KU Hosts Border Showdown Rival Wednesday For Senior Night
Nov. 18, 2005
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
Kansas will play its last home match of the season Wednesday night when it hosts Border Showdown rival #11 Missouri at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center. The Jayhawks (15-12, 7-11 Big 12) enjoyed the weekend off while the Tigers (19-4, 13-4) faced #10 Texas on Sunday.
Jayhawk seniors Paula Caten, Josi Lima and Andi Rozum will be honored during team introductions and have the opportunity to speak at the conclusion of the match. First serve is set for 7 p.m. Live video streaming, Gametracker and post-match results will be available on Kansas Athletics’ official website, kuathletics.com.
KU PREVIEW
The Jayhawks return nine letterwinners including four starters in 2005. KU is led by senior middle blocker Josi Lima, a three-time All-Big 12 First Team selection who was named Sports Imports/AVCA National and Big 12 Player of the Week on Sept. 19. Postseason award candidates Paula Caten (senior) and Emily Brown (sophomore) are also in the starting six.
Lima averages 3.48 kills (.238 hitting efficiency) and a team-high 1.10 blocks per game. Freshman Savannah Noyes, at 6-3, adds 1.65 kills and 0.79 blocks per game in the other middle blocker spot.
Caten, a 6-3 outside hitter, contributes 3.16 kills and 2.20 digs per game and Brown, a 6-2 right side hitter, chips in 3.23 kills, 2.29 digs and 0.42 aces per game. Junior Megan Hill has started seven matches this season at outside hitter and adds 1.38 kills per game.
Junior libero Jamie Mathewson paces the defense and ranks ninth in the league with 3.40 digs per game while junior defensive specialist Dani Wittman (1.51 dpg) has recently made four starts for KU.
The Jayhawks are without junior outside hitter Jana Correa, who suffered a season-ending injury against then-ranked #20 Kansas State on Oct. 5. Before the injury, Correa averaged a team-best 3.60 kills to go with 2.29 digs per game in 16 starts.
The Jayhawks have won three of their last four matches — against Texas Tech (Saturday), Oklahoma (Nov. 9) and then-ranked #24 Kansas State (Nov. 5).
THE KU/MU SERIES
Mizzou leads the all-time series, 41-31, and has claimed the last three Border Showdown meetings. The last time KU defeated the Tigers was on Nov. 5, 2003, in Lawrence (3-2).
MIZZOU PREVIEW
The Tigers (19-4, 13-4 Big 12) nearly pulled off one of the largest upsets of the 2005 season on Nov. 13, falling to No. 1 Nebraska in five games after winning the first two in Lincoln. Junior outside hitter Jessica Vander Kooi (3.60 kills per game) joined the 20-20 club for only the second time in her career, tying a career high with 23 kills and adding a season-high 22 digs.
Senior setter Lindsey Hunter (14.04 assists per game) spread 58 assists and added 12 digs to record her ninth double-double of the season. Four Tigers tallied double-digits kills with junior middle blocker Nicole Wilson (3.20 kpg) adding 12, sophomore outside hitter Na Yang (3.84 kpg) grabbing 11, and senior middle blocker Lisa Boyd (2.77 kpg) adding 10. In addition, Wilson added a team-high five blocks.
Senior outside hitter Shen Danru (2.74 kpg) added nine kills and 18 digs while sophomore libero Tatum Ailes (4.09 digs per game) notched 15 digs.
The Tigers lead the league in assists (16.01) and digs per game (16.26) and rank second behind #1 Nebraska in hitting percentage (.296) and kills per game (17.11). Mizzou is fighting for a second-place finish in the Big 12 and will host #10 Texas Sunday at 12:30 p.m. before heading to Lawrence Wednesday.
LAST MEETING — MISSOURI 3, KANSAS 0
KU dropped a three-game match to seventh-ranked Missouri Oct. 15 at the Hearnes Center, 30-23, 30-21 and 30-11.
Paula Caten led the Jayhawks with 10 kills and added nine digs. Emily Brown added eight kills and eight digs while Jamie Mathewson paced the defense with 12 digs. Josi Lima also contributed eight digs and seven kills on a team-best .273 hitting efficiency in the loss.
Three Tigers recorded double-digit kills and Tatum Ailes led all players with 16 digs. Mizzou posted a .351 hitting efficiency and held KU to a .085 clip, totaling 14.0 blocks. The crowd of 3,699 was the second-largest in MU volleyball history.
LIMA CHASING 1,000-DIGS MARK — 29 TO GO
Senior middle blocker Josi Lima has been dubbed one of the most prolific volleyball players in KU history since her first season as a Jayhawk in 2002. Lima is already the all-time kills leader at KU (1,459) and is just 29 digs away from becoming just the third Jayhawk in school history to record both 1,000 kills and digs in a career. Sarah Rome (2000-03) and Cyndee Kanabel (1990-93) are the only two Jayhawks to accomplish the feat.
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