Cyclones spoil senior day
Kansas blows several big leads in five-match loss
Seniors Caitlin Mahoney and Emily Brown did everything they could to try and lead Kansas to a victory against Iowa State on Saturday. But their performances in their last game at Horejsi Family Athletics Center were not enough as the Cyclones won the match 3-2.
By Rustin Dodd (Contact)
Monday, November 19th, 2007
Coach Ray Bechard called senior Caitlin Mahoney’s 13-kill performance the best one of her career. Bechard called senior Emily Brown’s performance of 15 kills, 29 assists and 13 digs a fitting display of her versatility. But on Saturday, the one thing Bechard couldn’t call his two seniors was winners. Iowa State spoiled senior day and defeated Kansas 3-2 (20-30, 30-24, 25-30, 30-26, 17-15). Kansas fell to 12-17 and 5-14 in the Big 12 Conference, while Iowa State improved to 16-12 and 10-8 in conference play.
“We desperately wanted this to be a match that they could remember in a fond way from a standpoint of being successful, and Iowa State made a few more plays in the end than we did,” Bechard said.
Kansas had two great opportunities to win the match. The first came in game four with Kansas leading the match two games to one. An ace from junior middle blocker Natalie Uhart gave Kansas a 10-2 lead, but the team couldn’t hold on. The Cyclones slowly crept back into the game, cutting the Jayhawks’ lead to 22-19 before going on a 7-0 run for a 26-22 advantage. Iowa State closed out the game and won 30-26.
“They ratcheted it up defensively, and we got out of our system a little bit and got a little predictable offensively,” Bechard said.
Kansas had its second opportunity in the decisive game five. An ace by Brown put Kansas ahead 12-10, and the team needed only three more points to win the match. But Iowa State rallied again, winning game five 17-15 and clinching the match 3-2.
“Breaks went both ways, and in the end, the ball hit the floor on our side last,” Bechard said.
Brown also had three aces and six blocks. Mahoney had only one error and a team-high .480 hitting percentage. Freshman outside hitter Jenna Kaiser equaled Brown’s 15 kills to tie for the team-lead, and junior middle blocker Savannah Noyes added 11 kills.
Kansas started Saturday’s match playing some its best volleyball of the season. The Jayhawks had a .229 hitting percentage and held the Cyclones to a .125 hitting percentage while dominating game one 30-20. Iowa State responded in game two, winning 30-24, but Kansas again went ahead in the match with a 30-25 victory in game four.
But after the match, all the talk was the about Kansas’ two seniors, who played their last match on the Horejsi Family Athletics Center floor. Bechard couldn’t help but get a little emotional.
“I thought it was great that the Horejsi Center was full for an 11 o’clock match, and many of those people had a direct relationship with those two seniors, so that tells you a little about the influence they’ve had on the program,” Bechard said.
—Edited by Chris Beattie
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