Jayhawks Sweep Saint Louis
Sept. 6, 2005
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
Senior Paula Caten led the University of Kansas volleyball team with 15 kills as it swept Saint Louis, 30-22, 30-22 and 30-28, Tuesday night at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center. With the win, the Jayhawks improved to 5-1 while the Billikens moved to 3-4 on the season.
Caten posted a .480 attack percentage and added nine digs while sophomore Emily Brown contributed 11 kills on a .526 clip and a match-high 14 digs and four service aces. Junior Jana Correa had nine kills and five digs and senior Josi Lima rounded out the top scorers with eight kills and nine digs.
Freshman Savannah Noyes led the blocking effort with five total blocks, including a match-best three solos. Senior Andi Rozum ran the offense with 42 assists and had four blocks as the Jayhawks posted a .242 hitting percentage and 11.0 stuffs in the win.
SLU was led by junior Tatyana Menshikova, who had 12 kills and 12 digs despite an .093 attack percentage. The Billikens hit .120 as a team and had 14 service errors in the loss.
After hitting just .125 in game one, KU picked up momentum on offense and improved to a .364 attack percentage in game two. SLU led for most of the third game until KU took a 19-18 advantage. The Billikens used a 6-0 run to tie the game at 24-all, but the Jayhawks were able to keep the ball in control and take the final game for the match, 30-28.
“We defended well,” head coach Ray Bechard said. “I think we had 25 digs in the first match. I was really pleased with that. Our focus coming into tonight was to try to defend a little better. We thought No. 10 [Menshikova] would be one of the more physical hitters we have seen this year, and I thought we did a nice job on her.”
“The first two games were really clean,” Bechard added. “It was a little uneven in game three, but the stat sheet looks pretty healthy. I thought Emily [Brown] had one of her better matches tonight.”
KU continues its six-match home stand Friday with the Pizza Hut Jayhawk Invitational. The Jayhawks take on Virginia Commonwealth (5-1) at noon and Michigan State (4-0) at 7 p.m. Friday to begin the tournament.
– KU –
