Kansas Looks to Extend Win Streak, Travels to No. 8 Iowa State Wednesday

Nov. 17, 2009

LAWRENCE, Kan. –

Kansas at Iowa State Game Notes

Following two straight victories at home, including an upset over then-No. 21 Baylor in its last outing, the University of Kansas volleyball team hopes to continue its winning ways on Wednesday, Nov. 18 when it travels to No. 8 Iowa State to take on its second of three straight top 25 foes. KU’s contest with the Cyclones is slated for 6:30 p.m.

Free live stats as well as Iowa State’s video feed (for a fee) will be available on the KU Athletics website at www.KUAthletics.com.

Quick Hits

» The Jayhawks defeated No. 21 Baylor on Saturday for their first win versus a ranked opponent since 2007.

» Senior Katie Martincich became the 11th Jayhawk in program history to record 1,000 career digs following Saturday’s match with the Bears.

» Kansas has its most victories and Big 12 wins since 2005 when the Jayhawks recorded 15 victories and had seven conference wins. 2005 was also the last time KU earned a postseason bid to the NCAA Tournament.

» KU is 3-1 in its last four road matches.

» Defeating K-State on Nov. 11 gave Kansas its first series sweep over KSU since 1993.

About Kansas

Kansas is coming off its first win versus at top 25 foe since 2007 and riding a two-match win streak heading into Wednesday’s contest. At 15-11 overall and 7-9 in Big 12 action, Kansas is led by the offensive duo of sophomore Allison Mayfield and junior Karina Garlington. The pair rank fourth and sixth in the conference with 3.67 kps and 3.45 kps, respectively. Senior Brittany Williams has also been productive for the KU offense in league matches hitting a team-best .293, 10th in the Big 12. Sophomore Nicole Tate continues to guide the offense as her 11.02 aps rank third in the league. In the back court, junior Melissa Manda is tops on the team with 3.85 dps. In the last six outings, Manda has received defensive support from senior Melissa Grieb. Grieb leads the Jayhawks averaging 4.90 dps over the last five matches.

Scouting Iowa State

Iowa State won 11-straight Big 12 matches before snapping its streak versus then-No. 10 Nebraska on Nov. 7. The Cyclones have gone 2-0 since that loss and are 22-4 overall and 14-3 in the conference. Victoria Henson leads five ISU players averaging over two kills per set with 4.08 kps, which ranks third in the league. Kaylee Manns is tops in the conference with 12.10 aps, while Ashley Mass leads all Big 12 players averaging 5.52 dps. The Iowa State defense has limited opponents to a .146 attack percentage.

Series Information

Despite that KU owns a 16-13 edge in matches played in Lawrence, Iowa State leads KU 40-34-1 in the all-time series record, including a 22-7 mark in Ames. KU has not won at ISU since capping a five-year win streak at Hilton Coliseum in 2004. All seven of the Jayhawks’ victories in Ames have come since the inception of the Big 12 Conference.

Jayhawks Upset No. 21 Baylor

Kansas upset then-No. 21 Baylor 3-1 last Saturday to earn its first win over a ranked opponent since defeating No. 18 Oklahoma on Nov. 3, 2007. The Jayhawks have defeated 11 top 25 foes in Ray Bechard’s 11-plus seasons as head coach.

Martincich Records 1,000 Digs

With 14 digs versus Baylor on Saturday, senior Katie Martincich became the 11th Jayhawk in program history and second KU player this season to record 1,000 career digs. The setter turned defensive specialist passed former Jayhawks Shannon Ridgeway (1985-87) and Julie Woodruff (1988-91) to takeover the No. 9 spot on the KU career digs list with 1,010.

Martincich is also on pace to land a spot in the career sets played list as she needs two more sets to crack into the top 10.

Time Change

The Kansas volleyball match scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 21 versus No. 9 Nebraska has been moved to a 3 p.m. start time. The match was originally scheduled for 6:30 p.m. but was pushed up so as not to interfere with the KU-Texas football game being played that evening at 7 p.m.

Up Next

The Jayhawks play their third consecutive ranked foe on Saturday, Nov. 21 when they host No. 9 Nebraska at 3 p.m. Kansas will then hold its last home match of the season on Tuesday, Nov. 24 versus Texas Tech. That match, also scheduled for 6:30 p.m., will be the final contest in the Horejsi Family Athletics Center for seniors Melissa Grieb, Katie Martincich, Paige Mazour and Brittany Williams.