Kansas Volleyball Wins Three in First Spring Tournament
April 1, 2012
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – In the opening tournament of the spring season, the Kansas volleyball team posted a 3-1 record on the campus of nearby tournament host Blue Valley West High School on Saturday.
Playing three-set matches opposed to the regular season’s five-set format, Kansas defeated Saint Louis, Arkansas State and Creighton in its first spring action. The Jayhawks’ only loss on Saturday came at the hands of Missouri State, an NCAA Tournament team last fall.
In the first match of the day, the Jayhawks met up with the Billikens from Saint Louis. KU swept SLU during the 2011 season and won in straight sets on Saturday, 25-21, 25-21.
With outside hitter Catherine Carmichael sidelined for the day, freshman outside hitter Chelsea Albers stepped up. She led the offense with 9 kills, while fellow rookie Sara McClinton had seven kills using a team-high .313 hitting efficiency. Junior middle blocker Tayler Tolefree set the defensive tone with three blocks and Albers chipped in two. Sophomore Jaime Mathieu stepped in smoothly at libero for 2011 starter Brianne Riley as she led the team with 14 digs.
Kansas knocked off Arkansas State in the second match of the day, 25-14, 22-25, 15-11.
McClinton took charge in match two, leading the offense with nine kills and Tolefree came in right behind her with seven. More impressively was Tolefree’s five blocks. A redshirt sophomore and the Jayhawks’ aces leader in 2011, Caroline Jarmoc landed two aces against ASU. Outside hitters Albers and sophomore Marianne Beal came up big with nine and eight digs, respectively.
The third match of the day marked KU’s only loss of the opening tournament as the Jayhawks fell to Missouri State, 25-10, 14-25, 9-15.
Again McClinton led the offensive with six kills, while Jarmoc and Tolefree each posted five – matching Jarmoc’s five blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Amy Wehrs connected on a pair of aces. In the libero spot, junior Morgan Boub rounded out the KU leaders with six digs.
Kansas rebounded with a comeback victory against fellow Missouri Valley Conference opponent Creighton, 20-25, 27-25, 15-13, to close out the day.
Albers was on point with 10 kills and a .400 hitting efficiency. Barely trailing her was McClinton with nine as the Jayhawks hit .203 as a team. Tolefree and Jarmoc teamed up for five blocks and Boub played big behind them with eight digs. Sophomore setter Erin McNorton led the day with three aces in the final match.
UP NEXT
The Jayhawks will host training day competitions on Saturday, April 7 at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center.
