KU Sweeps #15 Texas A&M
Sept. 14, 2005
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LAWRENCE, Kan. –
Senior middle blocker Josi Lima led all players with 19 kills as the University of Kansas volleyball team swept 15th-ranked Texas A&M, 30-26, 30-27 and 30-19, Wednesday night at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center. With the win, the Jayhawks improved to 9-1 overall and 1-0 in the Big 12 Conference while the Aggies moved to 7-3 and 0-1 in league play.
“We had a little trouble in game two when we let them back in, but we showed a tremendous amount of character when it was 25-all and we were just really good in game three,” head coach Ray Bechard said. “It’s a ranked team, a quality conference opponent — I can’t think of a better way to start [conference play]. Our hitting percentages in games one and three were unbelievable. [Josi] Lima was awesome tonight. [Jana] Correa was great and we tried to get the ball into [Emily] Brown a little bit more. It was just a great team win.”
Lima’s 19 kills came on a match-best .467 attack percentage to go with her 11 digs and four blocks. Correa had 14 kills on a .333 clip and six digs, while Brown added 10 kills and six digs.
Senior setter Andi Rozum (three solo blocks) dished 47 assists to a KU offense that hit .314 on the night. Junior libero Jamie Mathewson had a match-high 12 digs for a defense that totaled 11 blocks. KU hit well in games one and three, posting .471 and .412 attack percentages, respectively. The highlight of the match came on the final game, when the Jayhawks posted 11 unanswered points en route to a 30-19 victory.
Senior All-American Laura Jones paced the Aggies with 17 kills but was held to just a .109 attack percentage (12 errors, 46 attempts). As a squad, A&M hit just .142 on the night, including a .000 percentage in game three (9 kills, 9 errors, 40 attempts).
“We’ve had success here against them [Texas A&M] the past three years,” Bechard said. “Ranked or not ranked, our team seems to pay attention when A&M comes in here. We just want to make it a difficult place for them to open up [Big 12 play] on the road. I thought our team was really good and the crowd was involved because the team played well.”
The win marked the Jayhawks’ third straight sweep of the Aggies in Lawrence, dating back to the 2003 season. A&M leads the all-times series 17-3.
KU assistant coach Jill Jones Stucky, whose baby was due Wednesday, was absent from the match. Jones Stucky and her husband, Kyle, delivered a girl (Madeline Jean — 7 lbs., 15 oz, 20.5 inches) during game two at Lawrence Hospital.
KU wraps up its six-match home stand Saturday when it hosts Oklahoma (5-3) at 1 p.m. in Lawrence.
– KU –
