Kangaroos Head To Runnin' Bulldog Classic To Close Out Preseason
9/6/2012 9:38:00 AM | Volleyball
The Opponents
Charlotte (4-2) enters the week with four wins, including the tournament title in the season's opening weekend at the East Carolina Classic. Senior Bianca Rouse leads the 49ers with 81 kills, while junior Amanda Videmsek has 73. Senior Lily Vera, meanwhile, has a team-high 218 assists and senior Jena Litoborski has a team-high 90 digs.
Gardner-Webb (1-6) is coming off its first win of the season last Saturday afternoon, as the Runnin' Bulldogs had three student-athletes post double digit kills in the 3-1 win over N.C. Central at the Elon Phoenix Classic. Junior middle blocker Tyler Cockrell, who was named to the Phoenix Classic All-Tournament Team, had 18 kills and four total blocks in the win, while fellow classmate Erin Anderson recorded a double-double with a career-high 15 kills and 10 digs.
Delaware State (1-5) enters the tournament with its lone winning coming, 3-0, over Saint Peter's last weekend. Offensively, junior Jessica Russell-Croucher leads the Hornets with 71 kills, while senior Christobel Fakaosi is tops with 190 assists. Defensively, senior Laisha Davis has 22 blocks at the net.
Series History
This will be the first meeting between the Kangaroos and both
Charlotte and Gardner-Webb and the second meeting with Delaware State. In the first meeting, the 'Roos won 3-2 on
Aug. 24, 2007 at the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn/T.J. Sales Invitational in Springfield,
Mo.
Last Time Out
The Kangaroo volleyball team's bid for an upset in head coach Christi Posey's return to Kansas (6-1) fell short on Tuesday night at the Horejsi Center, as the 'Roos (5-4) fell 3-0 to the Jayhawks. For the 'Roos, senior Emily Lucas tallied team-highs with eight kills and two blocks, while also adding seven digs. Freshman Taryn Miller paced the team in the back row with 14 digs, while senior Ella Meier's 12 aces were tops for UMKC.
Miller and Muff Named To UniWyo Cowgirl Classic
Freshmen Taryn Miller and Skyler Muff were each awarded a place on the UniWyo Cowgirl Classic All-Tournament Team. Miller led the team in digs in each of the four matches, totaling 70 at 5.00 digs per set clip, while also adding a team-high six aces. Muff, meanwhile, notched 28 kills, including a team-high 14 in the comeback win over George Washington, while adding six blocks and four aces.
Aces High
Freshman Taryn Miller is off to a hot start serving in 2012 for the Kangaroos. To date, the Blue Springs, Mo., native has notched 14 aces in nine matches, including twice landing four. Overall, her 0.47 aces per set rank second in The Summit League.
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.
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 that 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.
