KU Heads to Austin for Match With #8 `Horns

Oct. 31, 2006

LAWRENCE, Kan. –

Kansas volleyball will travel to a pair of Big 12 Conference road matches this week, beginning with No. 8 Texas Wednesday night in Austin. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. at Gregory Gym. The Jayhawks (10-12, 3-10 Big 12) are trying to stop a three-match skid while the Longhorns (15-5, 10-3) are winners of three straight. Live stats, a recap and box score for the match can be found here.

About the Jayhawks
The Jayhawks (10-12, 3-10) are averaging 16.05 kills and 14.90 assists per game, which ranks third in the Big 12. Senior outside hitter Jana Correa paces a balanced KU offense with 4.00 kills per game — good for seventh in the league — and has recorded 14 or more kills in 16 matches this season. Correa recently became the ninth Jayhawk in school history to record 1,000 kills for her career and currently ranks eighth on the KU all-time list. Junior right side hitter Emily Brown (3.54 kpg), a threat in all six rotations, and sophomore middle blocker Savannah Noyes (3.33 kpg) round out the top KU hitters. Redshirt freshman setter Katie Martincich averages 11.99 assists per game and ranks seventh in the league. KU’s defense features senior libero Jamie Mathewson (3.64 dpg) and five Jayhawks who average 2.23 or more digs per game. KU also gets a boost from rookie middle blocker Brittany Williams, who replaced injured Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Natalie Uhart in the starting lineup.

Scouting the #8 Longhorns
Texas (15-5, 10-3) remained at No. 8 in Monday’s CSTV/AVCA Top 25 poll after winning on the road at Texas Tech (3-1) and Colorado (3-0) last week to extend its Big 12 win streak to three. UT sits at third in the conference standings behind unbeaten Nebraska (12-0) and Oklahoma (11-2). The Longhorns rank second in the league behind the top-ranked Huskers in three offensive categories — hitting percentage (.258), kills per game (16.62) and assists per game (15.65). Junior setter Michelle Moriarty leads the Big 12 with 13.70 assists per game and freshman hitter Ashley Engle ranks ninth in the league with a team-best 3.75 kills per game. Rookie Destinee Hooker, the reigning Big 12 Player of the Week, adds 3.37 kpg and senior outside hitter Dariam Acevedo contributes 3.58 per game. Junior libero Allyson Jennings leads the UT defense with 3.47 digs per game.

The Kansas-Texas Series
Texas leads the all-time series against KU, 20-4, and has won the last five meetings between the teams. The Jayhawks’ last victory over the `Horns came on Nov. 8, 2003 in a five-game thriller in Austin.

Last Meeting – Longhorns 3, Jayhawks 0
Senior Jana Correa led Kansas with a match-best 14 kills as the Jayhawks lost to No. 5 Texas, 3-0, in Big 12 Conference action on Sept. 16. The Longhorns swept KU, 30-18, 30-18 and 30-18, in front of a sellout crowd of 1,300 at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center. Correa’s performance marked her eighth double-digit kill outing of the season. The 6-0 outside hitter also added six digs and three assists while junior Emily Brown added seven kills, seven digs and six assists. Sophomore Savannah Noyes had six kills on 15 attempts for a .333 hitting percentage and redshirt freshman Katie Martincich dished a team-high 23 assists to go with her nine digs and four kills. Four Longhorns tallied double-digit kills with sophomore Lauren Paolini leading the way with 13 and five blocks. Junior Michelle Moriarty totaled a match-high 43 assists for a Texas offense that hit .458 on the night and added nine digs.

Martincich Closes In On 1,000 Assists
Redshirt freshman setter Katie Martincich is just 41 assists away from her 1,000th and 140 away from a spot on the Kansas single-season records list. The Shawnee, Kan., native is already averaging 11.99 assists per game as a rookie, which ranks seventh all-time among Jayhawk setters. Martincich is following closely in the footsteps of former Jayhawk setter Andi Rozum (2002-05), who topped all rookie setters with 1,179 assists and averaged 12.03 per game as a freshman in 2002.

Another Sellout…
The Nebraska match on Wednesday, Nov. 22 is sold out of reserved tickets. Based on availability, general admission tickets may be available for purchase beginning at 6:30 p.m. on game day at the Horejsi Family Athletic Center ticket office for $10 each.

Match Notes in PDF Format
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