Volleyball to open Jayhawk Invitational

Friday, September 7, 2007

Ray Bechard knows you should never take a small school lightly. But last week, Bechard received reminder from the least likely of places: Appalachian State.

You see, Kansas was competing at the Spartan Invitation in East Lansing, Mich., on Saturday when Appalachian State pulled its historic upset against Michigan. And when Bechard entered Jenison Fieldhouse at Michigan State for Kansas’ Saturday afternoon match, he was treated to a strange sight.

“There were a lot of Michigan State fans wearing Appalachian State shirts,” Bechard said.

That is all the reminder Bechard needed to not overlook St. Peters, Wyoming and Morehead State this weekend at the Jayhawk Classic.

“You don’t hear some of those names sometimes,” Bechard said. “They’re not household volleyball names, but I don’t know that Appalachian State was a household name.”

Kansas begins the tournament at noon today at Horesji Family Athletics Center against St. Peters then finishes with Wyoming at 7 p.m. tonight and Morehead State at noon on Saturday.

Kansas comes in the tournament with a 4-3 record after winning consecutive matches against Missouri State and UMKC.

The Jayhawks’ first opponent, St. Peter’s, is 2-7 and has lost four straight matches. Kansas’ other opponents, Wyoming and Morehead State, are 3-2 and 4-3, respectively.

Barring an unlikely event, Kansas once again will play without its starting middle hitter, junior Natalie Uhart. Uhart was injured against Michigan State on Aug. 31 and has not played since. She sat out of Wednesday’s 3-0 victory against UMKC.

Bechard, who is unable to comment on the severity of the injury because of NCAA rules, said he hoped to have Uhart back in the next few weeks. Uhart missed all of last season after suffering a knee injury in the team’s preseason alumnae match. Senior Caitlin Mahoney will continue to see more playing time in Uhart’s absence.

Kansas continues to be led offensively by freshman outside hitter Jenna Kaiser. She leads the team with 2.48 kills per game, but some inconsistent play has led to 49 hitting errors and a hitting percentage of 0.75. Bechard has said that he wants his team’s hitting percentage to be between .220 and .240. Right now, Kansas is has a team hitting percentage of .150.

Sophomore transfer Flavia Lino also has provided a lift to the offense, averaging 2.38 kills per game and leading the team with 13 aces.

Kansas also will lean on senior setter Emily Brown for another strong performance. The Baldwin City native had 27 assists, 8 digs and 5 blocks against UMKC and is leading the team with 6.27 assists per game.

Freshman Melissa Manda is another newcomer making an early season impact for the Jayhawks. Manda had 10 digs against UMKC while starting at libero and has given the Jayhawks 3.31 digs per game. A libero is a defensive specialist.

Sophomore setter Katie Martincich has picked up where she left off last season. Martincich is averaging 4.54 assists and 2.38 digs per game after leading the team in assists a season ago.

Kansas started last season with a 7-2 record before stumbling to a 3-17 record in the Big 12, and a 10-19 record overall. Kansas hasn’t gone unbeaten in the Jayhawk Classic since 2005. Bechard said this weekend is a chance for his team to be tested one final time before starting Big 12 competition at home on against Kansas State on Sept. 12.

“We want to really build some momentum this weekend going into next weekend’s Big 12 opener,” Bechard said.

— Edited by Luke Morris

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