Kangaroos Set To Host South Dakota In Annual Think Pink, Cheer Blue Match
10/25/2012 4:44:00 PM | Volleyball
Think Pink, Cheer Blue
The match against South Dakota will be the 'Roos annual Think Pink match where fans are encouraged to wear pink in support of stopping breast cancer. Fans are invited to RSVP to a pregame reception at 5:30 and for $10 can purchase a ticket to the reception and match, as well as receive a Think Pink t-shirt.
The Opponent
South Dakota enters the match with a 10-14 record overall and a 4-8 mark in Summit League play after defeating Omaha and Oakland in two of their last three contests. Offensively, two-time Summit League Player of the Week, Kendall Kritenbrink, leads the team with 336 kills, while Amber Aschoff has 200. Four other Coyotes, meanwhile, have topped 100 kills, while Tori Kroll's 868 assists are tops on the team. Defensively, Riley Haug's 302 digs are tops on the team, while four others have over 135.
Series History
Kansas City leads the all-time series between the two schools 3-1, after winning 3-2 in Vermillion on Sep. 29. Last season, each team won on its home court with the Coyotes taking the match 3-0 in Vermillion and the 'Roos winning 3-2 in Kansas City. The only other meeting between the two teams came in 2010 with the Kangaroos winning 3-0 at the Hampton Inn & Suites Northern Colorado Volleyball Classic in Greeley, Colo.
Last Time Out
The Kansas City volleyball team (15-10) reached 15 wins for just the third time in school history with its 3-0 win over Southeast Missouri State (16-10) on Tuesday night at the Swinney Recreation Center. The 15 wins this season match the total by the 2009 squad and now trail only the 20 victories by the 1999 edition of the Kangaroos.
In the match, the 'Roos hit .252 as a team, while freshmen Skyler Muff (.400), Nicole Wemhoff (.333), Sydney Crimmins (.333) and Emma Hagedorn (.333) all hit over .320 in the contest. For Wemhoff, her 38 assists, five kills and .333 hitting percentage all rank as new career-highs for the Kansas City, Mo., native.
Winning Ways
This season, the 'Roos have already amassed 15 wins, tied for the second most all-time, trailing only the 20 wins by the 1999 squad, while their current .800 home winning percentage is the best mark in UMKC history. The 'Roos current four match home winning streak, meanwhile, is tied for the third longest streak.
Hagedorn Named Summit League Defensive POW
Freshman Emma Hagedorn captures her first career Defensive Player of the Week award after averaging 2.17 blocks per set on the week. The Parkville, Mo., native opened the week tallying four blocks against the league's leading offense, Fort Wayne. She came back in the next match to record nine blocks at Oakland. On the week, Hagedorn recorded 13 blocks, including 11 block assists and two solo blocks, for her 2.17 average, which is nearly .50 blocks per set better than the NCAA leader.
Joining The Record Book
Currently, several 'Roos have placed their names inside the Kansas City record book, including senior setter Ella Meier who has moved into third all-time with 1858 career assists, while senior Brittany Fossier is fifth all-time in block assists with 242. Emma Hagedorn, meanwhile, sits fifth with a single season hitting percentage of .273, Taryn Miller is second in career and fifth in single season digs per set (4.65) and sixth in digs (442) and Lucas is ninth in kills per set (3.70).
'Roos In Five
This season, the Kangaroos have played in seven five-set matches coming out victorious in six with wins against George Washington, Gardner-Webb, Western Illinois, Oakland, Omaha and South Dakota while falling only to Charlotte. In the matches, UMKC has out-hit its opponents .217 to .191, while registering more kills, assists, aces, digs and blocks.
Killer Lucas
This season, senior Emily Lucas has notched a team-high 337 kills and three times reached her career-high, including registering 34 at South Dakota. 16 times she has led the 'Roos in kills and 15 times reached double figures, while currently, leading the league in kills (228) and kills per set (4.75) in league matches.
Roos In The RPI
Currently, the 'Roos rank 133rd in the NCAA's RPI rankings, the fourth best mark in The Summit League behind Fort Wayne (56), Oakland (114) and IUPUI (119).
Winning With Efficiency
This season when the 'Roos hit well, they win. Currently, they have a record of 15-0 when they finish with a higher attack percentage than their opponent and an 0-10 record when they are out-hit.
NCAA Top-100's
For the 'Roos, Emily Lucas ranks 87th in the NCAA in kills per set (3.73) and 93rd in points per set (4.21), while Taryn Miller is 93rd in digs per set (4.67).
Aces High
To date, freshman Taryn Miller has notched a Summit League-high 31 aces, including twice landing four, while Sublette, Kan., native Emily Lucas is third with 28, including a career-high five against Omaha. Overall, Miller's 0.33 aces per set is tops in the league, with Lucas third at 0.31. As a team, the 'Roos are second in the league with 120 aces and second at 1.26 aces per set.
Preseason All-Tourney Team Selections
Three members of the Kansas City volleyball team were named to all-tournament teams, led by Skyler Muff who garnered honors at both the UniWyo Cowgirl Classic and the Runnin' Bulldog Classic. Freshmen Taryn Miller, meanwhile, was also named to the UniWyo Cowgirl Classic All-Tournament Team, while Emily Lucas was placed on the North Texas Invitational All-Tournament Team.
Summit League Preseason Poll
The Kangaroo volleyball team was picked to finish seventh in The Summit League's annual preseason poll in a vote by the league's head coaches. The 'Roos, who finished the 2011 season with a 12-17 record overall and a 6-12 mark in league play, garnered 23 points overall to finish just behind South Dakota.
Fresh Faces
The 2012 Kangaroos include eight newcomers, seven of whom are freshman. Sophomore Morgan Voorhes is the only non-freshman first year 'Roo after transferring from Pittsburgh State, while redshirt freshman Sydney Crimmins joins the squad after spending a year with the Kangaroo basketball program. The remaining freshmen consist of Lindsay Zych, Taryn Miller, Emma Hagedorn, Nicole Wemhoff, Jessica Hendin and Skyler Muff.
Kansas City Feel
The Kangaroo volleyball team will have a distinct Kansas City feel to it as six student-athletes come from the area, including Lindsay Zych (Lenexa, Kan.), Taryn Miller (Blue Springs, Mo.), Emma Hagedorn (Parkville, Mo.), Nicole Wemhoff (Kansas City, Mo.), Morgan Voorhes (Overland Park, Kan.) and Jessica Hendin (Overland Park, Kan.). Three others, Sydney Crimmins (Clay Center, Kan.), Emily Lucas (Sublette, Kan.) and Skyler Muff (Pittsburg, Kan.) are from Kansas.