Kansas Returns Home to Host Iowa State
Sept. 29, 2006
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
After two tough Big 12 road matches, Kansas volleyball returns home to the friendly confines of the Horejsi Family Athletics Center to host Iowa State Saturday night at 7 p.m. Both the Jayhawks (8-6, 1-4 Big 12) and Cyclones (10-4, 2-2) have lost two of their last three Big 12 contests and are 1-1 in league play at home this season. Live Gametracker and video web streaming, a recap and box score for the match can be found here. Fans in attendance at Saturday’s match will receive a Jayhawk rally waver.
About the Jayhawks
KU, coming off two tough road losses at Texas Tech (3-1) and Colorado (3-2), is 3-2 at home this season. The Jayhawks (8-6, 1-4) are averaging 16.13 kills and 14.75 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 4.06 kills per game — good for eighth in the league — and has recorded double-digit kills in 11 of the Jayhawks’ 14 matches. Junior right side hitter/setter Emily Brown (3.56 kpg), a threat in all six rotations, and sophomore Savannah Noyes (3.40 kpg) round out the top KU hitters. Redshirt freshman setter Katie Martincich averages 11.27 assists per game and ranks ninth in the league. KU’s defense features senior libero Jamie Mathewson (3.50 dpg) and four Jayhawks who average 2.18 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 Cyclones
Four Cyclones totaled double-digit kills as Iowa State (10-4, 2-2) handed Kansas State its fifth-straight loss Wednesday night, 3-2. ISU also defeated Baylor earlier in the season and fell to No. 1 Nebraska and Oklahoma in league play last week. Senior outside hitter Katie Jessen leads the Cyclone offense with 3.77 kills per game while Preseason All-Big 12 junior middle blocker Erin Boeve adds 3.18 kills and a league-best 1.80 blocks per game. Three other Cyclones are averaging better than 2.45 kills per game and senior libero Katie Churm ranks eighth in the league with 3.78 digs per game. Rookie setter Kaylee Manns averages 12.59 assists per game — good for fourth in the Big 12 — and adds 3.41 digs per game. Despite being the best blockers in the Big 12 (3.51 bpg), the Cyclones rank 10th in the league in kills (14.92) and aces (1.39) per game.
Kansas vs. Iowa State
The Cyclones lead the all-time series against the Jayhawks, 35-32-1, but are 1-6 in Horejsi since its opening in 1999.
There’s No Place Like Home
The Jayhawks have had much success at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center over the last eight seasons. KU carries a 70-39 (.642) all-time record in Horejsi, including a 3-2 mark in 2006 and 10-6 home record in 2005.
Crimson and Blue Bits
-Senior Jana Correa has tallied 14 or more kills in 11 of KU’s 14 matches this season. In fact, she has had exactly 14 kills in four matches and 10 or more digs on eight 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 .332 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
To start the month of October, the Jayhawks hit the road again for Big 12 matches at No. 19 Missouri on Wednesday (Oct. 4) and Oklahoma on Saturday (Oct. 7). The Tigers (10-4, 4-1) sit second in the league standings while the Sooners (11-3, 3-1) are currently fourth.
Match Notes in PDF Format
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