KU’s club volleyball national team earns second place in tournament

Monday, March 10, 2008

The KU women’s club volleyball team captured second place in the midst of a competitive field in the Kansas Spring Classic tournament at Baker University Saturday.

The Jayhawks had three teams in the event with the national, regional and local squads all getting playing time. Five other teams from around the Midwest competed with the Jayhawks.

Photo by Weston White

Junior middle hitter Alison Owens spikes the ball past two Iowa State B defenders Saturday afternoon. Owens finished the match with seven kills. Kansas lost the match two games to one, and went on to finish the tournament in second place.

The tournament began at 9 a.m., but the early start did not affect the Jayhawks. The Jayhawks’ national team, the best of the three in action on Saturday, showed it was ready to play in the first match against a weaker Missouri team. The Jayhawks made short work of the rivals, winning in straight games, 25-18 and 25-14. Amy Schrumpf, St. Louis, sophomore, said the victory was important to the team’s title hopes.

“For the team as a whole, the hardest thing was getting past the first game,” Schrumpf said. “It was important for us to start off strong.”

The only team to give the Jayhawks’ national team trouble was the regional squad for Iowa State. The match went into a tiebreaker after Iowa State split the first two games with the Jayhawks. The Cyclones then went on to dominate the extra game, continuing their unbeaten streak. Both national and regional Cyclones teams went undefeated in pool play and entered the bracket stage of the tournament as the top two seeds.

The championship bracket began with the Jayhawks playing against each other in the first round. Both the national and regional teams played well, with the favored national team eventually winning 2-0. Cori Simpson, Overland Park freshman and regional team member, said it was unfortunate to have to play her own school in the first round.

“It kind of sucked,” Simpson said. “I don’t think it was any less competitive, but we would have liked to play them later on. We all stepped up for each other, but it was a little like practice.”

The loss eliminated the first of the Jayhawk title contenders. Within minutes, another fell, as the local squad lost to the top-seeded Iowa State national team. The Jayhawks’ last tournament hopes rested with their top team. To advance to the championship, the team would need to avenge the earlier tie-break loss to the Cyclones regional squad. The team had its work cut out.

The match did not start the way the Hawks wanted, as they fell behind 4-10 early in the first game. The team couldn’t find a way to rally back and lost the game 15-25. It quickly made up for the lapse in focus by winning the next game, forcing yet another tiebreaker. The momentum from the first game propelled the Jayhawks through the 15-point mini game and they advanced to the final. Cassie Nealon, St. Louis, sophomore, said playing so many games took a lot of focus.

“You have to treat each game as a separate entity,” Nealon said. “You have to go into each game with a new mind set.”

Unfortunately for the Jayhawks, Iowa State figured that out, too. It was deja vu in the championship as the undefeated Cyclones national team took the lead in the first game and didn’t look back. The Jayhawks fought back in the second game but ultimately came up short. The nine-hour event ended with KU national, regional and local teams placing second, sixth and eighth, respectively. The team hopes to continue its competitive play in the two remaining tournaments before the national championships in Dallas.

— Edited by Katherine Loeck

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