KU Sweeps Baylor at Horejsi
Oct. 14, 2006
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
Three Jayhawks pounded double-digit kills as Kansas volleyball swept Baylor, 30-23, 30-27 and 30-24, Saturday night in front of a crowd of 1,159 at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center. With the victory, the Jayhawks’ fifth at home this season, KU improved to 10-9 overall and 3-7 in Big 12 Conference play while the Bears moved to 13-8 and 2-7.
“We got off to a good start — I thought we started to settle a little bit at the end of Game One, but then picked it right back up in games two and three,” KU head coach Ray Bechard said. “That was a good team on the other side of the net, but I thought we planned well for the match. Our kids executed the game plan very well, and I was very proud of our hitting efficiency. When Baylor served, we won the rally 70 percent of the time, and our goal is 60 percent, so that was excellent. It was a good week for us. Two Big 12 wins is a good week.”
Senior Jana Correa led all players with 16 kills on a .351 attack percentage and added 11 digs for her 10th double-double of the season. Junior Emily Brown posted 13 kills and a team-best 12 digs for her ninth double-double and sophomore Savannah Noyes had 10 kills in the win.
Senior Megan Hill added seven kills and was errorless in 13 attempts for a match-high .538 hitting efficiency. Freshman Melissa Grieb totaled eight digs and a match-best three aces while senior Jamie Mathewson added eight digs. Redshirt freshman Katie Martincich dished 43 assists and had seven digs to round out the top KU performers.
KU opened the first stanza with a 8-2 run and led by as many as nine (15-6). The Bears came within four but the Jayhawks ended the game with a 7-4 run. Brown notched six kills for KU and was errorless on 11 attempts (.545) and added four kills.
The Jayhawks scored four unanswered points to take a 16-11 lead in Game Two. The Bears clawed back to within one late in the match, but never led. Correa pounded six kills and Brown and Noyes had four each as the Jayhawk offense totaled 18 kills for the second-straight game.
With a burst of momentum, the Jayhawks hit a match-high .308 and 18 kills in the final game. The balanced offense used two 3-0 runs midway through the stanza to pull away by six points, fending off a late Baylor rally.
The Jayhawks will enjoy Wednesday night off and return to the court Saturday at Texas A&M (9-8, 2-7 Big 12). Match time in College Station, Texas, is set for 6:30 p.m.
-KU-
