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Volleyball team targets improved Big 12 standing

By Josh Bowe

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

The Jayhawk volleyball team sees an opportunity to crack into the top half of the Big 12 standings, but first it has to beat Texas A&M.

Kansas prepares for its third match of the month against A&M at 7 p.m. in the Horejsi Family Athletic Center. And despite falling to a 2-4 conference record, the Jayhawks could play beyond November if coach Ray Bechard’s team makes October its best month. But Bechard does not want that to fool his team into thinking everything will fall into place easily. Texas A&M was picked to finish fourth in the conference in preseason polls, and despite its early trouble in Big 12 play, Bechard knows how talented the Aggies are.

“They played a brutal nonconference schedule,” Bechard said of Texas A&M’s record. “I regard them as an upper-division Big 12 opponent.”

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Photo by Weston White

Sophomore libero Melissa Manda duriing Kansas' loss to Kansas State Oct. 1, 2008

A&M has a 2-3 Big 12 record, the same number of victories as Kansas. They sit at eighth in the conference with Kansas following close behind. And even though both teams are low in the standings, two wins separate them from the conference records of teams such as Texas and Baylor, which share second place in the Big 12 standings.

It makes tonight’s match that much more critical.

Bechard decided to organize a game plan against A&M as a team rather than focusing on one player. He said A&M was well-rounded enough that spotlighting one player would allow others to thrive.

“I think if you start to game plan one of their players, then somebody else will get away from you,” Bechard said. “They’ve got great balance and great people coming off the bench.”

Bechard is also taking time this week to improve on his own team instead of focusing entirely on the Aggies.

The Jayhawks had a film session Monday and it must have been brutal. Even with the victory Saturday against Texas Tech, Kansas still has plenty of room for improvement. Texas Tech held Kansas to a hitting efficiency below .200, a level that Bechard said the team had to achieve to garner consistent success.

“We spent more time on KU today,” Bechard said after Monday’s practice. “We looked at some opportunities where we could have extended the lead and maybe made some better volleyball plays.”

Senior middle blocker Natalie Uhart was relieved to see the season-high three-match losing streak end on Saturday, but she hopes to start another positive streak with a win tonight.

“It’s possible. It’s doable. So why not?” Uhart said. “Let’s get this show on the road and get on a roll.”

Uhart also said the team needed better passing to kick-start its offense.

She also noted how the right-side offense needed to be more consistent. Sophomore outside hitter Karina Garlington is stabilizing the left side with her stellar play, so Uhart and Bechard hope to see some better plays coming from the right side.

Uhart said Bechard told them during Monday’s practice that a win tonight would propel the Jayhawks into the top half of the Big 12.

“He listed out the records for all the teams in the Big 12,” Uhart said. “So that’s our goal, to win and be top-five in our conference.”

KANSAS KEYS TO THE GAME

— Cut down on errors: The Jayhawks had 28 of them against the Red Raiders. While that may fly against a team that’s winless in the conference, it will doom them against the more talented Aggies.

— No mental letdown: The Aggies come in struggling with a 2-3 conference record, but there is a reason they were chosen to finish fourth in the preseason. The Jayhawks cannot allow their home court advantage and the Aggies’ deceiving record to have them underestimating tonight’s match.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Kansas: Freshman outside hitter Alyson Mayfield

With sophomore outside hitter Jenna Kaiser adjusting to playing without her elbow brace, Mayfield should continue to see major minutes and needs to duplicate her numbers against Texas Tech (10 kills, two blocks) for Kansas to roll.

Texas A&M: Junior outside hitter Mary Batis

Batis is coming off a career-high 23 kills during a five-set victory against Missouri on Saturday. Not only that, she ended the match with 11 digs. She’s a unique outside hitter, and she leads the team in both kills per set (3.56) and digs per set (3.11). Usually digs are for defensive specialists and liberos, but Batis is a dual threat. Kansas will have to stymie her numbers to win.

— — ­Edited by Mary Sorrick

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