Kansas City
Chicago State
?Roos Pick Up First Win Of Season Over Chicago State
9/2/2011 5:13:00 PM | Volleyball
(Kansas City, Mo.) - The UMKC volleyball team (1-3) notched their first win of the season with a 3-1 victory over former Summit League foe Chicago State in the opening game of the Radford Tournament on Friday afternoon.
In the match, senior Kelsey Knoche led the 'Roos with 13 kills, eight digs and three blocks, while junior Emily Lucas (14) and senior Elizabeth Beck (10) each finished with double digit kill totals.
In the first set, the 'Roos took an early 2-0 lead but the Cougars fought back to tie the set at four. UMKC then used a 10-1 run to push the lead to 14-5 on a kill by senior Christiana McQuin. The Kangaroos would extend the lead to as many as 11 before taking the set 25-17 on a Lucas kill.
In the second set, UMKC fell behind 6-1 early and trailed by five as late as 15-10. The 'Roos though reeled off nine straight points to take a 19-15 lead. Chicago State then tied the match at 21 late, but after trading the next four points, the Kangaroos got kills from junior Ella Meier and Lucas to win 25-23 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
After dropping the third set 25-19, the Kangaroos closed out the match with a 25-18 win in the third set. The two teams were tied at 11 midway through the set, but a 6-1 run by UMKC gave the 'Roos a 17-12 lead and forced a Chicago State timeout. After the timeout, UMKC extended the lead to as many as six twice before a block by McQuin and Lucas gave the squad the 25-18 win.
In the match, the UMKC setting duo of junior Brittney Robers (23) and Meier (21) combined for 44 assists, while senior Nicole Kerkman registered a team-high 12 digs in the back row. At the net, junior Annie Gladbach collected a team-high four of the 'Roos 10 total blocks.
The Blue & Gold will be back in action again tomorrow when they close out the tournament with USC Upstate at 9:30 a.m. and Radford at 6 p.m.
