Kansas City
Grand Canyon
Lopes Snap ?Roos 17 Match Win Streak In Five Set Thriller
11/1/2014 11:01:00 PM | Volleyball
(Kansas City, Mo.) – The UMKC volleyball team (21-4, 9-1) had its 17-match winning streak snapped on Saturday night, as Grand Canyon (15-9, 5-6) knocked-off the 'Roos 3-2 at the Swinney Recreation Center.
Despite the loss, the 'Roos still hold a 1.5 match lead in the WAC standings over New Mexico State with four matches remaining for the 'Roos and three for the Aggies.
In the match, Sydney Crimmins led the way hitting .356 with 19 kills and a career-high 21 digs for her 10th double-double of the season, while Jessica Hendin tallied 18 kills and 20 digs for her ninth double-double.
Melissa Hartsel, meanwhile, hit .423 with 12 kills, while in the back row Taryn Miller finished with over 30 digs for the second straight match and the sixth time total this season with 32.
The Lopes struck first in the match, taking the first set 25-22, but UMKC rebounded in set two with a 25-16 victory. The Kangaroos built an early 9-3 led and maintained the six-point advantage at 13-7 when they used a 7-1 run to stretch the lead to 20-8. GCU closed the gap to seven at 23-16, but a kill from Emma Hagedorn and an ace from Kaylyn Brandt sent the two teams to the locker room tied at 1-1.
Coming out of the break, GCU regained the match advantage at 25-22, but the 'Roos again answered the call in set four with a 25-18 victory that forced a fifth and deciding set, the third five-set match between the two teams in the four all-time meetings.
In the fifth set, Grand Canyon scored three of the first four points and extended their lead to a set-high three four times, including midway through at 10-7. The 'Roos, though, began to chip away before tying the set at 13-13 after back-to-back kills from Crimmins and Hendin. The Lopes would take the next point and face match-point, but a GCU error again tied the set, this time at 14-14. Unfortunately for the 'Roos, the Lopes would tally the final two points of the match, taking the set 16-14 and the match 3-2.
For the 'Roos, setters Brandt and Nicole Wemhoff registered 32 and 31 assists, respectively, with Brandt adding 14 digs for her WAC-leading 12th double-double of the season.
The Blue & Gold will look to start a new win streak on Thursday when they head to Seattle to take on Seattle U in a WAC match at 8 p.m.
