Friday, September 26, 2008
One top three team down, only one more to go.
Not a lot of teams in the country can say that about their schedule, but the Big 12 conference is not exactly a weak conference, to say the least.
Coming off a 3-1 loss to the second-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers, Kansas goes right back at it Saturday night, facing the third-ranked Texas Longhorns at 7 p.m. at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center. Coach Ray Bechard wants to take any moral victories he can from Wednesday night’s match, in preparation for Saturday.
“You take your little victories as they come,” Bechard said. “You take your lessons as they come, and that’s what we’ll do.”
One lesson in particular for Bechard’s team is to regain the killer instinct it had during its comeback against Iowa State. Kansas did not let any momentum slip away after winning two sets in a row to force a fifth set, winning that final set decisively. Against the Cornhuskers, the Jayhawks stumbled out of the gate after their match-extending win in set three, falling behind big.
“We talked after the match about how could we have attacked set four,” Bechard said. “We didn’t make them play under any pressure in a set that would send in to set five.”
And to the Jayhawks’ credit, not a lot of teams can say they have made the Cornhuskers play under any pressure, being only the fourth team to take a set from Nebraska this season.
Unfortunately for Kansas, one of those other three teams just happens to be Texas.
And to make matters worse, the Longhorns have four returning All-Americans from a year ago, including junior outside hitter Destinee Hooker, averaging more than four kills a game.
That, combined with Texas dismantling Iowa State in three sets Wednesday night, the same Iowa State team that Kansas defeated in five, could leave the Jayhawks a little weary.
But a victory tomorrow would even up both teams’ conference record at 2-2, and not to mention a be huge resume boost for the NCAA tournament.
“They are more athletic in some areas,” Bechard said comparing Texas with Nebraska. “There are matchups we’ll look at, there will be things we can control and things we can’t, and we’ll spend most of the time, obviously, on things we can.”
But with all the positive talk coming from a loss, senior middle blocker Savannah Noyes along with her teammates will only be content with victories, and that is what matters.
“We need the whole match,” Noyes said. “With Texas, I don’t want to be satisfied with just one or two sets, we want to compete to win that match.”
As for what Kansas needs to do for that match, an improvement in the passing game will be the first order of business. Against Nebraska, Kansas was not able to take advantage of “free balls” that the Jayhawks could reach without having to dig out a kill attempt. It clearly showed in the box score, with a hitting percentage under .100 for the entire match.
“If they (Nebraska) sent us an easy ball, we didn’t terminate that play,” Noyes said. “There are times when there is just a crazy ball, and we need to make something out of that.”
However, a huge advantage the Jayhawks will be able to have for this match is playing in the comforting confines of the Horesji Center. Kansas has picked up four of its seven victories at the arena, with its only loss being to then-No. 13 Oregon.
Noyes said he hoped the home court would lead to a better start this time around.
“I just want us to come out with the fire that, our goal is not to take one set from them but to actually beat them,” Noyes said. “To not be afraid and to come out and play at a high level from start to finish.
— — Edited by Arthur Hur
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