Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Coach Ray Bechard knows that tomorrow’s senior night match belongs to two of his players.
Kansas volleyball has only two seniors this season — middle blockers Natalie Uhart and Savannah Noyes — and Bechard said this match, along with this entire week, was dedicated to them.
“We feel like we have the opportunity to play our very best volleyball,” Bechard said. “We hope to put our best effort we’ve seen all year out there on Wednesday night.”
Kansas seniors Natalie Uhart, left, and Savannah Noyes attempt to block a competitor's hit in a recent home matchup. Uhart and Noyes are the team's only seniors and will be honored in Wednesday night's senior night match against Baylor at 7 p.m. The game will be the Jayhawks' last home match of the season and will be the second time the team has played the Bears this season.
Kansas (12-15, 6-12) will play Baylor (18-11) in its last home match of the season at 7 p.m. on Wednesday. Though a postseason bid is most likely out of the question for Kansas, it doesn’t mean Wednesday night’s match is any less important to the team.
“We still have a lot to play for and a lot to look forward to,” sophomore outside hitter Karina Garlington said. “Hopefully it’ll transfer over against Baylor.”
The Jayhawks will need all the momentum they can get against the Bears. Baylor is fourth in the conference and hopes to lock up an NCAA Tournament bid tomorrow night. The team has one of the most dominating defenses in the conference. The last time Kansas faced Baylor, earlier this year, the Bears marched to a three-set sweep and used their offense to stifle the Jayhawks. The Bears hit an eye-popping .427 and the Jayhawk defense was nowhere to be found.
Bechard said he understood that the last two matches this season were against two quality teams. He conveyed the importance of this week to his team after last Saturday’s three-set loss to Texas. The Jayhawks’ NCAA Tournament dreams might be over, but their season isn’t.
“It is what it is. We have two games left to show progress and for this group to be together,” Bechard said.
Kansas will have a lot to look at after the Texas loss. Not much went right during the three sets in Austin. Bechard attributed the loss to bad passing, saying the setter-hitter connection was off. Nine hitting errors and nine kills in the second set won’t get it done against a high-level opponent, Bechard said, and the Jayhawks won’t fare much better tomorrow if the squad plays the same way. Bechard also implemented a different system against the Longhorns to get his bigger, physical players up front to combat the athleticism from Texas. It didn’t work out, but Bechard said he didn’t have any regrets about trying it.
“You can’t sit around and go status quo and hope it works out,” he said. “You got to try to make some adjustments.”
With two seniors ready to move on to the next level of their lives after tomorrow night’s senior night match, Bechard will do everything he can to make sure they go out on top.
— — Edited by Rachel Burchfield
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