Sept. 4, 2005

LAWRENCE, Kan. -

Kansas begins a six-match home stand Tuesday with a non-conference contest against Saint Louis at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center. The Billikens (3-3) and Jayhawks (4-1) will face off at 7 p.m. in the teams' 15th all-time meeting.

The Jayhawks continue the home stand Friday and Saturday when they host the Pizza Hut Jayhawk Invitational. KU will take on Virginia Commonwealth at noon and Michigan State at 7 p.m. Friday and host Temple at 1 p.m. Saturday. KU is 59-31 overall at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center since its opening in 1999.

KU Preview
The Jayhawks, 4-1 overall, return nine letterwinners and five starters in 2005. KU won its first four matches of the season before falling at BYU, 3-1, in its second match of the day on Sept. 2.

KU is an impressive 64-8 in regular-season non-league matches under head coach Ray Bechard.  Senior middle blocker Josi Lima, a three-time All-Big 12 selection, is the top KU returner, with postseason awards candidates Paula Caten (senior), Jana Correa (junior) and Emily Brown (sophomore) also back in the starting six.

Correa, a 6-0 outside hitter, leads the KU hitters with 4.11 kills per game on a .353 attack percentage. Lima is close behind with 4.00 kills to go with a team-best 1.22 blocks per game while freshman Savannah Noyes, a 6-3 middle blocker, adds 2.39 kills per game on an impressive .450 hitting efficiency.

Caten, a 6-3 outside hitter, adds 2.72 kills per game and Brown, a 6-2 right side hitter, chips in 2.61 per game. Junior Jamie Mathewson paces the defense with 3.28 digs per game.

Saint Louis Preview
Saint Louis (3-3) closed out action at the Nike Invitational in Stockton, Calif., Saturday with a 3-0 win over Bradley (30-27, 32-30, 30-21). The Billikens, who return 10 letterwinners and five starters, also claimed four-game victories over Southeast Missouri State and Arkansas-Little Rock this season.

Junior Tatyana Menshikova, a transfer from College of Southern Idaho, leads the Billiken offense with 5.67 kills per game. The 6-3 outside hitter also adds 2.43 digs and 0.62 aces per game for SLU while sophomores Sutton Lasater and Angela Powers each add 2.81 and 2.52 kills per game, respectively.

The KU/SLU Series
Kansas leads the all-time series against the Billikens, 11-3. SLU claimed the teams' last meeting, 3-1, on Sept. 19, 1998, in Lawrence.

Lima Kills Countdown -- 116 To Go
Josi Lima will leave KU one of the most prolific players in the program's history -- regardless of what records she takes with her. A four-year starter and Big 12 standout, Lima ranks third on the all-time kills list with 1,190 and is just 116 away from the career record (1,306) set by Sarah Rome (2000-03). In addition, Lima could finish her career on top of many blocking charts and in the top five for attack percentage, kills per game and digs.

Rozum Closing In On Assists Record
Senior Andi Rozum has been running the Jayhawks' offense for the past four seasons and as a result, will leave KU as one of the most successful setters in program history. The 5-10 native of Loveland, Colo., has 3,748 career assists and is just 461 away from the all-time mark set by Julie Woodruff (1988-91). Despite missing 11 matches to start the 2003 season, Rozum could become just the second Jayhawk ever to eclipse the 4,000-assist mark.

In addition, Rozum is averaging just under 12.00 assists per game, which currently tops the all-time career chart.

Bechard At the Helm
Kansas head coach Ray Bechard is in his eighth season with the Jayhawks. Bechard has led KU to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances (2003, 2004) and its best-ever conference finish in 2003.  In 2003, Bechard earned his 800th career victory as a head coach as well as his 100th win at Kansas. 

After 13 years at Barton County Community College and seven at KU, Bechard entered the 2005 season with a remarkable all-time coaching record of 839-153 (.846) including a 123-93 (.569) mark with the Jayhawks.

Match Notes in PDF Format
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