Jayhawks Swept By Wildcats in Season Finale
Nov. 25, 2006
MANHATTAN, Kan. –
Five Jayhawks played the final match of their careers Saturday afternoon as Kansas volleyball fell to Sunflower State rival Kansas State, 16-30, 14-30 and 28-30, at Ahearn Field House. With the loss, KU finishes its season 10-19 overall and 3-17 in Big 12 Conference play while the Wildcats conclude their slate 12-18 and 4-16 in league action.<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
Seniors playing in their final match were Jana Correa, Megan Hill, Jamie Mathewson, Linsey Morningstar and Dani Wittman. As a class, the seniors have helped <?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>Kansas to three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances, totaled 66 wins and taken the Jayhawks to two of their best seasons in program history.
Sophomore Savannah Noyes paced the Kansas offense with 11 kills on a .529 hitting efficiency (two errors on 17 attempts). Junior Emily Brown added nine kills and seniors Correa and Hill each chipped in six. Correa also led the defense with 13 digs and finished her career with 1,131 kills (sixth best in school history) and 3.60 per game, which ranks third on the KU all-time career list.
Freshman Melissa Grieb added 10 digs and redshirt freshman Katie Martincich dished a team-best 32 assists to go along with her nine digs. Martincich finished the season with 1,193 assists and averaged 11.70 per game, which rank ninth on the KU single-season list and the best performance all-time among Jayhawk rookie setters.
Mathewson contributed seven digs to improve her season total to 360 and average to 3.53 per game, which ranks seventh among KU’s single-season performances. Freshman Brittany Williams led the KU blocking effort with three and added four kills.
K-State outblocked KU 13 to five and totaled 15 service aces in the victory. The Jayhawks struggled at the net, committing 22 hitting errors in 119 attempts (38 kills) for a .134 hitting efficiency in the match. Senior Sandy Werner led the Wildcats with a match-high 12 kills in her final career match.
-KU-
