Volleyball Hosts End of the Season Banquet
Jan. 22, 2012
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Head coach Ray Bechardwelcomed his team, the staff and their families to the 2011 Kansas Volleyball Banquet on Sunday morning.
Held at the Kansas Union and well-attended by all members of the team, coaching staff, administrative and support staffs, as well as many family members, the team celebrated the 2011 season. Bechard took time to thank Kansas Athletics Director Dr. Sheahon Zenger, the Associate AD and sport administrator, Jim Marchiony and the many others who joined the team on Sunday.
Below are many of the highlights Bechard applauded his team for during the banquet.
2011 AWARDS
– AVCA All-Central Region Honorable Mention: Caroline Jarmoc
-Capital One Academic All-District Second Team: Allison Mayfield, Tayler Tolefree
– All-Big 12 Honorable Mention: Allison Mayfield, Caroline Jarmoc
– Academic All-Big 12: Ten Jayhawks named, tying Iowa State (also in 2011) for the most ever among Big 12 teams
-Highest Fall GPA of all Kansas Athletics teams: 3.25 Team GPA
-Big 12 Defensive Players of the Week: Caroline Jarmoc (twice), Tayler Tolefree – first time in Big 12 history KU has earned three weekly Big 12 awards
-Georgia Bulldog Invitational Champions: Allison Mayfield, Tournament MVP; Caroline Jarmoc, All-Tournament Team; Brianne Riley, Libero of the Tournament
-Jayhawk Invitational Champions: Allison Mayfield, Tournament MVP; Caroline Jarmoc and Tayler Tolefree, All-Tournament Team
-Northern Iowa Invitational: Caroline Jarmoc, All-Tournament Team
-DePaul Invitational Champions: Allison Mayfield, Tournament MVP; Caroline Jarmoc, All-Tournament Team
2011 HIGHLIGHTS
Overall
– Finished the season 15-14, KU’s third-straight season with a winning record.
– Started season with three pre-conference tournament titles en route to an 11-1 start, the best since the 2002 season.
-That start included defeating the highest-ranked opponent in program history, No. 6 Minnesota, in five sets at the Northern Iowa Invitational.
– KU has now defeated at least one top-25 opponent in four of the last five seasons.
-Of the NCAA Tournament’s 16 national seeds, Kansas forced five-set matches with four of them (Texas, Texas A&M, Northern Iowa and defeated Minnesota). In all, KU faced 10 opponents that were selected to play in the NCAA Tournament, including four NCAA Regional Semifinal teams and two NCAA Quarterfinal teams.
Statistically
– The Jayhawks finished the regular season third in the conference with 2.57 blocks per set, good for 36th in the NCAA.
– For the first time since 1998, Kansas out-blocked its opponents (2.6 bps/2.0 bps) on the season.
-Held two teams to a single-digit score in a set this season, including NCAA Tournament Team, Baylor, in the final match of the year.
Big 12 Conference
-KU was one of eight Big 12 teams who ranked in the NCAA’s Top-50 RPI all season – helping the Big 12 Finish as the NCAA’s No. 1 in Conference RPI for the first time in league history.
-In 16 conference matches, KU played 64 sets, taking at least one set from every Big 12 team minus Iowa State. Ultimately, Kansas won 22 sets against Big 12 foes and lost 16 by three points or less.
Individual Highlights
– Allison Mayfield broke the Jayhawks’ all-time, single-season kills record (462), taking down a Jayhawk record that had stood since the 2000 season. Her 4.16 kills per set this year were the best in the Big 12, 33rd in the NCAA and ranks second all-time in Kansas history.
– Nicole Tate finished her career fifth all-time on KU’s career assists list (3,554), and is just one of only five Jayhawks to cross the 3,500 career assist mark. Tate is second all-time in KU’s career assists per set (10.18).
– Caroline Jarmoc and Tayler Tolefree finished the season ranked second and fifth in the Big 12, respectively, in blocks per set. Kansas State was the only other Big 12 team to have two players in the league’s top-10.
– Caroline Jarmoc also did work on the offensive side of the net, her .311 attack percentage ranked in the Big 12’s top 10 and is second all-time by a Jayhawk.
– Brianne Riley 482 digs this season ranks third all-time by a Jayhawk, while her 4.34 digs per set this season were fourth in the Big 12.
– Brianne Riley set her career-high with 34 digs against Baylor on Oct. 1. Only one other Big 12 libero posted more digs in a match this season (Kristen Hahn, ISU, 35 vs. North Dakota State).
