Jayhawks Sweep Sooners

Nov. 6, 2004

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Lawrence, Kan. – Four Jayhawks notched 10 or more kills as the University of Kansas volleyball team defeated Oklahoma 3-0 Saturday night at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center. With the 31-29, 30-20, 30-20 win, KU improved to 14-9 and 5-9 in the Big 12 Conference while the Sooners fell to 10-13 and 2-12 in the league.

“We had good offensive balance and it was nice to be back home tonight,” head coach Ray Bechard said. “We settled down after game one and I was very pleased with how the team played in games two and three.”

KU and OU tied game one 14 times and held its opponent to within three points. In the last five points, the teams traded kills until Josi Lima came up with two big kills to end the game, 31-29. Paula Caten led the way for KU with six kills on a .500 attack percentage.

The Jayhawk offense really picked up in game two and hit for a .395 clip. KU was able to break down the OU defense and led by as many as eight after a Sooner timeout. Caten notched the final two kills of game two (30-20), giving the Jayhawks a 2-0 advantage going into the break.

Game three was a story of sound defense and better blocking for the `Hawks. KU held the Sooners to just a .031 attack percentage while picking up four of its seven total blocks. The Jayhawks dominated the end of the stanza, posting a 6-2 run to end the game. Freshman Emily Brown added two kills and a solo block before OU sealed its fate with a service error, 30-20.

Caten led the Jayhawks with 15 kills (.370) while Ashley Michaels followed close behind with 14 kills on a team-best .423 attack percentage. Lima added 11 kills and six digs and Jana Correa rounded out the double-figures with 10 kills. Brown added seven kills, four digs and three blocks in the win.

Libero Jill Dorsey totalled a match-high 14 digs with seven other Jayhawks adding at least two in the defensive effort. Andi Rozum dished 54 assists in the win.

KU outhit OU .309 to .184 and did not record a single serve reception error in the match. The Jayhawks also had six aces and three block solos. OU was led by Joanna Schmitt, who had 15 kills.

“We have some challenges coming up,” Bechard said. “However, we are excited about Baylor. They are a physical team — they have players 6-5 and 6-3 — and it will be a good challenge for us.”

The Jayhawks will next be in action Wednesday at 7 p.m. as they host the Bears at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center.