Kansas City
Oral Roberts
UMKC Falls In Swinney, 3-1, To Oral Roberts
10/14/2011 8:43:00 PM | Volleyball
(Kansas City, Mo.) - The UMKC volleyball team (6-14, 0-10) dropped its Summit League match on Friday night, 3-1, to Oral Roberts (16-4, 9-1) at the Swinney Recreation Center.
Junior setter Ella Meier led the 'Roos with 34 assists, nine digs and four blocks, while Emily Lucas registered a team-high 13 kills and senior Nicole Kerkman finished with a game-high 28 digs.
In the opening set, the Golden Eagles jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a 25-14 first set victory, but the 'Roos quickly answered with a 25-22 second set win to tie the match at one set apiece.
In the second set, the 'Roos fell behind 8-4 before a 5-0 run, including an ace and a kill from senior Christiana McQuin, put UMKC in front 9-8, 17 points in. ORU would battle back to take a 13-11 lead, but four straight from the Kangaroos gave UMKC the lead once again. Oral Roberts again fought back to tie the set at 15. The 'Roos, though, would capitalize on four ORU errors and two kills from Lucas and one each from McQuin and senior Kelsey Knoche, to tie the match heading into intermission.
Coming out of the break, the two squads battled back-and-forth early, splitting the first 20 points. ORU then opened up a 17-14 lead, before UMKC battled back to tie the set at 20 on a kill by senior Demetria Williams. The Golden Eagles, though, scored the final five points of the set for a 25-20 win.
In the fourth set, the Golden Eagles wrapped up the match with a 25-20 win. The teams were tied at 10 for a second consecutive set, before a 4-1 UMKC run, capped by a kill from Knoche, put the 'Roos in front 14-11. From that point, ORU went on an 8-3 run to claim a 19-16 lead in the set. The 'Roos closed to within two at 19-17, but six of the next nine points by Oral Roberts gave them the 3-1 match victory.
For the Kangaroos, Knoche recorded nine kills and eight digs, while Williams had eight kills. At the net, UMKC notched 15 kills, including eight from McQuin and three each from senior Elizabeth Beck, Williams and sophomore Chloe Jarema.
The Blue & Gold will be back in action again Sunday when they welcome in Southern Utah to Kansas City for a 2 p.m. match at the Swinney Recreation Center.
