Kansas City
Oakland
Kangaroos Rally From 0-2 Deficit; Team Falls In Five Games At Oakland
11/9/2007 10:45:00 PM | Volleyball
Rochester, Mich. - The UMKC volleyball team dropped a tough five-game match to Oakland on Friday night at the Athletics Recreation O'Rena in Rochester, Mich. The Kangaroos fought back from an 0-2 deficit in the match, but the Golden Grizzlies prevailed in the fifth game, as they claimed the contest by the scores of 30-19, 30-23, 24-30, 29-31 and 15-8.
Oakland got off to a quick start in the first game, as it took a 12-4 lead through the first 16 points. UMKC, however, continued battling as a Danni Sperry service ace pulled the team to within six points at 15-9. Kills by Kelly Gettinger, Jamie Hagerman, Sarah Johnson and Holly Schmidt then helped bring the Kangaroos to within three at 21-18, but the Grizzlies scored nine of the final 10 points to take the game 30-19.
OU again jumped out to the early 11-4 at the beginning of the second game, before the Kangaroos rallied to within four points at 12-8. The Grizzlies then took control of the action, as they built their advantage to 10 points at 24-14 before ultimately winning the game, 30-23.
After the break, UMKC turned the tables on OU, as it got out to the 10-5 lead through 15 points. The Kangaroos then built their advantage to nine points at 16-7 before Oakland called a timeout to hault the UMKC run. The Grizzlies rallied to within four points on a pair of occasions with the final coming at 19-15, but UMKC then turned up its pressure. Gettinger and Schmidt then helped the Kangaroos push their advantage back to eight points at 25-17, before the team went on to win the game, 30-24.
In the the fourth game, the two teams traded the first 18 points before OU put together a run to take an 18-12 lead. The Kangaroos, however, wouldn't fold as the squad fought to within two at 20-18 before evening the tally at 22 all. The remainder of the game was an all out dogfight as the two squads went back and forth until the score was 29 all. Kills by Johnson and Gettinger then sent the match into the decisive fifth game, as UMKC prevailed, 31-29.
The two teams continued the tight play to start the fifth game, as the score was four all through the first eight points. The Grizzlies then built some momentum for themselves, as they scored five of six points to take a 9-5 advantage. Gettinger and Hagerman kept the Kangaroos within striking distance, but the team couldn't get the road victory, as Oakland prevailed by the 15-8 scoreline.
UMKC finished with 54 kills and a .075 hitting percentage in the match, while OU had 67 kills and a .216 hitting clip. The Kangaroos also had 50 assists, 97 digs and nine blocks on the night.
Four UMKC players finished with 10 or more kills in the match with Hagerman posting a team-high 13. Schmidt finished with a career-best for the second straight match, as she finished with 11 on the night, while Gettinger and Johnson finished with 10 apiece. Gettinger also had 15 digs for UMKC to tally her team-leading seventh double-double of the season. Caitlin Koenig, meanwhile, finished with a team-high 47 assists.
Along with Gettinger, three additional Kangaroo players finished with 10 or more digs. Junior Mandy Tipton posted a career-high 36 digs on the night to bump her season to total to 515 on the year. She is just the second player in school history to surpass the 500-dig plateau in a single season. Sperry finished with 20 digs, while senior Lauren Starks added 13.
UMKC (5-26, 2-13) will play its final match of the season on Saturday, when it squares off against IUPUI in Indianapolis.
