Jayhawks Dominate Wildcats, 3-1
Oct. 11, 2006
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
Four Jayhawks totaled 16 or more kills as the University of Kansas volleyball team defeated Sunflower Showdown rival Kansas State, 3-1, Wednesday night in front of a sellout crowd of 1,300 at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center. After losing the first game, 26-30, KU came back to win the last three, 30-28, 30-28 and 30-20.
With the victory, the Jayhawks’ first win over the Wildcats in Lawrence since Nov. 16, 1994, KU moved to 9-9 overall and 2-7 in Big 12 Conference play. K-State dipped to 8-10 and 0-8 in league action with the loss.
Freshman Brittany Williams set a new career high with 19 kills and a .567 attack percentage to lead the KU offense. Senior Jana Correa led the defense with a career-best 23 digs to go with 17 kills for her ninth double-double of the season. Junior Emily Brown totaled 17 kills and 16 digs in her eighth double-double performance and sophomore Savannah Noyes rounded out the top hitters with 16 kills and seven blocks.
Redshirt freshman Katie Martincich dished a match-best 68 assists to go with 15 digs, five kills and three blocks. Senior Jamie Mathewson added 15 digs for her 10th double-digit dig match and rookie Melissa Grieb had 13 digs and a match-best three aces. The Jayhawks set season-highs for a four-game match in kills (77), assists (70), digs (88) and blocks (12) in the victory.
The Jayhawks, who entering the match were 2-9 when down 0-1 in a match, gained momentum from Williams and Brown in Game Two. Williams nailed seven kills in the opening stanza and was strong at the net while Brown totaled eight kills in the second game. Three Jayhawks totaled five kills and senior Dani Wittman notched two aces to frustrate the K-State defense in Game Three as KU took a 2-1 advantage in the match.
KU jumped to a 9-2 lead in Game Four after scoring six unanswered points. K-State rebounded with a 4-0 run to come within a two-point margin, 11-9, but that was as close as the Wildcats would get. KU hit a match-best .326 in the closing stanza for the win.
“We are very proud of our kids,” KU head coach Ray Bechard said. “There were times when we weren’t playing our best volleyball, but this was one of those matches where you just had to grind it out. We needed to stay diligent and stick to our game plan and that is what our kids did. Both teams competed hard and Kansas State really wanted to break through. We were better in the end and it was a great win for our team. Now we are excited about getting ready for Baylor on Saturday.”
The Jayhawks, who play three of their next four matches at home, host Baylor Saturday at 7 p.m.
-KU-
