Wednesday, October 22, 2008
If there were a way Kansas could take the Horesji Family Athletic Center on the road with them for every match, the season outlook might look a little brighter.
“We’ve got off to slow starts,” Bechard said of the team’s road woes. “That’s pretty typical. I think teams try to get comfortable on the road.”
Freshman outside hitter Allison Mayfield during Saturday's victory against Oklahoma at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center.
Although their record won’t indicate it (2-3 at home and 1-4 on the road), the Jayhawks have looked like a different team when they have played on their home court.
The Jayhawks have looked competitive against ranked conference powers Texas and Kansas State, even taking K-State to five sets. An impressive five-set comeback against Iowa State and a four-set slug match with Oklahoma round out the home victories.
But Kansas is not out of the picture in the conference yet, as just one match separates six teams. That’s why Bechard is concerned about Baylor, whom Kansas plays tonight at 7.
“I think whichever team can win on the road obviously is going to separate themselves from the rest of that group,” Bechard said.
Though Kansas has been competitive against quality teams at home, it has looked sloppy on the road against lesser foes.
Kansas scrapped out an ugly victory against Texas Tech in four sets, but lost to Colorado and Missouri, two teams Kansas needed to beat to stay ahead of the middle pack in the conference. A victory against Baylor will help propel Kansas toward a top-five standing.
“There are a bunch of teams fighting for top-five and this is our way to clamp it,” senior middle blocker Natalie Uhart said.
Sophomore outside hitter Karina Garlington said fixing the team’s road problems had less to do with focusing on the opponent and more with focusing on Kansas.
“It’s really just KU’s side,” Garlington said. “We just have to play KU volleyball and start set one strong.”
As for tonight’s opponent, Bechard had nothing but positive things to say about Baylor’s program, which, under coach Jim Barnes, has improved vastly this season. The Bears are fourth in the conference with a 5-4 record, and post an overall record of 13-6, which is also fourth-best in the conference.
“Coach Barnes has done a great job,” Bechard said. “Each year he’s been putting more pieces together and he’s got a team that fits what he likes to do.”
Specifically Bechard mentioned how well the team served and blocked. The Bears are in the top two in the conference in every defensive category.
Baylor also leads the conference in service aces, mainly because of its setter, junior Taylor Barnes.
“They get a lot of instant points that way,” Bechard said. “It’ll be quite a challenge for us.”
It might be bad timing Kansas to face a defense quite like Baylor’s. The Jayhawks’ offense has been inconsistent at best, with front row players not all playing their best at the same time.
Against Oklahoma on Saturday, Kansas compiled 29 errors, approaching its season-high, 31. One positive was that the Jayhawks were able to win a match when the offense was not as fluid as they liked.
The Jayhawks have shown the ability in past matches to grind it out, and against Baylor, they might have to do it again.
“We have to make smart shots. Offensively, you’ve got to have a little diversity,” Bechard said. “With that I think you can keep them (Baylor) off balance a little bit.”
Keeping Baylor off balance and staying in tune with the game plan could give Kansas its most impressive road victory of the season and certainly an NCAA Tournament resume-booster.
“If everybody wins 60-70 percent at home and can’t win on the road, then we’re all going to be in one big pack,” Bechard said. “So Wednesday would be a great way to get that started.”
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