Kansas City
Omaha
Kangaroos Outlast Mavericks 3-2 In Five Set Thriller
9/25/2012 9:36:00 PM | Volleyball
In the match, the Sublette, Kan., native notched 23 kills, 16 digs and a career-high five aces, while freshman Emma Hagedorn finished with 12 kills in the victory.
The 'Roos opened the contest with a dominating 25-15 win in the first set after jumping out to an 8-3 lead, registering three aces during the opening stretch. Omaha would close to within four twice, but an ace by Lucas closed out the set for Kansas City, giving them the 1-0 lead.
In the second set, the Kangaroos pushed their lead to 2-0 after downing the Mavericks 25-17. Kansas City again built an early lead, this time going ahead 10-5 after fifteen points. Omaha would trim the UMKC lead to four at 20-16, but a 5-1 run, including two Hagedorn kills, brought the 'Roos to within one set of taking the match.
The Mavericks, though, would not go away easily as the visitors would claim the next two sets by identical 25-22 scores to force a fifth set at the SRC.
In the deciding set, UMKC notched the first point but Omaha immediately answered to tie the set at one. At that point, the Kangaroos would reel off the next five points, including two kills by freshman Jessica Hendin and an ace from freshman Taryn Miller, to increase their advantage to 6-1. Omaha would slice the lead to three at 9-6, but two Lucas kills and a Maverick error over the next four points pushed the lead to 12-7. Omaha would again pull to within four at 13-9, but Hendin would record the 'Roos final two points on kills to seal the win.
Defensively, freshman Skyler Muff was in on five of the Kangaroos six blocks, while Miller led the 'Roos with 20 digs and added three of Kansas City's 11 aces. In the back row, Hendin and fellow freshman Lindsay Zych each topped the 10 dig mark with 13 and 11, respectively.
Offensively, Hendin tallied nine kills and Muff eight, while freshman Sydney Crimmins recorded six with a team-high .545 hitting percentage. Freshman Nicole Wemhoff and senior Ella Meier, meanwhile, finished with 28 and 24 assists, respectively.
The Blue & Gold will back in action again on Saturday when they head north to take on South Dakota in Vermillion, S.D. at 7 p.m.
