NCAA Tournament: Kansas, Wichita State Set for Second Round

Dec. 1, 2012

(11) Kansas vs. Wichita State
The Jayhawks are looking for their first Sweet 16 appearance in school history.
Dec. 1, 2012
Location Lawrence, Kan.
Saturday 6:30 p.m. CT
Live Stats GameTracker
Live Webcast NCAA.com
Match Notes Kansas Postseason Guide
Big 12 Conference Postseason Notes

LAWRENCE, Kan. – For the first time in 10 years, Kansas and Wichita State will square off on the volleyball court – this time with a trip to the Sweet 16 at stake – when the in-state rivals square off in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Saturday at 6:30 p.m. inside Allen Fieldhouse.

Saturday will feature a pair of comeback winners in the No. 11-overall seed Kansas (26-6) and Wichita State Shockers (23-9). The Jayhawks rallied from a first-set loss to Cleveland State to win in four, while the Shockers fought off an 0-2 deficit against Arkansas for the come-from-behind win to comprise an exciting first round in front of more than 3,500 fans.

Now the Kansan duo will battle for a trip to the Sweet 16 for the first time in either program’s history.

SERIES HISTORY
Kansas leads Wichita State 39-12 all-time in a series dates back to 1975. From 1983-95, the Jayhawks and Shockers played each other at least once per year and did so again from 1998-2002, and KU won the last six-consecutive meetings in that span. The teams have not met since a 3-1 Jayhawk victory on Sept. 10, 2002 in Wichita, Kan.

FOLLOW THE TOURNAMENT
Each of the Lawrence, Kan., first and second round matches will web stream live on NCAA.com free of charge. Access the stream by clicking the links on the tournament central page at KUAthletics.com or by clicking the links on the volleyball schedule. Updates can also be found by following JayhawkVball on Twitter.

ABOUT KANSAS (26-6)
Seeded 11th nationally, Kansas has won five-straight heading into the second round, giving the Jayhawks 26 victories for the first time since the 1986 season. Although Kansas has made four appearances in the NCAA Tournament, this marks the third time the Jayhawks have advanced to the second round.

In KU’s win over Cleveland State, the Jayhawks got off to a rocky start, committing 10 hitting errors in the opening frame resulting in just their eighth first-set loss of the year. KU responded by hitting .400 or better two of the next three sets, including 14 kills in the last two sets from sophomore outside hitter Sara McClinton.

The Jayhawks are hitting for a .240 attack percentage as a unit, and rank among the top-three in the Big 12 in assists, kills and blocks per set as a team. McClinton and redshirt junior middle blocker Caroline Jarmoc are both members of the All-Big 12 First Team and lead the team with 3.25 and 3.48 kills per set, respectively. Jarmoc finished the season with a Big 12-best .396 attack percentage, which broke KU’s all-time single-season mark.

Junior libero Brianne Riley clipped another KU all-time record in the final match of the regular season as she knocked off the Jayhawks’ career digs record in three years. Riley has 590 digs on the season, the most by a Jayhawk in a season.

ABOUT WICHITA STATE (23-9)
The Shockers pulled off their first 0-2 comeback victory this season in their five-set thriller against Arkansas in the first round on Friday. Senior outside hitter Emily Andrade led the team with a career-high 23 kills and had just one error in 39 swings and hit .564 in the match. Junior middle blocker Elizabeth Field added 14 kills, while junior setter Chelsey Feekin had a career-high 54 assists along with six kills and 16 digs. Senior libero Jackie Church and sophomore defensive specialist Kelsey Banwart each had 17 digs to lead the Shockers while Banwart also added four service aces.

For the season, Feekin leads a veteran Shocker offense with a .440 attack percentage, while Adney sets the tone with 2.93 kills per set. Both have started all 32 matches.Feekin dishes out 9.90 assists per set to help WSU average 13.73 kills per set using a .243 attack percentage. Defensively, the Shockers average 2.09 blocks per set on the front line, while the back row digs at a 15.69 per set rate.

REGIONALS
The winner of Saturday’s second round match will advance to the NCAA Austin Regional hosted by the University of Texas, Dec. 7-8. The four predetermined sites are: Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, Calif., CenturyLink Center Omaha in Omaha, Neb., Gregory Gymnasium in Austin, Texas, and Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind.Each quarterfinal winner will advance to semifinal action of the 2012 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship in Louisville, Ky., on Dec. 13.

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