Hawks to counter Texas with skilled hitters
Freshman outside hitter improves in last six matches
Natalie Uhart continues to be a player to watch
By Rustin Dodd (Contact)
Wednesday, November 7th, 2007
What a difference a month makes.
On Oct. 3, freshman outside hitter Jenna Kaiser had just finished off her first six Big 12 conference matches of her career. Kaiser, a Wichita native, hit for 49 kills during that six-match stretch.
A month later on Nov. 3, Kaiser was on the court hitting for 18 kills during Kansas’ 3-2 upset win against No. 18 Oklahoma. The match concluded a six-game stretch where Kaiser had posted 75 kills. So that’s 49 kills in her first six conference matches and 75 in her last six. A sign of a freshman getting a little more comfortable, perhaps?
Photo by Jon Goering
“Oh man,” Kaiser said, when asked about how she’s developed during the last month. “You learn a lot.“
Kansas will need Kaiser to continue her hot offensive pace if it wants to hang with No. 3 Texas tonight at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center. The Jayhawks comes into tonight’s match with a 11-14 record and a 4-11 Big 12 conference mark. Texas is 18-3 and 13-1 in the Big 12.
Texas defeated Kansas 3-0 during the team’s first match in Austin, Texas, on Oct. 13, and then the Longhorns did the unthinkable. They defeated the then-No. 1 team in the country, the undefeated Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Texas has two All-American caliber outside hitters. Sophomore Destinee Hooker averages 4.71 kills per game and freshman Juliann Faucette is averaging 4.80 kills per game. PrepVolleyball.com ranked Faucette, a San Diego native, the second best volleyball recruit in the country out of high school. She had 22 kills against Kansas the first time the teams met this season while Hooker didn’t play because of an injury.
Kansas will counter with Kaiser, who was not as highly touted out of high school, but continues to improve every game. The freshman has led Kansas in kills eight times.
Kansas vs. No. 3 Texas
7:00 p.m.
Horejsi Family Athletics Center
What’s at stake
If Kansas wins, it will be the team’s second straight victory against a ranked opponent. Kansas defeated No. 18 Oklahoma 3-2 on Saturday.
Players to watch
Kansas
Natalie Uhart, junior, middle blocker
Uhart, a Lansing native, has three straight matches with double-digit kills. She had 19 against Missouri on Oct. 27, 11 against Baylor on Oct. 31, and 14 against Oklahoma on Saturday.
Texas
Michelle Moriarty, senior, setter
Hooker and Faucette get all the attention, but Moriarty quietly leads the Big 12 in assists per game with 14. She is also a big reason Texas leads the conference in hitting percentage at .338.
“The coaches they tell you every single second, ‘you need to this or you need to do that,’ ” Kaiser said. “So they help out a lot. And just experience from the games”
A victory would give Kansas its first against Texas since Nov. 8, 2003. Texas has won the last seven matches. Kansas can also play the spoiler role tonight. Texas is tied with Nebraska for first in the Big 12 conference at 13-1. Both teams gave each other its lone defeat, so if both teams win out, Nebraska and Texas would share the Big 12 volleyball title.
— Edited by Rachael Gray
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