Kelly Hutsell

Andi Rozum, Loveland, Co., junior, tries to spike against men’s club member Mike Skogmo, Buffalo Grove, Ill., freshman, last night at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center, west of Allen Fieldhouse. The women’s team played the men’s club to benefit Habitat for Humanity. The volleyball game raised about $300.

It was an epic battle of the sexes, played out on the volleyball court.

The Kansas volleyball team took on the men’s club team in three games at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center, west of Allen Fieldhouse, and won two games to one. The match, which began at 7 last night, raised $276 for the KU Habitat for Humanity chapter.

Both teams enjoyed success during the 2004-2005 year. The women made it to the second round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row and posted a 19-12 record. The men were invited to the NIRSA Division I-AA National Tournament for the first time in more than a decade.

“There was a lot of respect on both sides,” senior Adam Ferrari, men’s club team president, said. “I think we all knew that they were a good team but we underestimated them.”

In the first match both teams came out swinging. Point for point, the men and women exchanged hits, but neither team could take a convincing lead. Freshman Emily Brown and redshirt freshman Caitlin Mahoney combined for a stuff to tie the score 12-12, but the men countered with a stuff from graduate student Matt Cook and freshman Lee Grignon.

"We approached it like we do every other game, from our pregame meal to our warm-up,” said Brown, who also said it was a challenge to set over the men’s high blocks.

Cook tied the game at 22 with a desperate tip, drawing good-natured complaints from the crowd about the borderline carry. After he served the ball out of bounds on the next volley, the women scored five straight with the help of junior Andi Rozum’s jump serves to take the lead 27-23. The men climbed back, attacked the double blocks and tied the game at 28. The teams traded points until Rozum snuck a tip over the blocker to win, 33-31. Neither team led by more than four points the entire game.

“They hit a lot higher and a lot of times they hit over our blocks,” junior Kansas player Andi Rozum said. “In that case, there’s not much you can do about it except pray that it doesn’t hit your face.”

In the first game, each team tried to overpower the other, but the second game relied on finesse and strategy. The men proved to be better at reacting to ricochets off blocks, while the women’s blocks weren’t as tight as in the first game. The women trailed by four or five points for most of the game after the men took an early 10-5 lead. A kill by freshman Kristin Buehler brought the women to within three, 20-17, but the men’s team extended its lead to five, 28-23.

Rozum’s jump serve closed the gap to two before senior Adam Ferrari called a time-out for the men. After trading points and trailing the entire game, the women won, 32-30, on a kill by senior Ashley Michaels.

Both teams looked tired to begin the third game, which showcased the men’s hustle. Cook and Ferrari were able to find holes in the women’s defense and drive the ball home. The men led most of the game and won, 30-23.

“I thought it was fun just knowing that it went to a good cause and that we were helping raise money for a very good organization,” Rozum said.

This was the last of the four spring scrimmages the women are allowed by NCAA regulations. After finals, the team will travel to Brazil to practice, play and allow some of the team members to spend time close to home.

Ferrari said that despite losing, the men’s team had fun. Team members hope to make the charity match an annual event, with the help of the Athletics Department.