Kansas City
New Mexico State
?Roos Win WAC Title Outright With 3-1 Win Over Aggies
11/15/2014 4:01:00 PM | Volleyball
(Kansas City, Mo.) – After clinching a share of the title on Thursday, the Missouri-Kansas City volleyball team (24-5, 12-2) took care of business on Saturday, winning the WAC Regular Season Championship with a 3-1 win over defending champ New Mexico State (16-10, 10-4) in front of a packed house inside the Swinney Recreation Center.
Leading the way for the 'Roos was Melissa Hartsel, one of the two UMKC seniors who were honored prior to the match on Senior Day, as the Concordia, Kan., native tallied 13 kills, hitting .556, with a career-high and WAC season-high 12 blocks for her first career double-double.
The 'Roos jumped all over the Aggies in the opening set, hitting .645 with just one error en route to a dominating 25-11 win. UMKC scored the first four points and stretched the lead to 11-2 after 13 points. The Blue & Gold would go on to build a set-high lead of 14 on three separate occasions, including at the final score when Emma Hagedorn ended the set with a kill from Nicole Wemhoff.
Continuing to roll in set two, the 'Roos took a 2-0 lead into the locker room after a 25-20 win over the Aggies. UMKC struggled early in the set, falling behind 4-2, but reeled off the next four points, including the final two on back-to-back aces from Skyler Muff to give them a 6-4 lead they would not relinquish. The 'Roos would build a seven point advantage in the set, but New Mexico State trimmed the lead to 23-19 late in the set. Hartsel, though, notched two kills over the final three points to secure the win for the Kangaroos.
The Aggies would battle back to cut the UMKC lead in half with a come-from-behind 25-23 victory in the third set, but the 'Roos answered with an emphatic 25-12 fourth set victory to win the WAC Regular Season Championship. The Kangaroos built their lead to as many as 13 in the set at 24-11 after two straight kills from the 'Roos second senior, Morgan Voorhes, while Sydney Crimmins sealed the win with a kill.
For the 'Roos, Jessica Hendin led the team with 15 kills and 13 digs for her team-leading 12th double-double of the season, while Crimmins narrowly missed her 11th double-double with nine kills and 14 digs. Muff, meanwhile, notched a season-high 10 of the 'Roos 18 blocks to go with five kills, three digs and two aces.
At the setter position, Kaylyn Brandt finished with 26 assists, eight digs and three aces and Wemhoff added 21 assists, nine digs and three kills.
The Blue & Gold will now enter the WAC Championship as the No. 1 seed where they will look to secure their first ever berth in NCAA Tournament beginning with their semifinal match on Nov 21.
