Jayhawks Look For Big 12 Road Win at Texas Tech
Sept. 26, 2006
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
Coming off two five-game matches in Big 12 Conference play, Kansas volleyball looks for its first league road win of the season Wednesday night at Texas Tech. The Jayhawks (8-5, 1-3 Big 12) and Red Raiders (7-6, 0-4) will face off at 7 p.m. at United Spirit Arena in Lubbock, Texas. Tech is trying to stop a string of four straight losses while KU hopes to avenge a 3-0 loss in Lubbock last season. Live Gametracker, a recap and box score for the match can be found here.
About the Jayhawks
KU, coming off a five-game loss at Colorado Saturday night, wraps up a short road stint Wednesday at Texas Tech. The Jayhawks (8-5, 1-3) are averaging 16.23 kills and 14.83 assists per game, good for fourth and fifth in the Big 12 ranks, respectively. Senior outside hitter Jana Correa paces a balanced KU offense with 3.96 kills per game — good for ninth in the league — and has recorded double-digit kills in 10 of the Jayhawks’ 13 matches. Junior right side hitter/setter Emily Brown (3.65 kpg), a threat in all six rotations, and sophomore Savannah Noyes (3.42 kpg) round out the top KU hitters. Redshirt freshman setter Katie Martincich averages 11.21 assists per game — good for ninth in the league. KU’s defense features senior libero Jamie Mathewson (3.46 dpg) and four Jayhawks who average 2.17 or more digs per game. KU also gets a boost from freshmen Melissa Grieb (defensive specialist) and Brittany Williams (middle blocker), who replaced injured Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Natalie Uhart in the lineup.
Scouting the Red Raiders
Texas Tech (7-6, 0-4) is looking for its first home win of the season and trying to stop a four-match skid that included losses to No. 5 Texas, Colorado, Baylor and No. 1 Nebraska. Senior outside hitter Philister Sang leads the Red Raiders and ranks second in the Big 12 with 4.59 kills per game. Junior middle blocker Amy Charlebois (2.60 kpg) ranks ninth in the league with a team-high 1.36 blocks per game and senior outside hitter Kiley Lyons adds 2.30 digs and 2.00 kills per game. Tech runs a 6-2 offense with setters Emily Ziegler (junior) and Holly Hicks (sophomore), who average 7.24 and 4.88 assists per game, respectively. Despite a league-best 2.12 service aces per game, the Red Raiders rank 11th in team hitting percentage (.203), assists (12.64), kills (13.96) and digs (13.72) per game through 13 matches this season.
Kansas vs. Texas Tech
The Red Raiders lead the all-time series against KU, 13-8, but are 2-6 in the teams’ last eight meetings. Tech swept KU, 30-28, 30-25 and 30-19, last year in Lubbock (Sept. 28, 2005) but fell 3-0 in Lawrence on Nov. 12, 2005.
Crimson and Blue Bits
-Senior Jana Correa has tallied 14 or more kills in 10 of KU’s 13 matches this season. In fact, she has had exactly 14 kills in four matches and 10 or more digs on seven occasions. Correa notched a season-best 24 kills and career-high 20 digs against Texas A&M on Sept. 20.
~Junior Emily Brown has notched 20 or more kills on five occasions and has five double-doubles (kills/digs) this season. Brown recorded a rare triple-double against UMKC on Aug. 29 — 12 kills, 10 assists and 10 digs.
~Sophomore Savannah Noyes, who compiled a .203 hitting percentage as a rookie, leads the Jayhawks with a .341 clip in 2006. The KU single-season record for hitting percentage is .363, which former Jayhawk Ashley Michaels posted in 2002.
~Freshman Isadora Rangel (Sao Paulo, Brazil) carried on the tradition of the KU-Brazil volleyball pipeline when she became a member of the Jayhawk squad this Fall. Rangel and Correa (Macapa, Brazil) both hail from the Sao Paulo club team Pinheiros.
Up Next
KU returns home to the friendly confines of the Horejsi Family Athletics Center Saturday night to host Iowa State. Match time is set for 7 p.m. The Cyclones lead the all-time series against the Jayhawks, 35-32-1, but are 6-1 in Horejsi since its opening in 1999.
Match Notes in PDF Format
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