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8B / SPORTS / MONDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
MEN'S GOLF Team to compete at Blue Hills CC today
The men's golf team will compete in the BMW Intercollegiate today and tomorrow. The Intercollegiate is hosted by UMKC and will be held at Blue Hills Country Club in Kansas City, Mo.
The Bill Ross Intercollegiate will be the first competition for the Jayhawks in three weeks, as they last competed on Sept. 27-28 at the Colorado Invitational in Erie, Colo.
The Javhawks finished third in
the Colorado Invitational. Senior Jeff Bell led the Jayhawks shooting 216 for the tournament to finish in a tie for 10th place. Senior Nate Barbee finished just behind Bell, shooting 217 for the tournament to finish in a tie for 15th place.
Sophomore Chris Gilbert finished one stroke behind Barbee, shooting 218 to finish in a tie for 18th place. Sophomore Alex Gutesha finished one shot behind Gilbert, shooting 219 to finish in a tie for 20th. It was the best team finish for the Jayhawks this season.
Jayhawks see winning streak end
VOLLEYBALL
Sarah Hockel/KANSAN
Junior setter Nicole Tate and sophomore middle blocker Taylor Tolefree, jump to block the ball Saturday night against Oklahoma at the Horejsi Athletic Center. The Jayhawks lost the match to the Sooners three sets to none, dropping to 13-7 on the season.
BY IAN CUMMINGS
cummings@kansan.com
Senior defensive specialist and recent Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week Melissa Manda became Kansas volleyball's all-time digs leader in Wednesday night's 3-1 win against the Baylor Bears in Waco, Texas. The Jayhawks returned to Lawrence on Saturday to see a four-match home winning streak snapped in three sets by the Oklahoma Sooners.
BAYLOR
In a match that featured a broken record for Kansas, a four-way tie for fifth place in the Big 12 and four sets decided by three points or less, the chirping of crickets was not proverbial - it was real. The insects occasionally visit the Ferrell Center at this time of year, as they did Wednesday night.
Junior outside hitter Allison Mayfield said the crickets dove down from the ceiling and into the game, creating a minor distraction for which Baylor Athletics had a neat solution.
Mayfield led the Jayhaws with 19 kills, combined with 19 digs for her third double-double of the season. Senior outside hitter Karina Garlington and freshman middle blocker Caroline Jarmoc each contributed 12 kills to the effort. Jarmoc matched a career high with her kills, which she scored with an efficiency of .500, also racking up eight blocks.
"They had a cricket boy," Mayfield said. "If there was a cricket on the court, he would just run out and grab it. And then I don't know where he would put them. He was putting them in the trash can, I guess."
"Our blocking has been really good this season," she said. "And it helps so much in the back row to have good blockers in front of us."
Manda recorded 28 digs against the Bears, bringing her career total to 1,362. The previous record holder was Jill Hall, who played with Kansas from 2001 to 2004. Manda said great coaching and great teammates contributed to her success.
Kansas and Baylor played a close
first set, remaining within two points of one another until nearly the end. At 19-19, Kansas pulled away with three blocks by Jarmoc, Mayfield and senior outside hitter Jenna Kaiser, followed by two kills by Mayfield. Jarmoc closed the set with a final kill, giving Kansas the set 25-22.
the second set was even closer. The difference was no more than a point for most of the game. In the end, the bears took the set with kills by senior middle blocker Elizabeth Graham and junior outside hitter Allison King. Senior outside hitter Ashlie Christenson scored a service ace to finish the set 25-27. Baylor's efforts were plagued with nine errors in each of the first two sets; all nine in the second were unforced. Kansas had six errors in the two games, hitting for a lower-than-average efficiency of .133.
Kansas took a 21-13 lead in the third game only to see Baylor answer back with kills by Graham and Christenson. Graham and junior middle blocker Briana Tolbert then blocked Kansas' Garlington three times in a row. Garlington came back with two kills, but the
Bears had closed the gap to 24-23.
Mayfield scored back-to-back kills to win the set for Kansas 26-24. The Jayhawks also took the fourth and final set 26-24.
"Obviously, if you want to stay in the top half of the conference, wins like these are pretty crucial," he said. "It really came at a good time."
Coach Ray Bechard said the victory was crucial for the team, which, together with Texas A&M, Missouri and Baylor, was in a four-way tie for fifth place in the Big 12.
OKLAHOMA
On Saturday, Oklahoma swept Kansas with scores of 25-22, 25-12 and 25-20. The loss drops Kansas to 13-7 overall and 5-4 in conference play. Oklahoma performed well offensively throughout the match, averaging a hitting efficiency of .390. Kansas has held its previous opponents to an average of .164. Meanwhile, Kansas hit a .130 average, partly because errors in the second set produced a negative hitting efficiency of -.032.
Bechard said the team struggled with first contact and passing and that the Jayhawks had difficulty
adjusting to the Sooners' serve.
"The first thing we need to do is really commend Oklahoma," Bechard said. "For playing a nearly flawless match. They had two unforced hitting errors in three games, which is unheard of."
Sooner freshman middle blocker and recent Big 12 Rookie of the Week Sallie McLaurin was a significant part of Oklahoma's offense. McLaurin scored 10 kills for the Sooners with an efficiency of .714 and made no errors. Junior right side hitter Suzy Boulavsky led the Sooners with 11 kills, and several players combined to give their team 43 digs.
Garlington and Mayfield each contributed 10 kills to the Kansas effort but a team total of 21 attack errors detracted from the offensive effort.
Kansas plays at home again on Wednesday against nationally ranked Texas.
Edited by Michael Bednar