Kansas City Volleyball Set To Battle South And North Dakota State This Weekend
10/4/2012 9:47:00 AM | Volleyball
The Opponents
South Dakota State enters the match with a 12-5 record overall and a 4-2 mark in Summit League play after defeating Oakland in its last match. This season, the Jackrabbits have produced four league players of the week, including senior Kelli Fiegan who has captured both offensive and defensive honors and leads the team with 208 kills and 103 blocks. Senior Kaitlin Klingemann, meanwhile, claimed the offensive award on Sep. 10 and is second on the team with 183 kills and 58 blocks. In the back row, senior Shay Birath is one of three Jacks with over 200 digs, and leads the team with 347 digs, while also earning defensive player of the week on Sep. 17.
North Dakota State comes into the weekend with a 5-11 record overall and a 2-4 mark in league play with wins over Oakland and Omaha. Senior Brynn Joki leads the Bison with 220 kills, while reigning Summit League Offensive Player of the Week Megan Lambertson is second on the team with 177. In the back row, senior Andrea Henning has a team-high 284 digs, while Joki is second with 205. At the net, Lambertson's 62 blocks are a team best.
Series History
South Dakota State leads the all-time series with UMKC 10-2. Last season, the Jackrabbits won 3-0 at the SRC, while the 'Roos registered their first ever win in Brookings, with a 3-1 victory. North Dakota State, meanwhile, holds a perfect 13-0 mark against the 'Roos including a 3-1 win in Kansas City and a 3-2 win in Fargo last season.
Last Time Out
Senior Emily Lucas registered a career-high 34 kills and her team-leading seventh double-double of the season adding 12 digs to lead the Kangaroos to a 3-2 win over South Dakota on Sep. 29 in Vermillion, S.D.
Freshman Jessica Hendin notched her second double-double of the year with 16 kills and a career-high 17 digs, while fellow freshman Nicole Wemhoff reached career-highs with 33 assists and 14 digs for her sixth double-double of the season.
Defensively, five 'Roos finished with 10 or more digs, led by freshman Taryn Miller and freshman Lindsay Zych with 27 and 18, respectively, while freshman Skyler Muff's career-high six blocks led the squad at the net. Offensively, senior Ella Meier recorded 30 assists and Muff and freshman Emma Hagedorn ended the match with nine and eight kills, respectively.
'Roos In Five
This season, the Kangaroos have played in seven five-set matches, including four of their last five, 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 218 kills and three times reached her career-high, including registering 34 at South Dakota. 10 times she has led the 'Roos in kills and reached double figures, while currently, leading the league in kills and kills per set in league matches.
Roos In The RPI
Currently, the 'Roos rank 136th in the NCAA's RPI rankings, the fifth best mark in The Summit League behind Fort Wayne (55), South Dakota State (123), IUPUI (125) and Oakland (124).
Keys To Winning
In 2012, when the 'Roos have a higher attack percentage than their opponent they are 11-0 and when they register more kills and win game one of the match they are 8-0. Other superlatives: three or more players hitting over .300 (5-0), three or more players with 10 or more kills and hitting over .300 as a team (3-0), recording more assists than the opponent (9-1), recording more digs than the opponent (8-2) and registering 40 or more kills (10-2).
Aces High
Freshman Taryn Miller and senior Emily Lucas are off to a hot start serving in 2012 for the Kangaroos. To date, the Blue Springs, Mo., native Miller has notched a Summit League-high 26 aces, including twice landing four, while Sublette, Kan., native Lucas is right behind with 23 aces, including a career-high five against Omaha. Overall, Miller's 0.37 aces per set is tops in the league, with Lucas second at 0.34. As a team, the 'Roos top the league with 94 aces and are second at 1.32 aces per set.
Solo Blockers
As a team, the Kangaroos are tied for The Summit League lead in solo blocks with 37, while individually freshman Emma Hagedorn ranks fourth with 10 and senior Ella Meier ranks ninth with eight.
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.
Last Season
In 2011, the Kangaroos finished the season with an overall record of 12-17 and a 6-12 mark in Summit League play to place eighth in the standings. The 'Roos, however, closed out the season winning six of eight league games, including five straight. During the course of the season, the squad finished 3-0 at a preseason tournament for the first time since 2002, while five separate players made all-tournament teams.
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 2012 edition of 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.