Volleyball Tabs Thrilling Five Game Victory Over Wyoming
Sept. 8, 2007
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Four Jayhawks tallied double-digit kills in Kansas’ thrilling five-game victory (38-40, 30-27, 30-25, 20-30, 15-13) over Wyoming during the Jayhawk Classic Friday night. KU, now 2-0 in the tournament, extended its winning streak to three matches and improved to 6-3 overall as Wyoming dropped to 4-3.
Brittany Williams, Emily Brown, Jenna Kaiser and Caitlin Mahoney all pounded out double-figure kills for KU. Williams matched a season-high of 13 kills on a career-best .571 hitting percentage and also added a career-best eight block assists. Brown, just shy of a triple-double, had a team-high 37 assists, 12 kills and nine digs. Kaiser also added 12 kills, while Mahoney pitched in a career-best 11.
Katie Martincich recorded her first double-double of the year on 24 assists and 16 digs.
Game one was a marathon race to the finish line as KU and Wyoming played to 40 points, the longest game ever in Kansas volleyball history. The teams evened the score at 25 and proceeded to tie at every point through 38. When the game was said and done, the teams had gone through 23 tied scores and 11 lead changes before the Cowgirls won 40-38.
Williams helped the Jayhawks bounce back to win the second game 30-27 with five kills on an impressive .833 hitting percentage. She also got up for four block assists. Williams and Savannah Noyes combined for a block to notch the team’s game point.
Kansas and Wyoming tallied one more win a piece to force a game five.
During the final contest, KU jumped to an early 6-2 lead. Wyoming answered with a 7-0 run to threaten the Jayhawks’ lead, coming as close as 11-12 before KU closed out the match 15-13.
Kansas will wrap up the Jayhawk Classic Saturday with a noon match against Morehead State at the Horejsi Athletics Center.
Quotes from the match:
Head Coach Ray Bechard
His thoughts on the match:
“It was great to see that we didn’t give up after a very emotional game one that didn’t work out. We came back and won games two and three. We looked flat in game four. We started out well in game five and right when it looked like Wyoming had all of the momentum we made enough plays in the end to make it happen. We had great offensive balance with six kids with seven kills or more. We blocked well and served pretty well. In the end we made enough plays to beat a good Wyoming team.”
On what he told the team after game four:
“I told them, `it’s only 15 points, it’s not a 30 point game, it’s more of a sprint now.’ Both teams had been running kind of a heavy jog for a couple of hours. When you look at it in small increments like that I think it helps out a little bit.”
On the team’s mentality going into game five:
“One of our goals was that we never quit at home. We have a dog-fight attitude and that definitely showed up in game five. But let’s give Wyoming some credit. They had three seniors that did a great job for them. It is a good win for us.
Freshman Karina Garlington
On what the team can take away from this game
“I think games like this will help us out a lot. Especially having that dog-fight mentality. I know we didn’t play our best today, but we sucked it up, stuck in there and took our lumps. I think these types of games will definitely help us in the Big 12.”
On her early contribution to the team this season:
“I wanted to come in a help my team out. Whether its in practice or on the court in games. I just wanted to help out and make our team better and make all of the girls better.”
