KU Looks For Its First Big 12 Road Win At Tech

Sept. 26, 2005

The Kansas volleyball team hits the road for a match against Texas Tech Wednesday at United Spirit Arena in Lubbock. The Jayhawks (11-2, 3-1 Big 12) are currently third in the Big 12 Conference standings and are coming off a sweep of Baylor at home on Saturday.

The Red Raiders (7-5, 1-2 Big 12) defeated Oklahoma, 3-0, on Sept. 21 in Lubbock and had their Saturday match against Texas A&M cancelled due to threats of Hurricane Rita.

Senior middle blocker Josi Lima is just 10 kills away from becoming the KU all-time career leader, surpassing the record set by Sarah Rome (1,306) in 2003. Gametracker and post-match results will be available Wednesday on Kansas Athletics’ official website, kuathletics.com.

KU PREVIEW
The Jayhawks, 11-2 overall, return nine letterwinners and five starters in 2005. KU started the season 4-0 before falling at BYU, 3-1, and had a six-match win streak snapped on Sept. 21 with a tough 3-2 loss at #23 Texas.

Senior middle blocker Josi Lima, a three-time All-Big 12 First Team selection, was named the Sports Imports/AVCA National and Big 12 Player of the Week on Sept. 19. Postseason awards candidates Paula Caten (senior), Jana Correa (junior) and Emily Brown (sophomore) are also in the starting six.

Lima leads the KU hitters with 3.89 kills and adds 2.46 digs and 1.02 blocks per game. Correa, a 6-0 outside hitter, is close behind with 3.76 kills per game on a .283 attack percentage while freshman Savannah Noyes, a 6-3 middle blocker, adds 1.78 kills per game at a team-best .295 clip.

Caten, a 6-3 outside hitter, adds 3.17 kills per game and Brown, a 6-2 right side hitter, chips in 2.80 kills and 2.28 digs per game. Junior libero Jamie Mathewson paces the defense with 3.26 digs per game.

RED RAIDER PREVIEW
Texas Tech (7-5, 1-2) swept Oklahoma on Sept. 21 and had its Saturday match against Texas A&M cancelled due to Hurricane Rita. The Red Raiders are 3-2 at home this season and are led by junior transfer Philister Sang (Nairobi, Kenya/Indian Hills C.C.), who averages 4.88 kills and 2.64 digs per game.

The 6-3 outside hitter is joined by sophomore middle blocker Amy Charlebois (2.53 kpg) and junior outside hitter Kiley Lions (2.22 kpg) as the offensive leaders. Tech utilizes two setters in its rotation — sophomore Emily Ziegler and freshman Holly Hicks, who average 6.69 and 5.84 assists per game, respectively.

THE KU/TECH SERIES
Texas Tech leads the all-time series against Kansas, 12-7. The Jayhawks have claimed the last four meetings against the Red Raiders, dating back to the 2003 season.

LAST MEETING — KANSAS 3, TEXAS TECH 0
Three Jayhawks notched double-digit kills as Kansas swept Texas Tech (30-25, 30-24, 30-25) on Nov. 24, 2004 at United Spirit Arena.

Ashley Michaels led Kansas with 13 kills on an impressive .458 hitting percentage, added a career-high six digs and match-high four block assists. Josi Lima added 12 kills (.333) to go with her 10 digs and three total blocks while Paula Caten had 11 kills (.346) and three block assists.

Jana Correa contributed six kills and five digs while Emily Brown had eight digs and five kills in the win. Jill Dorsey had a match-best 21 digs and Andi Rozum dished a match-high 42 assists and added six digs and two block assists.

After a shaky game one that saw both teams hit under .082, the Jayhawks recorded a sizzling .395 hitting percentage in game two. Kansas stayed steady in the final game and held TTU to just 16 kills in 53 attempts (.132) for the victory. KU also recorded five service aces, outhit the Lady Raiders .244 to .127 and outblocked them 7.0 to 6.0.

LIMA KILLS COUNTDOWN — 10 TO GO
Josi Lima will leave KU as one of the most prolific players in the program’s history — regardless of what records she takes with her. A four-year starter and Big 12 standout, Lima ranks second on the all-time list with 1,297 kills and is just 10 away from breaking the career record (1,306) set by Sarah Rome (2000-03). In addition, Lima could finish her career on top of many blocking charts and in the top five for attack percentage, kills per game and digs.

KANSAS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Jayhawks returned to the Top 25 on September 19 after being ranked as high as 21st in the 2004 national poll. KU came in at 24th in the CSTV/AVCA Top 25 Coaches’ Poll with 154 points. The Jayhawks received their first-ever national ranking (24th) on Sept. 13, 2004, and stayed in the Top 25 for three weeks last season.

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
The Jayhawks have won 14 straight matches at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center, dating back to a 3-2 loss to Missouri on Oct. 16, 2004. KU has had much success on its home court recently and is 66-31 overall (.680) at Horejsi since its opening on Sept. 1, 1999.

ROZUM REACHES 4,000-ASSIST MARK, CLOSING IN ON ALL-TIME RECORD
Senior Andi Rozum has been running the Jayhawk offense for the past four seasons and as a result, will leave KU as one of the most successful setters in program history. The 5-10 native of Loveland, Colo., has 4,136 career assists and is just 73 away from the all-time mark set by Julie Woodruff (1988-91).

Rozum dished a career-high 73 assists in five games at Texas on Sept. 21, surpassing her previous best of 72 against Montana State this season and at Texas Tech in 2003.

Despite missing 11 matches to start the 2003 season, Rozum became just the third Jayhawk ever to eclipse the 4,000-assist mark when she totaled 56 against Oklahoma on September 17. In addition, Rozum is averaging 12.15 assists per game, which currently tops the all-time career chart.

Match Notes in PDF Format
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