Jayhawks Continue Road Stint at Iowa State
Nov. 3, 2006
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
Kansas volleyball travels for its second Big 12 Conference road match of the week Saturday at Iowa State. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. The Jayhawks (10-13, 3-11 Big 12) are trying to stop a four-match skid while the Cyclones (16-7, 8-5) are winners of four straight. Gametracker, a recap and box score for the match can be found here.
About the Jayhawks
The Jayhawks (10-13, 3-11) are averaging 15.94 kills and 14.81 assists per game, which ranks fourth in the Big 12. Senior outside hitter Jana Correa paces a balanced KU offense with 3.96 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 (3.53 kpg/2.99 dpg), a threat in all six rotations, and sophomore middle blocker Savannah Noyes (3.29 kpg) round out the top KU hitters. Redshirt freshman setter Katie Martincich averages 11.98 assists per game, which ranks eighth in the league. KU’s defense features senior libero Jamie Mathewson (3.65 dpg) and five Jayhawks who average 2.22 or more digs per game. KU also gets a boost from rookie middle blocker Brittany Williams (2.38 kpg), who replaced injured Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Natalie Uhart in the starting lineup.
Scouting the Cyclones
Four Cyclones totaled double-digit kills as Iowa State (16-7, 8-5 Big 12) defeated No. 21 Missouri and snapped a string of 19 straight losses to the Tigers that dated back to 1996. ISU leads the Big 12 in blocking at 3.43 per game, which ranks ninth in the nation. The Cyclones also hold their opponents to a .158 hitting efficiency and average 16.72 digs per game (both rank second in the league to unbeaten Nebraska). Senior outside hitter Katie Jessen leads the Cyclone offense with 3.90 kills per game while Preseason All-Big 12 junior middle blocker Erin Boeve adds 3.27 kills and a league-best 1.68 blocks per game. Three other Cyclones are averaging better than 2.18 kills per game and senior libero Katie Churm ranks seventh in the league with 3.95 digs per game. Rookie setter Kaylee Manns averages 13.14 assists per game — good for fourth in the Big 12 — and adds 3.39 digs per game. Despite being the best blockers in the Big 12, the Cyclones rank sixth in kills per game (15.57) and 11th in aces per game (1.13).
The Kansas-Iowa State Series
The Cyclones lead the all-time series against the Jayhawks, 36-32-1, with KU’s last win in Hilton Coliseum on Oct. 13, 2004. Iowa State defeated KU, 3-0, in the teams’ first meeting of the season on Sept. 30 in Lawrence.
Martincich Closes In On 1,000 Assists
Redshirt freshman setter Katie Martincich is just six assists away from her 1,000th and 105 dimes away from a spot on the Kansas single-season records list. The Shawnee, Kan., native is already averaging 11.98 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 Kansas-Nebraska match on Wednesday, Nov. 22, in Lawrence 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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