Melissa Townsend knows she’s getting a pre-game phone call from one of her opponents. And while it may seem odd that the freshman libero/defensive specialist would share a pre-game moment with the competition, it isn’t at all when you realize that the opponent is Townshend’s older sister, Leslie.

Leslie, Melissa and the entire Townsend family will be present for the Big 12 Conference opener. Kansas will host Kansas State at 7 p.m. at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center. “My mom bought like 40 tickets,” the younger Townsend said. “Cousins, aunts, uncles, they’re all going to be there.”

Melissa always followed in her older sister’s footsteps. Both sisters played volleyball at Shawnee Heights High School in Topeka and helped Shawnee Heights finish second at the 5A state volleyball tournament, Leslie in 2003 and Melissa in 2006. But when it came time to choose a college, Melissa took a different route. Even though Leslie had been at Kansas State for three seasons Melissa decided that Kansas was where she wanted to be.

“When I came down here it seemed like they really wanted me around,” Townsend said. “Everybody made me feel really comfortable.”

Early in her freshman season, Melissa has earned a role off the bench. Once or twice a game, Coach Ray Bechard will substitute her in to serve, and she responded with the first ace of her career against the University of Wyoming last Friday.

“My sister’s really excited for me, because she wanted me to have the opportunity to play as fast as I could,” Melissa said.

Kansas builds momentum

Kansas comes into tonight’s match riding a five-match winning streak. The Jayhawks, 7-3, began their winning streak with a 3-1 win against Missouri State on Sept. 6, then followed that with a 3-0 win against UMKC. The Jayhawks racked wins against St. Peters, 3-0, Wyoming, 3-2, and Morehead State, 3-0, in last weekend’s Jayhawk Classic. According to senior Emily Brown, the streak isn’t the team’s focus at the moment.

“No matter what streak you’re on, with KU playing K-State, you’re going to be ready to play,” Brown said.

Brown was named MVP of last weekend’s Jayhawk Classic and averaged 7.45 assists per game.

Freshmen lead the Jayhawks in two key statistics after 10 matches. Outside hitter Jenna Kaiser is averaging 2.47 kills per game. Melissa Manda amassed 3.73 digs per game. With Kaiser, Manda, and fellow freshmen Townshend and Karina Garlington getting playing time, Brown said she has tried to prepare the newcomers for the rigors of the Big 12 conference.

“We’ve tried to talk about it a little bit when we’ve struggled in some games that, hey, in the Big 12, this isn’t going to work,” Brown said.

K-State a challenge

Bechard has good reason to be impressed with Kansas State. The 10th year coach said he thought that Kansas State was the third best team in the Big 12 behind Nebraska and Texas.

Sixty NCAA coaches ranked Kansas State 19th in the latest CSTV/AVCA Volleyball rankings. Nebraska is ranked No. 1 and Texas No. 7. With an 8-2 record and a victory against No. 14 Cal Poly, Kansas State has the team to support Bechard’s claim. Kansas State’s only losses were against No. 5 UCLA and No. 16 Hawaii at the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic in Honolulu.

“We’ll see a whole new level of physicality over the next 20 matches,” Bechard said. “That’s what we’ll have to deal with more than anything.”

Kansas State junior Nataly Korobkova leads the Wildcat offense with 4.55 kills per game, while fellow junior Rita Liliom has added 3.57 kills per game. Senior Angie Lastra has been Kansas State’s top defensive player, averaging 4.20 digs per game.

Injuries Mount

Junior Natalie Uhart will likely miss her seventh straight match against Kansas State. Uhart suffered an injury on Aug. 31 against Michigan State and hasn’t played since. Uhart, who transferred to Kansas from Long Beach State before last season, has been plagued by injuries throughout her time at Kansas. Uhart missed all of last season with a knee injury.

Brown has been suffering from a nagging ankle injury but did not miss any time this past weekend. Bechard said that Brown and the rest of his team just needed a few days off after playing three games in two days.