4B
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SPORTS / WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
VOLLEYABLL
Hawks seek upset repeat
BY IAN CUMMINGS icummings@kansan.com
The volleyball team will have an opportunity to upset the No. 10 Texas Longhorns in Lawrence on Wednesday, a victory it rehearsed
Manda
Riley
Tate
two weeks ago by topping then No.10 Iowa State.
Kansas suffered a 0-3 setback at home against Oklahoma on Saturday. Coach Ray Bechard said the key to the match against Texas (12-5 overall, 7-2 Big 12) would be in serving and passing.
"We'll go right back to first contact," Bechard said. "If it doesn't get better, things will continue to be a struggle. We passed and
served extremely well against Iowa State and Baylor. And those are the
two things that make the match easier for everybody."
easier for everyone.
The all-time series record sits in Texas' favor at 27-4, with Texas winning the last 11 meetings. In conference play, the Longhorns have become an offensive powerhouse, leading the league in hitting percentages. As a team, Texas carries the best average in the Big 12 at .282. Kansas has held past opponents to an average hitting percentage of .172. Longhorns also occupy the No. 1 and No. 2 individual spots in the Big 12, with senior middle blocker Jennifer Doris at the top with a .455 average and junior middle blocker Rachel Adams at .443.
Texas outside bitter Amber Roberson has caught fire in her last two matches against Oklahoma and Texas Tech, averaging more than four points per set and an efficiency of .354. Roberson equaled a career-high 13 kills at Oklahoma and topped that in the Texas Tech match by recording 17 kills with an efficiency of .500 and adding six digs, two service aces and two blocks.
bLOCKS:
Senior outside hitters Karina Garlington and junior outside hitter Allison Mayfield lead Kansas (13-7, 4-5) in conference play with hitting percentages of 218 and 140, respectively. Mayfield has paced the
KANSAS VS. NO. 10
TEXAS
WHEN: Tonight, 6:30 p.m.
WHERE: Lawrence
team in kills in the past two matches and Garlington has racked up double-digit kills in nine consecutive contests.
contests. Either senior Melissa Manda or freshman Brianne Riley, who has been injured the past couple of weeks, could fill the libero position for Kansas. Manda, who recently became the all-time digs leader for Kansas, has averaged 6.55 digs per set in the past three matches. Riley leads the team this season with an average of 3.73.
Junior setter Nicole Tate said the Jayhawks would go into Wednesday's game, which will be televised throughout the Kansas City area on Metro Sports, with a chip on their shoulder after losing to Oklahoma.
"We'll work really hard and give them our best," she said.
Edited by Joel Petterson
League hopes to stop helmet hits
NFL
MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE
In the wake of several helmet-to-helmet hits from Sunday's NFL games, some of which caused injuries, the league will immediately begin suspending players for dangerous and flagrant hits, it was announced Tuesday.
There could also be suspensions handed down as a result of some of Sunday's hits. Eagles wide receiver
DeSean Jackson suffered a concussion after being slammed in the helmet by Atlanta cornerback Dunta Robinson, and Browns receivers Joshua Cribbs and Mohamed Massaquoi were injured on hits by Steelers linebacker James Harrison. The hit on Massaquoi is being reviewed by the NFL.
reviewed by m
Patriots safety Brandon
Meriwether's hit on Ravens tight
end Todd Heap will also be exam
ined.
NFL vice president of football operations Ray Anderson, who is in charge of enforcing safety rules, made it clear Monday that the league will adopt a no tolerance policy for these types of hits, and did not rule out the possibility of suspensions from the weekend's games.
Anderson clarified earlier Tuesday that the league is not considering any change to existing rules.
Freshman Jordan Webb passes downfield during the third quarter of Kansas game against in-state rival Kansas State at Memorial Stadium Thursday night. Kansas has lost its last two games to Kansas State and Baylor by a combined score of 114-14.
FOOTBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
"Who knows the team the best? That's the guys that are in the huddle," he said. "We try to keep things in-house and don't worry too much about what's outside."
What is in-house is the teams lack of execution. Quigley, Gill and other players talked about the team's poor playmaking. Outside of DJ. Beshears' kickoff returns, every part of Kansas' game has played a part in its four losses this season. Lack of defensive execution has stood out to Gill the most.
The defense is last in the Big 12 with a turnover margin of minus seven. Freshman quarterback Jordan Webb doesn't believe the doomsday predictions he's heard by outsiders either.
"We've got to execute a lot better than what we've been doing," he said. "We've got to create turnovers."
many missed opportunities that little corrections are going to fix."
To further drive home that point, Webb said, on every offensive play in practice the receiver or running back with the ball channels his inner Jerry Rice and takes it to the end zone no matter where he is on the field (Rice was famous for taking every catch he made in practice into the end zone).
"I honestly don't think it's as bad," he said. "There's been so
the coaches and players are trying to piece together during these tough times. Gill's optimism hasn't changed a bit after the first half of the season and he promises a successful program in the future.
the future. "We will be successful," he said. "I don't have a magic wand to say how long it will take. But we will be successful at KU."
The new wrinkle in practice is just another piece of the puzzle
Edited by Joel Petterson
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