Kangaroos Ready For Summit League Showdowns With IUPUI, WIU
10/27/2011 9:31:00 AM | Volleyball
The Opponents
IUPUI enters the match with a 12-13 record overall and a 6-7 mark in Summit League play after falling to league foes Southern Utah and Oral Roberts last weekend and defeating Valparaiso on Tuesday. The Jaguars are led by Bethany Fogler, as the junior has twice been named Summit League Defensive Player of the Week after totaling 110 blocks and 173 kills on the season. Offensively, Moriah Fair (269), Kalyse Reimbold (241) and Kelsey Hoefer (233) have all topped 200 kills on the season, while senior Shari Bernhardt leads the squad with 508 digs and Alexis Meeks has 901 assists.
Western Illinois, meanwhile, enters the weekend with an 11-13 record overall and a 3-10 mark in league play after losing to Southern Utah and Oral Roberts last weekend. Offensively, three Leatherneck's have topped the 200 kill mark, including Cait Egan (238), Katie Hosteng (216) and Ann Miller (213), while Sarah Fetter has 774 assists setting up the offense. Defensively, Bridget Murphy has a team-high 471 digs, while Miller (294) and Molly Murphy (255) are each over 250 digs.
Series Record
Western Illinois holds a 21-12 all-time series lead against UMKC, including a 3-1 win on Sep. 30 in Kansas City. Last season, UMKC swept WIU. IUPUI, meanwhile, holds a 19-9 series lead after a 3-0 on Oct. 2 at the Swinney Recreation Center.
Last Week
On Wednesday, UMKC dropped a five-set match to future Summit League foe Nebraska-Omaha, 3-2 at the Swinney Recreation Center. Junior Ella Meier led the 'Roos with a career-high 27 digs, while her 39 assists and seven kills rank as season-highs. Senior Nicole Kerkman, meanwhile, notched career-highs with 32 digs and four aces, while adding seven assists.
On Saturday, the Kangaroos picked up their second straight Summit League win with a 3-2 win over South Dakota. In the match for the 'Roos, four players finished with 10 or more kills, including seniors Kelsey Knoche (18), Elizabeth Beck (14) and Christiana McQuin (11) and junior Emily Lucas (12). Meier, meanwhile, finished with a career-high 43 assists setting up the UMKC offense.
Spreading It Around
The 2011 UMKC volleyball team has featured a balanced line-up to this point in the season. Through 22 matches, the squad has had eight different players lead the team in blocks, seven in aces, four in kills and digs, three in attacks and two in assists.
Making Their Mark
UMKC seniors Nicole Kerkman and Christiana McQuin have each made their mark on both the UMKC and Summit League record books. Kerkman, who now holds the UMKC career record for digs, sits 10th all-time in league history with 1,477 digs, while McQuin holds the UMKC records for both block assists (345) and total blocks (402). The 402 total blocks place her 14th all-time in league annals.
Senior Power
The 2011-12 senior class consists of seven different student-athletes whose years in the Blue & Gold span from one to four years. In their combined 22 seasons, the seven seniors have combined for 2,031 sets played over 577 matches, while amassing 2,735 kills, 1,778 assists, 335 service aces, 4,006 digs, 104 solo blocks, 764 block assists, 868 total blocks and a .175 hitting percentage.
Statistical Rankings
As a team, the UMKC volleyball team currently ranks atop The Summit League rankings with a 2.34 blocks per set average, good for 67th nationally. Defensively, the 'Roos rank 42nd in the NCAA in digs (16.74), while Nicole Kerkman is 66th with a 4.76 digs per set average.
Five 'Roos Honored As All-Tournament Performers
Five different 'Roos were honored this preseason as all-tournament performers, led by senior Nicole Kerkman who was named to the Black Knights Invitational and Kangaroo Klassic all-Tournament Teams. Teammates Emily Lucas and Christiana McQuin garnered honors at the Black Knights Invitational and Kangaroo Klassic, respectively, while Kelsey Knoche and Chloe Jarema earned all-tournament honors at the Radford Tournament.
First Tournament Sweep Since 2002
With its three game sweep and tournament title at the Radford Tournament on Sept. 2-3, the UMKC volleyball team captured its first 3-0 tournament performance since the Southern Illinois Tournament in 2002. That year, the 'Roos defeated Murray State, 3-1, Central Michigan, 3-1 and host Southern Illinois 3-2.
Players of the Week
The UMKC roster currently features six players who have claimed Summit League Player of the Week honors. 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 (10/26/09) and Elizabeth Beck (11/16/09) were each named Offensive Player of the Week, while Christiana McQuin (11/9/09) garnered Defensive Player of the Week honors. Last season, meanwhile, Nicole Kerkman (9/13/10) and Demetria Williams (9/27/10) each earned the Defensive Player of the Week award.
Last Season
In 2010, the 'Roos finished the campaign with a 9-21 record overall and a 6-12 mark in Summit League play, finishing eighth in the league. Offensively, the 'Roos were led by a trio of then juniors, including Elizabeth Beck (294 k), Kelsey Knoche (293 k) and Christiana McQuin (240 k), while then sophomore Ella Meier finished with a team-high 590 assists. Defensively, six Kangaroos recorded over 150 digs, led by Nicole Kerkman's 396 and Knoche's 360. At the net, McQuin (112 b) and Demetria Williams (81 b) were the squad's top two blockers.
Head Coach Christi Posey
Christi Posey was named the new head coach of the Kangaroo volleyball program on Feb. 14, 2011, after spending the past eleven seasons as the top assistant and recruiting coordinator at the University of Kansas. Prior to heading to Lawrence, Posey served as the head volleyball coach at Blue Valley Northwest High School in Overland Park, Kan., from 1993 to 2000. During that time, Posey led the Huskies to KSHSAA state tournaments in each of her eight season, winning the state championships in 1996 and 1997, while finishing third three times. While coaching the Huskies, she was named the 1997 Coach of the Year by the Kansas Volleyball Association and Kansas Sport Magazine after leading her team to a perfect 44-0 record, including a second-straight KSHSAA state championship and the 1996 Coach of the Year by Kansas Sport Magazine and Sports Connection after guiding her team to a 41-3 record and the state championship.
'Roos in The Classroom
Last season, eight 'Roos were named to The Summit League Academic all-Conference team, including current 'Roos Elizabeth Beck, Nicole Kerkman, Kelsey Knoche, Christiana McQuin, Ella Meier, Brittney Robers 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, five 'Roos were named distinguished scholars for posting a GPA above 3.6, including Beck.
Meanwhile, seven current player and eight total were named to the Commissioner's List of Academic Excellence, including Beck, Kerkman, Knoche, McQuin, Meier, Kara Thomas and Wellwood, for posting a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better.
