Kansas Volleyball Closes Regular Season at No. 2 Texas
Nov. 27, 2009
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
Kansas at No. 2 Texas Match Notes 
In its final regular-season match of the 2009 season, Kansas volleyball (16-13, 8-11 Big 12) travels to No. 2 Texas (23-1, 18-1 Big 12) on Saturday, Nov. 28 for one last chance to wow the NCAA Tournament selection committee. Match time from the Gregory Gym is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
Free live stats and a video feed (for a fee) will be available on the KU Athletics website at
www.KUAthletics.com.
About Kansas
Kansas duo Allison Mayfield and Karina Garlington pace the Jayhawk offense with 3.68 kps (fifth in the Big 12) and 3.33 kps (sixth in the Big 12), respectively. In conference matches, Mayfield is even better at 3.92 kps. Nicole Tate is handing out 10.94 aps for Kansas, a mark which ranks in the top 40 nationally. Defensively, Melissa Manda is one of five players for KU averaging over two digs per set with 3.60 dps, eighth in the Big 12. In the last nine matches, Melissa Grieb has stepped in to play libero leading the Jayhawks with 3.90 dps in that span.
Scouting Texas
No. 2 Texas swept Baylor Wednesday evening to clinch the Big 12 Conference regular-season title. At 23-1 overall and 18-1 in Big 12 play, Texas leads the league in hitting percentage (.329) and blocks per set (3.05 bps). Senior All-American Destinee Hooker paces the Big 12 with 4.88 kps, which also ranks sixth nationally, and 0.41 aces per set. Senior Ashle Engle is second in the conference swinging at a .357 attack percentage. In the back court, senior Heather Kisner leads the Longhorns with 4.14 dps. Junior Jennifer Doris also plays an active role on the defensive side of the net with the Big 12’s third-most blocks per set at 1.16.
Jerritt Elliott is in his ninth year as head coach of the Longhorns and owns a 206-63 record at Texas.
Series Information
Kansas has won just once in Austin and four times total against the Longhorns as Texas leads the all-time series 26-4. The Jayhawks have lost their last 11 meetings with UT. KU swept the series in 2003 and picked up wins in Lawrence in 2002 and 2001.
Big 12 Match Best
Against Texas Tech Tuesday night, Kansas volleyball recorded a .468 attack percentage versus the Red Raiders marking KU’s best attack percentage since hitting .512 versus Alabama A&M on Aug. 25, 2006 and the best attack percentage by a Big 12 team this season. Additionally, the .468 clip was KU’s best-ever mark versus a Big 12 opponent passing the previous record of .459, which the Jayhawks recorded versus Oklahoma on Oct. 5, 1996. The only other time Kansas has hit over .400 in the Big 12 era was on Nov. 28, 1997 versus Iowa State.
Hagan’s Hitting Shines
For the first time in three years, a Kansas player recorded a .700 attack percentage. Sophomore Lauren Hagan connected for seven kills on 10 attempts and committed no errors versus Texas Tech Tuesday night to record a .700 hitting percentage. She is the first Jayhawk to reach the .700 mark (minimum three attempts per set) since Jana Correa swung at a .756 clip (14K-1E-17TA) on Aug. 25, 2006 versus Alabama A&M.
A Winning Season
At 16-13 overall and one match remaining, Kansas volleyball can finish no worse than 16-14 on the season which means KU has its first winning record and most victories since 2004 when the Jayhawks finished 19-12 overall (9-11 Big 12).
NCAA Tournament Selection Show
The 2009 NCAA Tournament selection show is set to air on ESPNews on Sunday, Nov. 29 from 2-2:30 p.m. Texas, the Big 12’s regular-season winner, will receive an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. To be considered for an at-large bid, teams must have a .500 record or better.
