Kansas and Missouri Meet Up For Border Showdown Wednesday Night
Oct. 14, 2008
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
Game Notes 
After a bye last weekend, the Kansas volleyball will take to the court for the first time in a week when they head to Missouri Wednesday, Oct. 15 for the year’s first Border Showdown. KU (8-8, 2-5 Big 12) will tangle with the Tigers (8-9, 2-5 Big 12) at 6:30 p.m.
Free live stats are available on Kansas Athletics’ official website at www.kuathletics.com. In addition, fans can access live video streaming on the website for a subscription fee. Mizzou Sports Network will broadcast the match nationally while a radio broadcast can be found at http://kcou.missouri.edu.
About Kansas
Coming off a five-set loss to Texas A&M, its fourth five-set match in seven conference contests, Kansas is 8-8 overall and 2-5 in Big 12 play. Sophomore Karina Garlington leads the Jayhawks with 3.86 kps, which is 48th in the nation and fourth in the Big 12. Since the start of Big 12 matches, sophomore Jenna Kaiser returned to the lineup for conference play and is second on the team with 2.09 kps and is coming off a season-best 18 kills against the Aggies last Wednesday. Freshman setter Nicole Tate is also in the Big 12 standings coming in at number six with 9.69 aps. Junior Melissa Grieb recently moved into the conference rankings with 0.28 aces per set in league matches, sixth among Big 12 players. Grieb is also digging up 2.00 balls per set in conference play behind sophomore Melissa Manda, who leads the team with 3.06 dps.
Head coach Ray Bechard is in his 11th season as head coach of the Jayhawks with a 169-152 overall record.
Scouting Missouri
Missouri heads into Wednesday’s contest on a three-match losing skid having lost two of its last three contests to No. 16 Kansas State and No. 2 Nebraska. At 8-9 overall and 2-5 in Big 12 play, Missouri is 30th in the nation with 16.23 dps as a team. Sophomore Caitlyn Vann paces the Tiger defense digging up 4.97 balls per set, which ranks 23rd in the country and second in the conference, but leads in league play with 5.32 dps. Sophomore Julianna Klein leads the MU offense with 3.51 kps followed by Weiwen Wang, also a sophomore, who contributes 2.58 kps. Junior Lei Wang runs the Missouri offense with 9.49 aps.
Missouri is coached by Wayne Kreklow who is 68-40 in his fourth year as head coach of the Tigers.
Series History
Kansas trails the all-time series with the Tigers 45-32, including a 10-19 disadvantage in matches played in Columbia. Last season KU picked up a win at Missouri, its first win in Columbia since 2001, to snap a six-match losing streak against the Tigers. However, MU was able to take a five-set match in Lawrence. Since the start of Big 12 play, MU leads 16-9, including 8-4 on the Tigers’ home court.
Last Time Out
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Despite a season-high 18 kills from Jenna Kaiser, the Kansas volleyball team fell to Texas A&M in five sets (25-20, 25-19, 16-25, 19-25, 15-8) before 1,036 fans at the Horejsi Family Athletic Center. The Jayhawks, who battled back from a two-set deficit for the fifth time this season to extend the match, were led by Karina Garlington who recorded her second double-double of the season with 15 kills and 11 digs. Her 15 kills marks the sixth time in seven matches she has recorded 10 or more kills. Natalie Uhart joined Kaiser and Garlington in double digit kills chipping in 11.
Dig For the Cure
Kansas volleyball will hold its third annual Dig for the Cure match Oct. 18 when they welcome Oklahoma to Lawrence. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to show support for the cause while volunteers will be on hand to collect donations for the Kansas City Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. A pledge sheet can be downloaded from the KU volleyball home webpage at www.kuathletics.com. KU’s volleyball program has helped raise over $5,000 for the Komen Foundation.
RPI Rankings
In the latest RPI rankings released Oct. 13, Kansas finished in the top third coming in at No. 83 out of 329 Division I volleyball programs. All members of the Big 12 Conference were listed in the top 100.
Community Involvement
Members of the Kansas volleyball team will head out to local elementary schools this week to participate in the READ program. KU student-athletes visit local schools to read to children and encourage reading.
Up Next
The Jayhawks return home to host Oklahoma Saturday, Oct. 18. Kansas and the Sooners will do battle at 7 p.m.
Upcoming Promotions
The Kansas volleyball match against Oklahoma on Oct. 18 is KU’s Dig For the Cure contest. Fans will receive pink ribbons to wear at the match and are encouraged to donate money to the Kansas City Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Players will also be available to sign autographs following the match.
