'Roos Set To Open Summit League Play
9/14/2011 10:35:00 AM | Volleyball
(Kansas City, Mo.) - The UMKC volleyball team (5-4) will get its Summit League schedule underway this week when they visit Southern Utah (2-8) on Sept. 15 at 8 p.m. and Oral Roberts (7-3) on Sept. 17 at 5 p.m. before hosting South Dakota State (8-4) on Sept. 19 at 6:30 p.m.
The Opponents
Southern Utah enters the match with a 2-8 record, picking up wins over Utah State and Cal State Northridge this season. Junior Analaine Pelaez-Mailoto leads the Thunderbirds, as the outside hitter captured her fourth career Offensive Player of the Week honor after tallying three-straight matches of 20-kill performances and two double-doubles last weekend. For the weekend, she averaged 4.50 kills per set, a .324 hitting percentage (63-19-136), 33 digs, nine assists, seven blocks and three service aces.
Oral Roberts enters the week with a Summit League leading 7-3 record and are currently riding a seven match winning streak. The Golden Eagles are led in kills by Sheina Fernandes with 103 total and 2.71 per set, while Jessica Pancratz (.319) and Elizabeth McVicker (.280) are tops on the team in hitting. Laura Taylor, meanwhile, serves as ORU's setter, while Bruna Silva leads the team in digs.
South Dakota State enters the week with an 8-4 record including a win over future Summit League opponent Nebraska-Omaha. Junior Kelli Fiegan leads the Jacks, as the middle hitter earned her third career Offensive Player of the Week selection after helping the Jackrabbits post a 3-2 record last week and being named to her third all-tournament team of the season. The junior middle hitter posted a .370 hitting percentage or better in four-of-five matches, including three matches with only one error. For the week, Fiegen recorded a .406 clip (66-14-128), averaging 3.88 kills per set, 20 blocks (1.18 bps), four digs and three assists.
Series Record
This will be the fifth meeting between the 'Roos and the Thunderbirds with the two squads splitting the previous four matches. Last season each team won on the opponents home floor 3-2. ORU and UMKC will be playing for the 33rd time with the Golden Eagles leading the series 38-4 after sweeping the 'Roos in 2010. This will be the 11th meeting between SDSU and UMKC with the Jackrabbits holding a 9-1 edge in the series, including a pair of victories a season ago.
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.
Summit League Leaders
The UMKC volleyball team sits atop The Summit League rankings in a pair of categories, including opponent hitting percentage (.149) and blocks (2.60 per set). Individually, Brittany Fossier (1.29) and Christiana McQuin (1.06) are first and third in the league in blocks, while Emily Lucas (0.38) ranks third in aces and ninth in kills. Nicole Kerkman, meanwhile, ranks fourth in the league in digs with 4.69 per set and Ella Meier 10th in assists at 5.17 per set.
'Roos Picked Seventh in Preseason Poll
The 'Roos were picked to finish seventh in The Summit League Preseason Coaches Poll, receiving 25 points, trailing sixth place IUPUI by seven points for the sixth spot in the poll. First year 'Roo head coach Christi Posey returns all six starters and the libero from the 2010 squad, including 2009 Second Team all-Summit League selection Christiana McQuin. This year's UMKC line-up will feature six former Summit League Players of the Week and 12 upperclassmen on the 13 person roster. Leading the offensive attack for the Kangaroos will be seniors Elizabeth Beck (294 kills, 2.53 kills/set, 276 digs) and Kelsey Knoche (293 kills, 2.50 kills/set, 360 digs), while fellow senior Nicole Kerkman (3.88 digs/set) will lead the squad's defensive effort.
1,000 Digs
Nicole Kerkman became the sixth player in UMKC history to record over 1,000 career digs when the Omaha, Neb., native registered 22 on Oct. 16, 2010 against IUPUI. Entering her final season, the senior is third on the charts with 1,227 digs, 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).
Creeping Up the UMKC Career Records
Christiana McQuin leads a quartet of UMKC seniors who are steadily rising up the UMKC career record books as they enter their final season of competition, as the Wellington, Kan., native ranks third with 312 block assists, fifth all-time with a .255 hitting percentage and tied for eighth all-time with 50 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 3.64 digs per set and Knoche sixth at 3.10 digs per set. Kerkman has also moved into third place all-time with 1,227 career digs, while Knoche sits fifth all-time at 8.73 attacks per set and tied for eighth all-time with 2.65 kills per set. Erin Wellwood, meanwhile, is fifth all-time in assists, as the setter as registered 1,360 in over two seasons in the Blue and Gold, while junior Brittany Fossier is 10th with 199 block assists.
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. At Kansas, Posey worked with the team's setters and defensive specialist and oversaw the development of many impressive Jayhawks, including 2010 team members Melissa Manda and Nicole Tate.
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 1999 Johnson County Volleyball Coach of the Year by the Kansas City Star, 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.
