Kansas City
IPFW
?Roos Come From Two Sets Down To Knock Off IPFW In Five
11/4/2011 8:53:00 PM | Volleyball
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.
In the match, the Kangaroos fell behind 2-0 after dropping the first set 25-17 and the second, 25-22, but shifted the momentum of the match with a dominating 25-13 victory in the third set.
The 'Roos opened the set scoring the first five points on two kills from senior Christiana McQuin and one each from Beck and Knoche. After an IPFW point, two more Knoche kills and one from Meier extended the UMKC lead to 8-1 after the first nine points. The 'Dons closed the margin to five at 10-5, but two kills from Lucas, one from Meier and one from senior Demetria Williams pushed the lead to 11. UMKC would increase its lead to as many as 12 on three separate occasion, lastly at 21-9, before scoring the final two points of the set to cut the lead in half.
In the fourth set, UMKC again took an early lead after scoring six of the first seven points. The Kangaroos went on to increase their lead to as many as eight at 18-10 on a Lucas kill, but a 10-4 run by IPFW closed the margin to two late at 22-20. UMKC would not be denied though, as the squad reeled off the final three points to take the set 25-20 and force a deciding fifth set.
With momentum on their side, the 'Roos opened up the fifth set with three straight kills to take the first three points of the set. IPFW sliced the lead to two at 6-4, but a 3-0 run by UMKC extended the lead to 9-4 in favor of the Kangaroos. The 'Dons then scored the next two points of the match, but those would be their final two points, as UMKC closed out the match on a 6-0 run to claim their fifth consecutive Summit League victory.
Defensively for the 'Roos, senior Nicole Kerkman led the squad with a team-high 18 digs, while Knoche and senior Erin Wellwood added 16 and 12, respectively. At the net, the 'Roos out-blocked the Mastodons, 14-8, including a team-high seven by Williams and four each from McQuin and Lucas.
The Blue & Gold will be back in action again on Sunday when they welcome in Oakland to Kansas City for a 2 p.m. match where the seven 'Roo seniors will be honored.
