Jayhawks Outlast Owls, 3-1
Sept. 1, 2006
PHILADELPHIA –
Four Jayhawks recorded double-digit kills as Kansas volleyball defeated Temple, 3-1, Friday night at McGonigle Hall. The Jayhawks prevailed 30-21, 27-30, 30-23, and 30-24, improving their overall record to 4-1.
Junior Emily Brown led the KU offense with 20 kills and added 12 digs in the win. Senior Jana Correa recorded 17 kills, nine digs and two aces and freshman Brittany Williams added 15 kills and three block assists. Sophomore Savannah Noyes had 11 kills on a team-best .381 attack percentage and added two aces while senior Megan Hill rounded out the top scorers with nine kills.<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
Freshman Katie Martincich set a new season-best with 58 assists while posting 12 digs, three kills and a team-leading four block assists. Senior Jamie Mathewson led all players with 20 digs while rookie Melissa Grieb posted a career-high 13 digs and two aces.
“It was one of those methodical, grind-it-out type matches where we had to find other ways to score points when we needed to,” head coach Ray Bechard said following in the win. “Certain areas weren’t going as well as we hoped, but we were able to beat a good team on their home court.”
Fueled by Williams’ six kills on a .750 attack percentage, the Jayhawks led by as many as 10 in Game One. Despite two big Temple (3-2) blocks early in the stanza, the KU offense remain poised, recording a .386 hitting efficiency in the game. Correa and Brown each added five kills in the opening game.
Hitting mistakes (16 kills, eight errors) doomed KU in Game Two. The Jayhawks used a 5-0 run to secure a 25-22 lead before allowing five unanswered Temple points, including two KU errors at the net. A kill by Brown on the left side brought the Jayhawks within one (26-27), but the Owls, who improved their attack percentage from .176 to .351 in the second stanza, pounded out two kills to end the game and tie up the match.
KU jumped to a 13-4 lead, forcing a Temple timeout early in Game Three. Williams, Brown and Correa sparked the Jayhawk offense, combining for 15 of KU’s 20 kills in the game. The Jayhawks held a convincing lead through the game, keeping the Owls to just 11 kills and a .242 attack percentage.
The Jayhawks led 14-9 after a Williams kill, but Temple remained close throughout Game Four, trailing just 24-22 after a Correa serving error. The Owls took their final timeout at the 28-23 mark, but consecutive kills by Noyes and Correa ended the game and match.
KU faces Maine (9 a.m.) and Rutgers (2 p.m.) Saturday in the final day of the Temple Classic.
-KU-
