Kansas Road Start Continues at UMKC
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas will make the short drive to Kansas City, Mo., to face the UMKC Kangaroos on their turf in the Jayhawks’ first midweek contest of the season at the Swinney Recreation Center, Tuesday at 7 p.m.
SERIES HISTORY
Vs. UMKC (Kansas leads, 30-1): The ‘Roos and the Jayhawks will meet for the 32nd time on Tuesday and the first time in Kansas City, Mo., since the 2004 season. The teams have a long history as they’ve played each other every year since 1997, with the exception of the 2011 season when UMKC head coach Christi Posey left her assistant coaching position at Kansas for the head coaching spot at UMKC. The Jayhawks are 22-0 in the all-time series in matches played in Lawrence, 5-0 in matches held in Kansas City and 3-1 against the ‘Roos on neutral territory.
FOLLOW THE JAYHAWKS
Fans unable to attend can listen to radio play-by-play on the Jayhawk Digital Passport. Subscriptions are available in daily ($2.95), monthly ($6.95) and yearly ($49.95) increments. Aaron Berlin will have the call. Fans can also monitor the action on Live Stats or by following @KUVolleyball on Twitter.
250 AND COUNTING
KU’s comeback victory at Arizona (8/31) marked Bechard’s 250th win at Kansas. The winningest coach in program history, Bechard is the only Jayhawk coach with 250 wins, which ranks fourth all-time among Big 12 Conference coaches. John Cook (Nebraska, 336), Laurie Corbelli (Texas A&M, 330) and Jerritt Elliott (Texas, 297) have collected more overall wins in their time in the Big 12, with Elliott and Bechard being the only coaches on the list still in the conference.
RILEY’S RECORD HUNT
Senior libero Brianne Riley raised her career dig total to 1,553 at the Arizona Invational, making her the first Jayhawk in program history to surpass the 1,500-dig plateau. On the Big 12 scene, Riley is only 15 digs shy of cracking the Big 12’s all-time career top-10 list (1,568, Jennifer Saleaumua, Nebraska, 2002-05).
GEARED FOR A GRAND
Entering Tuesday’s match, redshirt senior middle blocker Caroline Jarmoc sits at 996 career kills. KU’s career record sits at 1,483 (Josi Lima, 2002-05), but the top-10 list begins with Cyndee Kanabel’s 1,122 career kills (1990-93). Only Kansas State’s Kaitlynn Pelger has more career kills on the Big 12’s active-player career list.
DIGS ALL AROUND
The Jayhawks dug 82 balls in their win at Arizona (8/31). The last time the Jayhawks dug up 80-plus balls in a four-set match was Oct. 1, 2011 in a 3-1 win at Baylor. Five Jayhawks tallied double-digit digs: Chelsea Albers (18), Jaime Mathieu (11), Erin McNorton (14), Brianne Riley (22) and Cassie Wait (11) – also a first since the 2011 season (vs. Oklahoma, 11/16/11).
GOOD START SARA
After not starting the season opener, junior outside hitter Sara McClinton cranked out 37 kills in the eight sets she played. She led the Jayhawks in their victories against Morgan State (16) and Arizona (18) to earn Arizona Invitational All-Tournament Team honors. After week one, she leads the conference with 4.62 kills per set.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
In only three matches this season, junior outside hitter Chelsea Albers recorded two double-doubles, the first and second of her career. Meanwhile, senior setter Erin McNorton posted her first one of the year in the Arizona win, the 12th double-double of her career.
OPENING DAY
For the first time since the 2009 season, Kansas lost its season opener. A rarity as head coach Ray Bechard is now 13-3 in season openers in his 16 seasons at Kansas.
TOP-25 STREAK
Although the Jayhawks fell out of the Top-25 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division I Coaches Poll, they are still receiving votes. That makes 12-straight weeks that Kansas has had presence on the national poll.
SCOUTING UMKC (1-2 Overall, 0-0 WAC)
In its inaugural season as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), UMKC went 1-2 at the Arkansas Invitational. The ‘Roos knocked off Northwestern State over the weekend, while falling to New Mexico and Arkansas. In her third season at UMKC, head coach Christi Posey will welcome her former team to Kansas City for the first time. She was a member of Bechard’s coaching staff for eleven seasons before taking the UMKC job in 2011.
Sophomore right side Sydney Crimmins was named to the Arkansas Invitational All-Tournament Team after leading the ‘Roos with 32 kills, a .333 hitting percentage, 21 digs and nine blocks last weekend.
Sophomore libero Taryn Miller paces the defense with 4.78 digs per set. The blockers in front of her offers plenty of help as UMKC averages an astounding 3.33 blocks per set with three different players averaging more than a block per set.
HEAD COACH RAY BECHARD
On going to UMKC for the first time since 2004:
“It’s been a few years. We’ve been over there, but it’s been a little while. It has been a good match for both programs in the past. We have had it in Horejsi more than we’ve had it over there, but I’m sure both teams will be excited to play wherever it’s at.”
On UMKC’s facility:
“It’s similar to Horejsi, probably a little more seating, but I think the depth perception as you are serving and receiving is pretty similar.”
On coaching against former assistant Christi Posey:
“She has done a good job. What it means is that they are getting better and they are going to be more competitive, because she will have them organized and she works very hard. They will play with a lot of passion, because that’s kind of the way she goes about her business.”
On ending the Arizona tournament with a lot of momentum:
“We did end it well, but I think you learn lessons from both – how you start and how you end and that’s what we have to do. Central Arkansas just made more plays than us and when you fast forward to the Arizona match we were able to control that a little better. That’s in the rearview mirror now and obviously we need to take some of those lessons forward and apply it to a very difficult week we have coming up with two road matches and one at home.”
On what he was pleased with this weekend:
“I was really excited about the way Chelsea Albers played in six rotations. In all phases of the game she was good. Sara (McClinton) was an outstanding attacker for us and we dug a bunch of balls, which was good. I think we can block at a higher level, so that will be a point of emphasis, but I think that is the last phase of your defense that comes along, is the blocking, especially if you have spent a lot of time with some of the other phases. We beat a good team on their floor, so you can take a little momentum from that.”
UP NEXT
Kansas hits the road for its second match of the week on Thursday, Sept. 5 at Arkansas. First serve at Barnhill Area is set for 7 p.m.
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