Jayhawks Travel to Oklahoma For Saturday Volleyball Action
Nov. 5, 2009
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
Kansas at Oklahoma Game Notes 
In search of its fourth consecutive Big 12 Conference road win, the Kansas volleyball team (13-10, 5-8 Big 12) travels to Oklahoma (16-7, 9-5 Big 12) Saturday, Nov. 7 for a 2 p.m. match.
Free live stats will be available on the KU Athletics website at www.KUAthletics.com.
About Kansas
Kansas notched a 3-0 sweep at Colorado Wednesday night to improve its conference road record to 3-4. Overall, KU is 5-8 in the Big 12 and 13-10 on the season and has won four of its last six contests. Sophomore Allison Mayfield recently took over as the offensive leader for the Jayhawks averaging 3.58 kps (fifth in the conference) and 3.84 kps during conference matches. Junior Karina Garlington is right behind with 3.45 kps on the season. Sophomore Nicole Tate is guiding the KU offense with the league’s second-most assists at 11.15 aps. Junior Melissa Manda is tops on the team from the back row digging up 4.13 balls per set. Senior Melissa Grieb has made a big impact on the defensive end recently leading KU with 5.50 dps over the last three matches and is averaging 2.50 dps in conference action.
Scouting Oklahoma
Oklahoma is coming off its third-straight win and third victory over a ranked opponent this season after sweeping No. 20 Baylor on Wednesday to take over the fourth spot in the conference standings. OU is 16-7 overall and 9-5 in the Big 12, including 5-2 at home, heading into Saturday’s contest. Four players average over two kills per set for the Sooners led by sophomore Suzy Boulavsky’s 2.90 kps. Sarah Freudinrich, a junior, is collecting 2.31 kps on a team-best .314 attack percentage. She is also fifth in the Big 12 with 1.08 bps. As a team, the OU defense is second in the league averaging 17.83 dps. Three players rank in the top 10 of the conference led by freshman Maria Fernanda, who is third in the Big 12 with 4.67 dps. Senior Bridget LaPlante (3.53 dps) and sophomore Brianne Barker (3.45 dps) rank ninth and 10th, respectively, in the conference stats.
Santiago Restrepo is 97-78 in his sixth season as head coach of the Sooners.
Series Information
OU leads the all-time series with Kansas, 41-28, dating back to 1976. In Norman, the Sooners hold a 21-10 advantage. From 1998-2005, KU went 15-1 versus OU, including 7-1 at Oklahoma, but has not won in its last three tries in Norman.
Notes From the Road
Kansas volleyball has had a lot of success on the road this season. Following the Jayhawks’ win at Colorado on Wednesday…
– KU has its most consecutive Big 12 road wins in program history with three.
– The Jayhawks currently have their most Big 12 road victories since 2005 (three in 2005).
– Kansas recorded its first back-to-back road wins since 2005 and first consecutive road sweeps in program history.
– KU collected its most total road wins since 2004 (six in 2004).
KU-Baylor Match Time
Kansas’ match scheduled versus Baylor on Saturday, Nov. 14 has been given an 11 a.m. start time.
Academic All-America Nominees
For the fifth-straight year, Kansas volleyball has placed at least one player on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Team. Senior Paige Mazour was named to the District 7 first team, while senior Katie Martincich earned second team honors.
Mazour has maintained a 3.94 cumulative GPA as a human biology major and earns academic all-district honors for the first time in her career. After serving in a reserve role for the Jayhawk volleyball team the past three seasons, Mazour is one of two Jayhawks to start all 23 matches in 2009 and ranks 10th in the Big 12 Conference with a .307 attack percentage. As a first team all-district honoree, Mazour is now in the running for Academic All-America. The All-America team will be announced on Nov. 23.
Martincich earns her second academic all-district honor having been named to the third team as a sophomore in 2007. A sport management and business marketing double major, Martincich has recorded a 3.98 GPA throughout her college career. Martincich ranks in the top 10 of KU’s career assists list and is on pace to break into the KU career digs list as well.
Up Next
Kansas returns to Lawrence to host in-state rival Kansas State on Nov. 11 at 6:30 p.m. The Jayhawks then play host to nationally-ranked Baylor on Saturday, Nov. 14 at 11 a.m.
