Kansas City
Houston Baptist
'Roos Prep For Coaches' Return to Kansas After Heading North For UniWyo Cowgirl Classic
8/30/2012 11:59:00 AM | Volleyball
The Opponents
Bethune-Cookman enters the tournament with an 0-3 record after falling to Charlotte, East Carolina and Campbell at the East Carolina Classic last weekend. In the event, Krysta Gardner finished with a team-high 28 kills, while Aubrianna Curtis had 52 assists. At the net, Delicia Pierre finished with eight blocks, while Gardner and Monica Lowe each led the team with 21 digs apiece.
Florida Gulf Coast comes into the weekend with a 2-1 mark after defeating Florida A&M and Florida International in the Florida Tournament. In the event, Kaitlin Holm was named to the all-tournament team after recording 20 kills and four blocks. Leading the Eagles in kills during the opening weekend was Christine Pinder with 31, while Karina Mambuca notched 12 blocks.
George Washington enters the weekend with an 0-3 record after falling to Pittsburgh, No. 9 Purdue and No. 21 Northern Iowa at the Mortar Board Premier. At the tournament, junior Taylor Knox was named to the all-tournament team, notching 11 kills. Lauren Whyte, meanwhile, led the Colonials in kills with 27, while Kelsey Newman notched 25.
The Cowgirls are coming off an excellent weekend beginning the season 4-0. It is their second 4-0 start under Yerty and their second in the last three seasons. It is also their third 4-0 start since 2002. After one weekend of play Wyoming leads the Mountain West in two categories. UW leads the MW in blocks with 44 and 3.14 per set, while also leading in service aces with 24 and 1.71 per set. Individually, Plante leads the MW in blocks with 26 total on two solos and 24 assisted (1.86 blocks per set). Leading the Cowgirls in points is senior Purdy who recorded 51 on 46 kills, six blocking assists and two aces. Plante leads in hitting percentage at 41.2 on 29 kills, with eight errors on 51 total attacks. Junior setter Rachel Keyes leads the Cowgirl offense in assists with 88 and 6.29 per set. Stewart leads defensively with 4.64 digs per set (65 total).
Kansas enters the weekend with a 2-1 record after beating Northwestern State and UT Martin at the Arkansas Tournament last weekend. This week, the Jayhawks welcome in Sam Houston State, Tulsa and Arkansas State to Lawrence for the Jayhawk Invitational. Leading KU on the opening weekend were redshirt junior Caroline Jarmoc and senior middle blocker Tayler Tolefree, as each earned All-Tournament honors after solid performances. Jarmoc racked up a .324 attack percentage on 34 kills and averaged 1.20 blocks per set. Even more efficient, Tolefree hit .457 for the tournament and rejected an impressive 1.70 blocks per set.
Last Time Out
On Aug. 24-25 the Kangaroos finished 2-2 at the North Texas Invitational. The 'Roos opened the event with a 3-1 win over Lamar on day one, before falling 3-0 to the host Mean Green. On Saturday, UMKC dominated Prairie View A&M, 3-0, but fell to Houston Baptist, 3-0.
Series History
This will be the first meeting between UMKC and Bethune-Cookman, Florida Gulf Coast and George Washington, while Wyoming holds a 1-0 series lead. The Jayhawks, meanwhile, are 17-0 all-time against the 'Roos, including a 3-0 win on Aug. 31, 2010.
Lucas Named To UNT Invite All-Tourney Team
Senior outside hitter Emily Lucas was named to the North Texas Invitational All-Tournament Team following the event. In the tournament, the Sublette, Kan., native recorded a team-high 42 kills, and was second on the team with 35 digs. The accolade is the second all-tournament honor for Lucas after being named to the Black Knights Invitational All-Tournament Team last season.
Coaches Return To Kansas
When the 'Roos head west to Lawrence on Sep. 4, it will mark a homecoming for both Head Coach Christi Posey and Assistant Coach Trent Jones returns to Kansas after serving as the Jayhawks' top assistant for eleven seasons, while Jones was a volunteer assistant from 2002-04.
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.
Senior Leaders
The UMKC volleyball will feature a quartet of seniors this season who will provide leadership to the eight newcomers on this year's squad. Leading the way for the 'Roos in their final seasons are Ella Meier, Emily Lucas, Brittany Fossier and Brittney Robers.
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 (Pittsburgh, Kan.) are from Kansas.
