KU Hosts Top-Ranked Nebraska Saturday
Oct. 7, 2005
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
Kansas volleyball faces the top team in the nation Saturday night when it hosts #1 Nebraska (14-0, 6-0 Big 12) at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center. The undefeated Huskers and Jayhawks (12-4, 4-3 Big 12) will face off at 7 p.m. in front of another sell-out crowd in Lawrence.
Gametracker, live video streaming and post-match results will be available on Kansas Athletics’ official website, kuathletics.com.
KU PREVIEW
The Jayhawks, 12-4 overall and 4-3 in Big 12 action, return nine letterwinners and five starters in 2005. KU suffered a setback Wednesday night, losing junior outside hitter Jana Correa to an injury in a 3-0 loss to #20 Kansas State. Correa, who averages 3.60 kills and 2.29 digs per game, is expected to miss the remainder of the season.
KU is led by senior middle blocker Josi Lima, a three-time All-Big 12 First Team selection who was named Sports Imports/AVCA National and Big 12 Player of the Week on Sept. 19. Postseason award candidates Paula Caten (senior) and Emily Brown (sophomore) are also in the starting six.
Lima leads the Jayhawks with 3.75 kills and adds 2.46 digs and 1.00 blocks per game. Freshman Savannah Noyes, a 6-3 middle blocker, adds 1.67 kills per game at a team-best .281 hitting efficiency.
Caten, a 6-3 outside hitter, adds 3.32 kills per game and Brown, a 6-2 right side hitter, chips in 2.74 kills and 2.44 digs per game. Junior libero Jamie Mathewson paces the defense with 3.21 digs per game.
NEBRASKA MATCH SOLD OUT
KU’s Saturday match versus Nebraska has been sold out of reserved seating since Sept. 28. Depending on student attendance, there may be a very limited number of general admission tickets available on match night. The match is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center, which has a seating capacity of 1,300.
INJURY UPDATE
Junior outside hitter Jana Correa will be out of the lineup indefinetly due to an injury sustained in game one of the K-State game on Oct. 5. Junior Megan Hill (6-1), who has seen action in 19 games this season, will replace Correa in the starting lineup.
THE KU/NU SERIES
According to Kansas records, Nebraska leads the all-time series against the Jayhawks, 73-1-1, but the Huskers’ records indicate that NU is in fact undefeated against KU. The match in question was played on Oct. 17, 1975 at the Graceland Invitational in Lamoni, Iowa.
HUSKER PREVIEW
The defending Big 12 champion Huskers have remained at the top of the CSTV/AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll since the preseason, easily knocking off seven ranked ranked teams en route to a 14-0 overall mark. Nebraska is coming off a 3-1 win at #7 Missouri Wednesday night, handing the Tigers their first loss of the season.
Favored to win the national championship, NU is led by an offense hitting .324 and a defense that boasts 4.07 blocks per game. The Huskers lead the league and rank among the nation’s best in hitting percentage, blocks, opponent hitting (.146) and wins (14).
NU uses a balanced offensive attack with six Huskers contributing 2.07 or more kills per game. Senior middle blocker Melissa Elmer leads the team with a .434 hitting efficiency and 2.13 blocks per game while outside hitter Sarah Pavan, Jordan Larson and Christina Houghtelling each add 3.50 or more kills per game.
The Huskers have lost just five of their 47 games this season including just two in conference play (one to Oklahoma and Missouri).
LAST MEETING — NEBRASKA 3, KANSAS 0
Despite its stifling defense and serving, KU fell to third-ranked Nebraska, 3-0, on Nov. 12, 2004 at the Nebraska Coliseum. The Huskers defeated the Jayhawks, 30-27, 30-24 and 30-26.
The Jayhawks tallied 42 digs and nine service aces against the Huskers. Josi Lima led KU with 11 kills and 10 digs in the loss. Jana Correa and Paula Caten added eight kills apiece while Brown and Ashley Michaels rounded out the offense with six and four kills, respectively.
Emily Brown led the defense with 12 digs in the absence of injured libero Jill Dorsey. Jamie Mathewson and Andi Rozum added five digs apiece, Correa had four and Dani Wittman three. Andi Rozum notched a career-best five aces to go with her 32 assists.
KU was out-blocked by the Huskers 23.0 to 5.0 but held Nebraska to a .184 attack percentage. Three Huskers finished with a team-high nine kills.
Match Notes in PDF Format
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