'Roos Head South For Summit League Matches With Centenary And Oral Roberts

11/4/2010 9:22:00 AM | Volleyball

By: UMKC Athletics

This Week
The UMKC volleyball team (8-18, 5-9) will make its final road trip of the season this weekend when it heads south to take on Centenary (3-19, 0-14) and Oral Roberts (10-12, 8-6). The 'Roos will take on the Ladies in Shreveport, La., on Friday at 7 p.m., while squaring off with the Golden Eagles in Tulsa, Okla., on Sunday at 4 p.m.

Follow The 'Roos Online
All UMKC volleyball home and select road matches can be heard online at www.UMKCKangaroos.com during the 2010 season with all home matches being video streamed. The “Voice of UMKC Volleyball” T.J. Jackson, who is in his fifth season with the program, will provide all the play-by-play commentary for the broadcast. Check out Roo Vision for more details. You can also follow live stats for the 'Roos online at www.UMKCKangaroos.com.

The Opponents
Centenary comes into the week with a 3-19 record overall and a 0-14 mark in Summit League play with its only Division I win coming over Grambling, while dropping Summit League matches to Western Illinois and IUPUI last weekend. Junior Stevie Hurlbirt leads the Ladies with 215 kills, while sitting second on the team with 24 blocks and 154 digs. Sophomore Shelby Singleton, meanwhile, has a team-high 50 blocks and is second on the team with 138 kills. Freshman Bethany Nuttall and junior Caitlin Neese split the setting duties, as the duo has combined for 545 assists on the year. In the back row, junior Jaclyn Lopez has a team-leading 195 digs and 25 aces.
    Oral Roberts enters the match with a 10-12 record overall and an 8-6 mark in Summit League action, including a pair of Summit League victories last week over IUPUI and Western Illinois. Offensively, Tatum Fredeen leads the Golden Eagles, as the sophomore has registered a team-high 200 kills this season. Fellow sophomore Elizabeth McVicker has added 176 kills to the ORU attack, while freshman setter Laura Taylor leads the team with 497 assists. Defensively, Bruna Silva (243) and Cassidy Holmes (202) are tops on the team in digs, while McVicker has a team-high 63 blocks.

Series Record
UMKC will be facing Centenary for the 16th time, with the 'Roos leading the series 14-1. Earlier this season, the 'Roos won 3-0 in Kansas City, while sweeping the Ladies last season, with a 3-1 in Shreveport and 3-0 win at the SRC. The 'Roos are currently on a five-match winning streak against Centenary, out-scoring the Ladies 15-3 over the stretch.
    The 'Roos will be squaring off with Oral Roberts for the 42nd time in school history, more than any other opponent, with the Golden Eagles holding a 37-4 advantage in the series. ORU won the meeting earlier this season, 3-1. Last season, however, the 'Roos swept ORU, winning 3-1 in both Tulsa and Kansas City. The two wins marked the first time in school history that UMKC won in Tulsa and swept Oral Roberts and were the first victories over ORU since beating the Golden Eagles in 1993.

First Meetings
The 'Roos picked up their first Summit League win of the season with a dominating 3-0 win over Centenary on Sept. 18. In the match, the 'Roos hit a season-high .425, led by Demetria Williams' .727, Christiana McQuin's .643 and Kelsey Knoche's .500. Knoche led the team with 11 kills, while McQuin added nine and Williams eight. Defensively, Williams, Knoche and McQuin all finished with five blocks, while Knoche and Erin Wellwood recorded 10 digs each.
    On Sept. 16, UMKC lost its Summit League home opener to Oral Roberts. In the match, three 'Roos notched double-doubles, as Knoche recorded 11 kills and 15 digs, Elizabeth Beck finished with 10 kills and 14 digs and setter Ella Meier registered 21 assists and 14 digs in the loss. McQuin finished with a team-high 12 kills, while Nicole Kerkman, led the team with 18 digs. Sophomores Emily Lucas and Brittney Robers, meanwhile, added seven and six kills, respectively.

Last Time Out
On Friday night, UMKC dropped its match with North Dakota State, 3-1, at the Swinney Recreation Center. Leading the 'Roos in the match were juniors Kelsey Knoche (11 kills and 21 digs) and Elizabeth Beck (12 kills and 13 digs), as each recorded double-doubles. Ella Meier and Erin Wellwood led the team with 20 assists each, while Nicole Kerkman and Kayla Riggs added 14 and 13 digs, respectively. Christiana McQuin, meanwhile, added nine kills, seven digs and two blocks, while Meier and Jarema chipped in six kills each.
    The 'Roos then fell on Saturday night, 3-0, to South Dakota State. Leading the way for the 'Roos was junior Demetria Williams, who finished with a team-high nine kills, while McQuin finished with five kills and four aces. Wellwood led the squad with 14 assists, while Meier chipped in 11. Knoche and Kerkman, meanwhile, each registered 11 digs.

30 Career Double-Doubles
In the match against North Dakota State on Oct. 28, junior Kelsey Knoche notched her 30th career double-double in just her second season with the Blue and Gold. This season, the Lee's Summit native has posted a team-high 13 double-doubles after recording 17 a season ago. Fellow junior Erin Wellwood is second on the active double-double list with 22, including four this season, while Elizabeth Beck and Ella Meier are next on the list with nine and six, respectively.

Hitting The Road
UMKC will be making its final road trip of the season this weekend when it takes on Centenary in Shreveport, La., and Oral Roberts in Tulsa, Okla. This season the 'Roos have posted a mark of 3-10 in their 13 true road matches, picking up wins over IPFW, Western Illinois and Southern Utah and out-blocking their opponents a combined 118-112.

Double Digit Match
In the match with Southern Utah on Oct. 22, 11 different 'Roos saw action on the court and 10 different players posted double-digits in a major statistical category. Emily Lucas (12), Demetria Williams (11) and Christiana McQuin (11) each finished with doubles-digit kills, while Ella Meier (22), Erin Wellwood (11) and Holly Schmidt (10) all recorded 10 or more assists. Nicole Kerkman (17), Kelsey Knoche (15), Kayla Riggs (14) and Elizabeth Beck (13), meanwhile, all had over 10 digs.

Single-Season Record Books
For the third straight season, Christiana McQuin has placed her name among UMKC most prolific blockers, as the middle hitter's 82 block assists rank just outside the top-10 in a single-season in school history, trailing Julie Mohrfeld's total by 34 for the top spot. During her freshman campaign, the Wellington, Kan., native posted 89 block assists to rank 10th on the list, while her 101 from last season rank fourth. Teammate Nicole Kerkman's 3.88 digs per set this season, meanwhile, ranks eighth in school history.

1,000 Digs
Junior Nicole Kerkman became the sixth player in UMKC history to record over 1,000 career digs when the Omaha, Neb., native registered 22 in the match with IUPUI. Currently, the junior has 1,063 for her career, placing her in the club featuring UMKC career-digs leader Mandy Tipton (1,336), Angela Melka (1,239), Katie Keating (1,217), Jana Lacer (1,206) and Julie Mohrfeld (1,049).

Aced It
In the match with Western Illinois on Oct. 15, junior Kayla Riggs finished with a team season-high of six aces, which also set her career-high. In the match, Riggs got one ace early in the first set before reeling off three straight at the end of the second set. The would go on to add one more in the fourth set and one in the fifth.

Creeping Up The UMKC Career Records
Christiana McQuin leads a quartet of UMKC juniors who are steadily rising up the UMKC career record books with an additional year of eligibility remaining, as the Wellington, Kan., native ranks third with 272 block assists, fifth all-time with a .255 hitting percentage and 10th all-time with 41 solo blocks. Nicole Kerkman and Kelsey Knoche each rank among the top-10 in digs per set, with Kerkman sitting second with a mark of 3.52 digs per set and Knoche sixth at 3.18 digs per set. Kerkman has also moved into fifth place all-time with 1,062 career digs, while Knoche sits fourth all-time at 8.84 attacks per set and eighth all-time with 2.67 kills per set. Erin Wellwood, meanwhile, is fifth all-time in assists, as the setter as registered 1,352 in over two seasons in the Blue and Gold.

Five-Set Matches
Friday's match with Southern Utah marked the seventh time in nine matches and the fifth consecutive that the 'Roos have played five sets. In those matches, the 'Roos defeated reigning Summit League champion IPFW, Western Illinois and Southern Utah, while falling to Big 12 power Kansas State, SIU Edwardsville and Summit League foes Southern Utah and IUPUI. In the seven matches, UMKC has out-blocked its opponents a combined 87-71.5 and out-dug them 591-584.

Assists Assault
The UMKC lineup currently features a trio of setters who have all already reached the 100 assist mark this season. Sophomore Ella Meier leads the 'Roos in helpers, as the Lancaster, Pa., native has 514 assists in her second season as a 'Roo. Senior Holly Schmidt is second on the list, as the fourth-year 'Roos has notched 200 assists on the year, while junior Erin Wellwood sits at 175. As a team, UMKC has amassed 1,054 assists for a 10.33 assists per set average.

Junior Award Winners
In three season for the Blue and Gold, the UMKC junior class has claimed Summit League Player of the Week honors six times, all by a different player. Plano, Texas, native Brittany Fossier was the first to be honored, winning Defensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 15, 2008, during her freshman season. During their sophomore campaigns, Kelsey Knoche (10/26) and Elizabeth Beck (11/16) were each named Offensive Player of the Week, while Christiana McQuin (11/9) garnered Defensive Player of the Week honors. This season, meanwhile, Nicole Kerkman (9/13) and Demetria Williams (9/27) have each earned the Defensive Player of the Week award.

Carrying the 'Roos in League Play
A trio of 'Roos have taken over for the 'Roos in league play, as Kelsey Knoche (142), Christiana McQuin (131) and Elizabeth Beck (125) hold the squad's top three kill marks in league matches. The trio also rank as three of the squad's top four blockers in league action, with McQuin rejecting a team-high 52 attempts in Summit League play, while Beck and Knoche have amassed 33 and 24, respectively. In the back row, Knoche's 189 digs are second on the team and Beck's 143 are third, while McQuin's 20 aces and Knoche's 13 rank first and second on the squad.

Defensive Minded
This season, the 'Roos have put extra emphasis on the defensive side of their play, as the squad has finished with 10 or more blocks in 11 matches, including eight of the last 12, and 60 or more digs in 14 matches, including the 10 of the last 12. The 'Roos best match defensively came against the reigning Summit League champions, as the 'Roos finished with a season-high of 17 blocks and the third most digs of 87 against IPFW.

RPI Rating
The NCAA released its initial RPI Ratings this week and the 'Roos come in at No. 275, 27 spots ahead of fellow Summit League member Western Illinois. North Dakota State ranks the highest among Summit League schools at 95th, followed by IPFW (110), Oakland (186), South Dakota State (187), Southern Utah (201), Oral Roberts (223), IUPUI (263) and Centenary (322).

Rickert Named Interim Head Coach
Joan Rickert was named the Interim Head Coach for the UMKC volleyball program on Sept. 16, 2010. Rickert, who is in her fourth year with the 'Roos, served as the associate head coach prior to being elevated to the interim head coach. During her first three years at UMKC, Rickert served as an assistant coach.
    During the 2009 season, Rickert helped lead the Kangaroos to a 15-16 overall record. The 15 victories were the third most in school history, while the 10 league wins tied for the most all-time. Additionally, Rickert coached Christiana McQuin and Jamie Hagerman to the all-Summit League Second team and Hagerman to The Summit League all-Tournament Team.

Coming on Strong
Kelsey Knoche has picked up her game in the second half of the season, as the junior has a team-leading 143 kills over the stretch, while registering the second most digs with 192. The Lee's Summit native has also produced eight double-doubles, led the squad in kills six times and finished with 10 or more digs 11 times in that time period. Christiana McQuin, meanwhile, has a team-high .268 hitting percentage and 58 blocks, along with 120 kills over that same stretch.

Battling with the Wildcats
Sept. 28 match-up with Kansas State featured the 'Roos best performance in 21 meetings against the perennial national power Wildcats. In the match, UMKC took two sets for the first time ever against the team that has landed 13 players on the all-Big 12 First Team, five on the AVCA all-American team and finished in top-25 of the AVCA Coaches' Poll seven times since 2001, while notching 13 blocks against the Wildcats.

Blocking the 'Dons
In the match at IPFW on Sept. 25, UMKC finished with a Summit League season-high 17 blocks. Leading the way at the net for the 'Roos was junior Demetria Williams who registered 12 blocks, a new UMKC record for blocks in a five-set match. Elizabeth Beck, meanwhile, finished with seven blocks, a new career-high, while Kelsey Knoche (4), Ella Meier (4), Christiana McQuin (3), Ella Meier (4) and Brittney Robers (1) all were in on the action.

Saturday Ballers
Thus far in the 2010 season, UMKC has loved playing on Saturdays and loathed playing on Fridays. On Saturdays, the 'Roos have a massed six wins compared to a 2-7 record in matches on Friday.

Getting It Down
In the match with Centenary, the UMKC volleyball team turned in a complete and dominant performance with a 3-0 win over the Ladies. Most impressively in the match, the 'Roos out-hit Centenary .425-.011, committing only four errors in the match, while four players finished with four or more kills and no errors.

Kerkman Named Summit League Defensive Player of the Week
Junior Nicole Kerkman was named The Summit League Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 13 after posting a career-high 27 digs against North Dakota State on Sept. 11. The junior added 16 digs against both Drake on Sept. 7 and South Dakota State on Sept. 10 to give her 59 total digs for the week with a 5.36 digs per set average. The honor was the first of the libero's career.

Williams Named Summit League Defensive Player of the Week
Demetria Williams was named The Summit League Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 27 after posting a UMKC five-set record and Summit League season-high 12 blocks against IPFW. The junior added four blocks against Oakland on Friday to give her 16 total blocks for the week with a 2.00 blocks per set average. In the match with the 'Dons, Williams also registered 14 kills, giving her the first double-double of her career. The middle hitter has led the squad in blocks in three of the past four matches to give her a total of 31 blocks for the season.

Streaking 'Roos
Two 'Roos are in the midst of impressive steaks, led by Ella Meier, as the sophomore has reached the double figure mark in assists in 21 of her last 22 matches, while Nicole Kerkman has recorded 10 or more digs in 20 of the last 22 matches. Meier, in fact, has recorded 20 or more assists in 14 of the last 20 matches, while reaching double figures in all but two matches the entire season and setting her career-high with 42 assists against South Dakota State. Kerkman, meanwhile, has reached double-digit digs in 22 matches, with a career-high 28 against Southern Utah.

Out-Play to Win
When the 'Roos out-kill, out-hit and out-assist their opponent they have a good shot at winning the match, as the squad holds a 7-1 record when they out-hit the opposition, a 5-1 record when they out-kill them and a 5-2 record when they finish with more assists than their opponent. In the eight wins, the team has out-killed their opponents 334-262, out-hit their opponents .257-.093 and out-assisted them 303-246.

Beck Named To Arkansas Invitational and Hampton Inn & Suites Northern Colorado Volleyball Classic All-Tournament Teams
Junior Elizabeth Beck was named to the Arkansas Invitational all-Tournament team after posting team-highs of 38 kills and six service aces in the three matches, while also notching 30 digs, six assists and four blocks with a .252 hitting percentage. Beck was also selected to the Hampton Inn & Suites Northern Colorado Volleyball Classic all-Tournament team after leading the team with 52 kills and a .308 hitting percentage, while finishing with 20 digs and nine blocks.

New Career-Highs
Several 'Roos have set new career-highs this season, led by Emily Lucas. Lucas, in her sophomore season, notched 13 kills against Grambling, besting her previous high of 10, while also recording six blocks against Georgia. Ella Meier's 42 assists against South Dakota State and seven blocks against Fairfield were also a new high, while Elizabeth Beck's 18 kills against Georgia, four aces against Grambling and seven blocks against IPFW set new personal bests. Brittney Robers' 11 kills and .409 hitting percentage against Kansas State and her eight digs and Holly Schmidt's .750 hitting percentage against the Tigers, meanwhile, were also career-highs. Also registering career-high this season for the 'Roos are Nicole Kerkman in digs (27), Chloe Jarema in kills (nine), hitting percentage (.421), Christiana McQuin in hitting percentage (.643), solo blocks (four) and digs (11), Kayla Riggs in aces (six) and Demetria Williams in kills (14), hitting percentage (.727) and blocks (12).

Summit League Individual Leaders
Junior Demetria Williams leads a group of three 'Roos among The Summit League stat leaders, as the middle-hitter sits second in the league with 1.10 blocks per set. Nicole Kerkman, meanwhile, is sixth in digs (3.88), while Christiana McQuin is eighth in aces per set (.28).

Summit League Team Leaders
UMKC sits in the top half of four categories in The Summit League, including leading the league with 2.17 blocks per set.   The 'Roos also sit third in the league in aces (1.36), while sitting fifth in the league in opponent hitting percentage (.183) and digs (16.10).

Summit League Individual Match Highs
Demetria Williams leads the squad on the Summit League's match high ranking, as the junior recorded a Summit League season-high 12 blocks against IPFW and the 18th most with seven against Western Illinois. Christiana McQuin (8, 8 & 7), Ella Meier (7) and Elizabeth Beck (7 & 7), also make the rankings as the trio sits 10th, 10th and 18th, 18th, and 18th and 18th in blocks for all matches, while McQuin and Meier's totals are first and second in blocks for a three-set match. Kayla Riggs' six aces against Western Illinois, meanwhile, are the second most in the league this season.

Summit League Team Match Highs
The 'Roos sit among the league ranking as a team in several categories, including amassing the second, sixth, seventh, 12th and 12th highest totals in the league with 17 blocks in the match with IPFW, 15 blocks against Fairfield, 14 blocks at IUPUI and the 13 blocks against Kansas State and SIU Edwardsville. The 'Roos also sit fourth in hitting percentage with their .425 mark against Centenary. The 63 kills against the Leathernecks rank 14th in the league. The 99 digs against Southern Utah, meanwhile, are sixth best in the league, while the 12 aces against Grambling State and the 11 against Centenary rank second and eighth, respectively.

NCAA Statistical Rankings
As a team, the UMKC volleyball team ranks in the top-260 in six categories among the NCAA statistical rankings, including 68th in digs per set (16.10), 97th in blocks per set (2.17), 101st in aces per set (1.36), 246th in hitting percentage (.162), 25th in kills per set (11.30) and 260th in assists per set (10.33). Individually, Christiana McQuin is 169th in blocks per set (.98), while Nicole Kerkman is 183rd in digs per set (3.88).

'Roos Picked Third In Summit League Preseason Poll
The 'Roos were picked to finish third in The Summit League preseason poll. UMKC, who returns five starters from its 2009 squad, finished with 54 points in a voting of a league's 10 head coaches. North Dakota State was the unanimous vote as the preseason favorite for the second straight season, earning nine first place votes and finishing with 81 points. 2009 Summit League Tournament champion IPFW earned the final first place tally and finished second with 64 points. Oakland was fourth, behind UMKC, with 53 points, followed by South Dakota State (49), IUPUI (47), Oral Roberts (39), Southern Utah (35), Western Illinois (19) and Centenary (9).

Captains Schmidt and Knoche
Senior Holly Schmidt and junior Kelsey Knoche were chosen as captains for the 2010 squad. Schmidt, who is entering her fourth season in the Blue and Gold, has played all over the court in her three seasons, including serving as one of the team's two setters in 2009, amassing 446 assists. Knoche, meanwhile, enters her second season at UMKC after transferring from the University of Memphis. Last year, the junior registered a team-high 312 kills, while finishing second on the team with 355 digs.

Last Season
The UMKC volleyball team had one of its best seasons in 2009, finishing the year with a 15-16 overall record and a 10-8 mark and fourth place finish in The Summit League. The 15-16 record was the second highest winning percentage in school history, while also being only the third time in school history that the team has reached the 15 win mark. The fourth place finish was good enough to put the 'Roos in The Summit League Tournament for the first time since 2003. The 10 league wins tied the school record for the most league wins in a season, while the squad's 7-3 mark in home matches was the best in school history. During the season, UMKC also swept Oral Roberts for the first time ever, snapping a 34-match losing streak and giving the 'Roos only their third and fourth wins over the Golden Eagles, while also taking their first set from Kansas State since 1993.

Adams Joins the Coaching Staff
Heather Adams joined the UMKC volleyball program as an assistant coach after serving as an assistant coach at Brush Middle School in Brush, Colo. Before her time at Brush, Adams worked as the junior varsity head coach and assistant varsity coach at Clear Creek High School in Idaho Springs, Colo. Adams played collegiate volleyball at Western State College of Colorado in Gunnison, Colo., for five seasons, where she served as the team captain during her senior year. The middle hitter closed out her career as a Mountaineer by being named First Team all-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and Second Team all-Region honors. This came on the heels of earning second team all-conference honors as a junior.

Second Team All-League Honorees
2009 marked the first time since Vanessa Portela earned First Team all-Summit League honors in 2005, that the 'Roos put a player on either the first or second all-league teams, as last year both Jamie Hagerman and Christiana McQuin were selected as Second Team all-Summit League honorees. Last season also marked the first time since 2003 that two 'Roos were honored in the same season, as Lindsey Zerr was named First Team all-Mid-Con and Sara Foster was named Second Team all-Mid-Con that year. Hagerman, meanwhile, was also named to The Summit League all-Tournament team, marking the first time UMKC has had a representative since Noe Perreira was honored in 2002.

NCAA Public Recognition Award
The UMKC volleyball team was one of 841 Division I sports teams to receive NCAA Public Recognition Awards for their exceptional work in the classroom as part of the organization's Academic Performance Program. The awards are handed out annually to teams scoring in the top-10 percent in each sport with their APRs. High-performing teams receiving public recognition awards this year posted APR scores ranging from 978 to a perfect 1,000. The number of teams in some sports may exceed 10 percent depending on how many achieved perfect scores. The most recent APRs are multi-year rates based on scores from the 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 academic year.

'Roos in The Classroom
Last season, 11 'Roos were named to The Summit League Academic all-Conference team, including current 'Roos Elizabeth Beck, Brittany Fossier, Nicole Kerkman, Kelsey Knoche, Christina McCarthy, Christiana McQuin, Ella Meier and Erin Wellwood. In order to be named to academic all-League team, each student-athlete must post a GPA of 3.0 or higher in the semester in which they compete. Additionally, three 'Roos were named distinguished scholars for posting a GPA above 3.6, including Beck.
    Meanwhile, five current player and six total were named to the Commissioner's List of Academic Excellence, including McCarthy, Beck, Fossier, Kerkman and Wellwood, for posting a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better.