Friday, March 7, 2008
Three teams for the KU women’s club volleyball program will play in the team’s first home tournament of the semester Saturday. The team, comprised of many new players, looks to continue its productive season after playing well in its first two tournaments. The Jayhawks’ third tournament is made up of Kansas A, B and C teams as well as five other teams from the Midwest.
The KU women’s squads will go up against teams from Missouri, Kansas State, Iowa State and Missouri Sciences and Tech. The home tournament will be played at George F. Collins Jr. Gymnasium at Baker University. The arena is located at Sixth and Freemont streets in Baldwin City, a 10-minute drive from campus.
Emily Strusz, Republic, Mo., sophomore, has high hopes for the weekend’s matches.
“We are expecting to do very well this tournament and place high,” Strusz said. “Hopefully, with this being our home tournament and all, we will be able to win the whole thing.”
breakbox
The women’s club volleyball team has not won either of its previous two tournaments this year, which were both held out-of-state. The performance has not deterred or discouraged the team.
The women’s club volleyball team has not won either of its previous two tournaments this year, which were both held out-of-state. The performance has not deterred or discouraged the team. Having only two players returning from last year’s top team, the Jayhawks have found winning streaks hard to come by.
“This year started out a little rough,” Strusz said. “But we have a lot of great new girls who have contributed a lot to the team.”
This tournament will be the first time the entire squad is able to play together. The lack of gaps in the lineup helps the team be more competitive on the floor. The event, which marks the midway point of the team’s season, also allows friends and family to see the team play close to home.
Team president Sara Schemmel, Shawnee senior, said the tournament day was split into two parts. The first part is round-robin pool play, which establishes the rankings for the elimination round later Saturday afternoon. She also said team unity was an important factor if the team expected to win.
“This weekend will be all about team cohesiveness, playing to our level and enjoying ourselves,” Schemmel said. “The biggest difference between a good and a great team is being able to play at your top level even when you aren’t playing the most challenging teams. We tend to play to the level of our competition instead of our own, which hurts us in the end.”
The tournament is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. and end sometime after 5 p.m. The KU women’s club team is confident about its abilities and players said they would continue to have good sportsmanship and attitudes no matter the result.
“We have a lot of young girls, lots of freshmen and sophomores, so even if this season isn’t extremely successful it’s a good season to build on,” Strusz said. “This season has already been a lot of fun, so hopefully we can continue to play well and have fun while doing it.”
—Edited by Samuel Lamb
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