Here are three misconceptions that some folks have of tall women like Wisconsin's 6-foot-4 star middle blocker Kelly Kennedy:
First, many think Kennedy is taller than her listed height. That is a problem the 19-year-old sophomore runs into with tall men, who sometimes are more intimidated by her height than short men.
``I'll have tall guys walk up to me and say, `You must be at least 6-8 because I'm 6-4.' They come up to my shoulder and I look at them and say, `Yep, I'm actually 7-3.' And then everybody's happy,'' Kennedy said with a smile.
Second, many think Kennedy hates being tall. ``I love being tall,'' said Kennedy, who is so self-confident that she doesn't hesitate to wear heels.
``Who's going to notice if I'm an inch or two taller?'' she added with a laugh. ``Nobody asks, `Are you taller today?' There are about 10 people in the entire universe who would notice that I'm taller. So I don't worry about that.''
Kennedy, obviously blessed with a remarkable sense of humor, mentioned her senior prom at Barrington (Ill.) High School Hills and said, ``I went with a guy who was 6-2. I wore three-inch heels. It was funny. But he didn't care.''
Third, many think that women can't be coordinated or athletic if they're 6-4. That, Kennedy says, is not funny. The second-tallest volleyball player in the Big Ten -- only Penn State's 6-5 freshman Laura Hoff is taller -- has spent the better part of the past six years trying to disprove that misconception.
``I know people are thinking when I'm on the court, `She's 6-4, I wonder if she's good or just tall?' '' said Kennedy as she sat in the UW Field House bleachers prior to a practice session this week. ``Nobody ever knows how I'm going to play.''
Perhaps some thought that last year when she was a freshman making her first rounds through the Big Ten Conference. But most everybody knows by now that she's better than good.
The No. 8-ranked Badgers are on an incredible roll this season with a 14-2 overall record and 5-1 Big Ten mark heading into weekend matches against Ohio State and Purdue at the UW Field House. And a major reason is the play of Kennedy, who teams with All-America candidate Heather Dodaro to dominate the middle of the net.
Kennedy leads the Badgers and is fourth in the Big Ten in hitting percentage (.369). She also leads the Badgers and is third in the Big Ten in both kills (3.46 per game) and blocks (1.48). She also is this week's Big Ten player of the week after hitting .441 and averaging 3.33 kills, 1.83 blocks and 1.5 digs per game in victories over Michigan and Northwestern last weekend.
UW coach John Cook plays Kennedy at the M1 position, which means she plays closest to the setter and gets more sets in the middle.
``Every team that is good has a great M1,'' said Cook, who used Penn State All-American Terry Zemaitis and former Michigan State star Val Sterk as examples. ``One of the ways you can gauge your team is the level of play of your M1.''
In Kennedy's case, opposing blockers can't stop her hitting or blocking when her game intensifies.
``I really see her exploding to the ball when she hits and when she goes up for a block. And when she does that, it's a block straight down and it's a kill every time,'' said senior teammate Amy Lee. ``When I watch her, it's like, `Go, Kelly, go.' We know that every time when she runs and she's explosive and goes for that ball, she's almost unstoppable.''
Cook is most impressed with Kennedy's blocking ability. ``She changes people's shots,'' he said. ``And her best skill is blocking a quick attack.''
But Cook also is impressed with Kennedy's work ethic.
``The great thing about Kelly is that she wants to get better,'' the UW coach said. ``She comes in and watches film with me once a week. Very few of the other players do that. She always wants to stay out after practice and hit extra or do whatever she needs to do extra. She really wants to be good, and it's a joy to coach someone who is really passionate about her sport.''
Kennedy is so committed to improving that when the Badgers returned exhausted from a three-week tour of Finland and Russia this summer, she hopped on a plane bound for Indonesia six days later. She spent two weeks practicing with the Indonesian national team, which is coached by a former assistant of her club team in Chicago.
She worked just as hard in high school. Kennedy started playing volleyball as an out-of-shape ninth grader looking for something to do.
``I was awful because I'd run around the gym six times and I was out of breath because I had never exercised before,'' she said.
But Kennedy got into shape when she practiced four hours and then added another 90 minutes of running and agility drills per day. Within a year, college recruiters were watching her play.
And in the process, she ended all that talk about tall female athletes lacking coordination.
``People don't expect me to be coordinated,'' said Kennedy, who then added proudly, ``It's taken me six years to be coordinated.''
Kennedy will keep working just as hard with hopes of making the U.S. national team after she graduates. But while she has an eye on the future, she also is keeping an eye on having fun. And that includes enjoying her natural intimidation factor on and off the court.
``I know a lot of people who are tall and just hate it,'' said Kennedy, who learned to love it when she started playing volleyball. ``I think if you try and do what you can with it, you won't hate it.''
