KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2011 / SPORTS
7A
OLLEYBALL
Player tries out for national volleyball team
Junior outside hitter Allison Mayfield bumps the ball off of a Baylor serve on Nov. 17. Mayfield recently tried out with the U.S. women's national volleyball team at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., with 200 other women.
Mike Gunnoe/KANSAN File Photo
Junior outside hitter Allison Mayfield spent last weekend in Colorado trying out for the U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team
Last Friday, junior Allison Mayfield traveled to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Colo., where she was the only Jayhawk among more than two hundred women trying out for the U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team.
Mayfield said she is using the experience to grow, with lower focus on the results.
"I think the tryout went well, but with over two hundred girls there your odds aren't very good," said Mayfield. "I feel like it was just very humbling playing with all these girls who were all so very good."
To get to the tryout phase, Mayfield simply needed a coach's recommendation. Once she made it there, the top players in the country surrounded her for two and a half days of competition.
"I ran into girls from the conference that we play against, that was kind of fun to get to know them more and spend a couple days with them in an environment that we weren't competing against each other,' she said.
On Friday, Mayfield lifted weights at 6:30 a.m. in Lawrence, left for Colorado at 10 a.m., and was in her first tryout session at 6 p.m. The sessions were held in an open gym divided down the
"I feel like it was just very humbling playing with all these girls who were all so very good."
ALLISON MAYFIELD Junior outside hitter
middle, allowing three groups of 60 girls to attend each session.
"Depending on the session we would learn different passing techniques and other times we would just be playing." Mayfield said. "It was about two hours of straight play, and with the altitude it's kind of different than we are used to so girls were getting tired quicker."
Mayfield said going through the challenge of the tryout will
help her implement new passing techniques in her playing and will challenge her to continue working hard.
On Saturday, the tryouts were from noon to 2 p.m., and then
"The weekend was volleyball, sleep and eat," she said.
again from 4 to 6 p.m. On Sunday, after a session from 8 to 9:30 a.m., Mayfield headed home, where she arrived at 1 a.m. Five hours later, she was back in the gym. Even then, Mayfield said she was appreciative of the time she spent in Colorado and described it as, "such a good experience."
Mayfield said she plans on taking her senior year
on taking her senior jersey as it comes, with the goal of making it to the NCAA tournament using this experience to inspire her and not yet knowing her position with the national team.
"You learn that you can work hard, but there is always someone else that is working harder, so your job is never done," she said. "We can work hard and use the things we learned to hopefully be able to make it."
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
-Edited by Tali David
Davis voted to All-Big 12 team
Kansas sophomore forward Carolyn Davis was named First Team All-Big 12 on Monday. Davis is the leading scorer for the Jayhawks, averaging 18.4 points per game.
me the ball and putting me in situations to be successful. The Big 12 is full of talented players and I am thrilled to recognized among them," Davis said in a press release
Davis has scored more than 130 points in three games in Big 12 play this year, the last one coming on a career high 36 point performance against Nebraska on Feb. 26. Davis also scored 34 in a Feb. 18 overtime victory against Missouri, and 31 in a Feb. 9 victory over then 20th ranked Iowa State.
"I am really honored to be named First Team. I could not be where I am without the help of my teammates and coaches. They do a great job of feeding
Davis leads the league and ranks second nationally in field goal percentage, shooting 66.4% from the floor. Davis is also the second leading rebounder for the Jayhawks, averaging 7.3 boards per game.
Davis is the first Jayhawks to be named to the All-Big 12 team since Danielle McCray in last season. McCray was named to the second team in 2010 and the first team in 2009
By Ethan Padway
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Self earns more Big 12 honors
For the third time in his eight seasons at Kansas, coach Bill Self was named the Associated Press Big 12 Coach of the Year. The award's recipient is decided by writers and broadcasters who regularly cover the Big 12.
Self easily won the award this season, grabbing 16 of the 22 votes. A season removed from losing three players to the NBA, self led the Jayhawks to a 14-2 big 12 record and a 29-2 overall
record during the season.
This year's award has a similar resemblance to when he won it in 2009. After Kansas won the National Championship in 2008, it lost nine players (five to the NBA). Self also won the award in 2006.
Other coaches receiving votes were Texas & M&M's Mark Turgeon (three votes), Colorado's Tad Boyle (two votes) and Kansas State's Frank Martin (one vote).
—By Mike Lavieri
NFL LOCKOUT
Less football means fewer liquor dollars
As the Thursday deadline for NFL owners and players to reach a labor agreement approaches, no one is sure whether there will be a professional football season next fall.
However, owners of Lawrence liquor stores and sports bars are sure of this: less football, less dollars.
Steve Prososki, owner of the Yacht Club, said he definitely expected his Sunday business to decrease without an NFL season.
"Obviously it's (football) a p
to bring people in" Prososki said.
"We consider ourselves a sports
bar."
Although the Yacht Club does not necessarily fill to capacity every Sunday, Prososki said he considers 10-15 good-sized groups watching games a positive benefit of football.
Adam Kennedy, manager at Ray's Liquor Warehouse, said he notices a small increase on NFL Sundays, but said he thinks the effects of a lockout would be minimal.
"You're still going to have regular people who want to enjoy beer before the start of the work week," Kennedy said.
Craig Miller, manager of Buffalo Wild Wings, said an NFL lockout would not only hurt his business, but other Lawrence companies as well. Miller said patrons can watch any game that is on at Buffalo Wild Wings, and because of that the restaurant usually fills up by 11:30 a.m.
"I don't know what we'd do on Sundays," Miller said. "Hopefully it won't happen."