas football coach Mark Mangino took over the program in 2002. Mangino has just one conference road victory, which came against Missouri last year.
"We need to continue to build on that," Mangino said. "We have played in hostile environments everywhere."
Despite being the first road game of the season, the players will prepare for it like any other road contest.
Mangino said he told his players that playing on the road was no different than playing at home.
"It's just a different environment to play in." senior quarterback Brian Luke said. "I think for the most part, we are mature enough to handle that."
"I tell our kids that the fans aren't out on the field. They still only have 11 guys out there and the field is still only 100 yards long." Mangino said. "We have to do our job and stay focused and I'm confident that we will."
"Luke said that coaches turned on loudspeakers at practice to simulate the noise the offense would face when playing Texas Tech on Saturday.
"It is going to be a test to see how we react to those circumstances and that environment," Luke said.
Luke successfully dealt with the crowd in last season's victory over Missouri. He will have to deal with the crowd again in Lubbock, Texas, especially when trying to change plays at the line of scrimmage.
"You just have to make calls
a little louder. You have to have your hands up a little bit more," Ochoa said.
Senior wide receiver Mark Simmons said road games change the team's routine, especially after playing three straight home games. He said the biggest concern on the field would be for younger players who
have yet to experience the road environment. The Jayhawks will have to keep their mental edge when the crowd erupts, senior linebacker Brandon Perkins said.
The Red Raiders have averaged more than 48,000 fans per game this season.
from home contributes to making the road tougher. The crowd noise, especially," Perkins said. "You just have to stay focused and do what you are supposed to do. We just have to be able to win on the road."
"Everything that's different
CROSS COUNTRY
- Edited by Anne Burgard
Benson Chesang races to the finish during a cross country meet in Topeka last fall. Chesang was named Big 12 Runner of the Week Tuesday after finishing second overall at the Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis, Minn., Saturday. This is the second time in his career he has received the honor
Kansan file photo
Strong finish leads to Top 25 ranking, award
BY ANTONIO MENDOZA
rmendoza@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
After finishing in eighth place Saturday in the 20th Annual Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis, Minn., the Kansas men's cross country team is now ranked 24th in the nation.
Junior Benson Chesang, who finished second overall at the invitational, was named Big 12 Runner of the Week.
By finishing eighth overall, Kansas placed higher than Arizona State, Butler and Providence, which are ranked 11, 17, and 27 respectively.
Stanley Redwine Kansas cross country coach
Outperforming those teams was enough for Kansas to earn the national recognition of a ranking from the Mondo Cross Country Poll.
"Benson is a very talented athlete and a great competitor."
"It's an indication of hard work," cross country coach Stanley Red-
wine said. "They have been working hard to achieve a goal, and that is to be nationally ranked and to make it to the NCAA, and I think that it is a step along the way." The Jayhawks also moved from fourth place in the Midwest Regional Poll to third.
In addition to being the second runner to cross the finish line in a race of 255 runners, Chesang was named Big 12 Runner of the Week for the second time in his career. It was a year ago this week when Chessang first received the honor.
"It just caught me by surprise," Chesang said. "At the same time, it means something really important to me. It shows how much effort I have put into
my running this season."
The only runner to finish ahead of Chesang was last season's national champion, Simon Bairu of Wisconsin.
"Benson is a very talented athlete and a great competitor," Redwine said.
Redwine added that at one time in the race, Chesang was not even in the top 20. He said that he looked again and he had pulled up to second place.
The men's and women's cross country teams will be off this weekend. The next race will be the NCAA Pre-Nationals Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind., Oct. 15.
Edited by Tricia Masenthin
JIMMY CHAVEZ
JCHAVEZ@KANSAN.COM
Game will be symbolic
With a win, Kansas fans will count on a bowl appearance. A close loss will have fans talking about Kansas' realistic chance for victory next week at Kansas State.
But, perhaps Saturday's game between Kansas and Texas Tech will be one of the more symbolic games for Kansas in some time.
It's not often that a game on the first Saturday of October can give insight to how the rest of a season will turn out.
A blowout loss, however, will have the fickle Kansas fans — those who constantly whine about when basketball season will once again resurface — jumping off the football bandwagon in a hurry.
That's a lot for just one football game, but after three wins against inferior competition, fans want to see Kansas compete against Big 12 Conference teams in what will undoubtedly be a grueling stretch that will continue through the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
Of course, you could say the same for Texas Tech and its Playstation-like offense. The Red Raiders started the season against competition that would make Kansas State football coach Bill Snyder, who is infamous for playing cream puff nonconference schedules, chuckle.
Saturday in Lubbock, the two friends will meet a year after Leach got the upper hand on Mangino when the Jayhawks blew a 25-point lead and Leach called a 70-yard draw on fourth and six to score the winning touchdown.
You have to give Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach credit. By producing a perennial winner in Lubbock, Texas, he has proven that he's one of the most underrated coaches in the nation.
But you don't have to tell Kansas football coach Mark Mangino that. The two are good friends and worked together in 1999 at Oklahoma when Leach was the offensive coordinator and Mangino was an assistant. The following year, Mangino replaced Leach, who had left to take the Texas Tech job.
Despite that, Kansas did show that it could play with the Red Raiders. And make no mistake, Texas Tech in no way is a powerhouse in the conference.
That year, Mangino helped the Sooners to an undefeated season and the National Championship, collecting honors as assistant coach of the year along the way.
Texas Tech won't be recognized as a power until it lines up against Texas or Oklahoma and comes away with a victory.
That's why this game could reveal a lot about both teams Although their goals seem different, they are really the same. Both teams are working to overcome stigmas that have plagued their respective programs.
A win would go further in establishing change for both. Of course, it will mean more to Kansas. If Kansas wins Saturday, the line for the bandwagon will get a lot longer.
♦ Chavez is a San Antonio,
Texas, senior in journalism
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