'Roos To Wrap-Up Season On The Road Against Jackrabbits, Bison
11/10/2011 10:18:00 AM | Volleyball
The Opponents
South Dakota State enters the match with a 13-18 record overall and a 5-11 mark in league play after beating Oral Roberts on Saturday. The Jacks are led on the season by Kelli Fiegen's 385 kills, while Kaitlin Klingemann has amassed 281. Lexi Fowler, meanwhile, tops the team with 1,095 assists and Shay Birath has a team-high 602 digs.
North Dakota State, meanwhile, enters the weekend with a 22-8 record overall and a 14-2 mark in The Summit League, good for first place in the standings. Offensively, four Bison have topped the 200 kill mark, including Brynn Joki (324) and two-time Summit League Player of the Year Chrissy Knuth (256). Setting up the offense is Jennifer Lopez (1,134 assists), while Andrea Henning's 459 digs are tops on the team.
Series Record
This will be the 12th meeting between SDSU and UMKC with the Jackrabbits holding a 10-1 edge in the series, including a 3-0 victory on Sep. 19. NDSU, meanwhile, holds a 12-0 record against the 'Roos after winning 3-1 earlier this season in Kansas City.
Last Week
The 'Roos pushed their Summit League winning streak to five matches with a 3-2 victory over second place IPFW on Friday night at the Swinney Recreation Center after trailing 2-0 in the match. The win marks the third straight match that the 'Roos have trailed and comeback to win in five sets. Offensively, three 'Roos finished with double-digit kills, led by senior Kelsey Knoche's 17, while fellow senior Elizabeth Beck added 14 and junior Emily Lucas 13. Setting up the offense was Ella Meier, as the junior notched 44 assists, to go along with 18 digs, five blocks, including two solo, and two kills.
UMKC had its five match Summit League win streak snapped on Sunday afternoon after falling 3-1 to Oakland at the Swinney Recreation Center. Leading the way for the 'Roos was Beck, as the Omaha, Neb., native finished with a match-high 19 kills with a .347 hitting percentage. Meier, meanwhile, recorded her seventh consecutive double-double and 17 of the season after notching 34 assists and 21 digs, while adding three blocks.
Senior Power
This season, the 'Roos have seven senior student-athletes, whose years in the Blue & Gold span from one to four years. In their combined 22 seasons, Elizabeth Beck, Nicole Kerkman, Kelsey Knoche, Christiana McQuin, Kara Thomas, Erin Wellwood and Demetria Williams have combined for 2,158 sets played over 605 matches, while amassing 2,889 kills, 1,823 assists, 349 service aces, 4,316 digs, 111 solo blocks, 814 block assists, 925 total blocks and a .174 hitting percentage.
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 ninth all-time in league history with 1,579 digs and tied for ninth with a 3.87 digs/set mark, while McQuin holds the UMKC records for both block assists (360) and total blocks (419). The 419 total blocks place her ninth all-time in league annals.
Five Straight
The 'Roos recently had a five-match Summit League winning streak snapped by Oakland after downing Southern Utah (3-1), South Dakota (3-2) and IPFW (3-2) at home and IUPUI (3-2) and Western Illinois (3-2) on the road. The streak was the longest since the squad won five straight from 10/9-24/09 against Centenary, Oral Roberts, Western Illinois, IUPUI and Southern Utah.
Statistical Rankings
As a team, the UMKC volleyball team currently ranks atop The Summit League rankings with a 2.46 blocks per set average, good for 50th nationally. In the back row, the 'Roos rank 24th in the NCAA in digs (17.54), while Nicole Kerkman is 61st with a 4.87 digs per set average.
