'Roos Look To Start New Win Streak With Trip To Seattle & Utah Valley
11/5/2014 3:18:00 PM | Volleyball
(Kansas City, Mo.) – The Missouri-Kansas City volleyball team (21-4, 9-1) will look to start a new win streak and move closer to securing its first ever conference championship when it takes on Seattle U (10-13, 6-4) and Utah Valley (10-16, 5-5) this weekend. The 'Roos will open up against the Redhawks at 8 p.m. CT on Thursday in Seattle before heading to Orem, Utah, to face the Wolverines at 2 p.m. CT on Saturday.
The Opponents
Seattle U enters the match with a 10-13 record overall and a 6-4 mark in WAC play after knocking off Texas-Pan American last weekend. Offensively, Martina Samadan (211) and Matea Mamic have each topped 200 kills, while Kerry Lanes has a team-best 791 assists. Defensively, Samadan and Stephanie Stoll are the top-two blockers with 102 and 92 blocks, respectively.
Utah Valley comes into the weekend with a record of 10-16 overall and 5-5 in conference play as they also beat the Broncs last weekend. On the defensive side, Lauren Bakker tops the team with 108 blocks and McKenna Tait tops the squad in digs at 454. On the offensive side, Bakker and Macky Treanor each have 249 kills.
The Series'
Seattle (2-1)
10/19/13 (A) L, 0-3
11/16/13 (H) W, 3-1
10/11/14 (H) W, 3-1
Utah Valley (1-2)
10/3/13 (A) L, 2-3
11/2/13 (H) L, 1-3
10/9/14 (H) W, 3-1
First Meetings
UMKC continued to roll as the squad picked up its 11th straight victory with a 3-1 win over Seattle (7-11, 3-2) on Oct. 11 at the SRC. Offensively, Emma Hagedorn and Sydney Crimmins led the way for the 'Roos as the duo each tallied a team-high 13 kills, while hitting .647 and .258, respectively. As a team, the 'Roos hit .313, their second best mark of the season.
With its 10th straight victory on Oct. 9 at the SRC, the 'Roos set a new school record. In the 3-1 WAC victory over Utah Valley, the first place 'Roos were led offensively by Sydney Crimmins who finished with 17 kills and a .400 hitting percentage, while Emma Hagedorn hit .500 with 13 kills. As a team, UMKC notched a .225 hitting clip.
Last Time Out
After knocking off Bakersfield, 3-1, on Oct. 30 to break the school record for wins in a season at 21, the 'Roos had their 17 match winning streak snapped in a 3-2 loss to Grand Canyon, their first loss since Sep. 9.
New Record Holder
With her 36 dig performance against Bakersfield, Taryn Miller became the UMKC career record holder, passing Nicole Kerkman and now has 1,662. She also sits second in career digs per set at 5.11.
Emma Hagedorn ranks first in blocks per set at 1.12, fourth in block assists at 300, ninth in solo blocks and third in hitting percentage at .271, while Nicole Wemhoff is fifth in assists at 1,756, Kaylyn Brandt is ninth in assists per set (5.87) and 10th in assists (1,239), Sydney Crimmins is eighth in block assists (231) and Melissa Hartsel is second in hitting percentage at .279.
This season, Miller has amassed the second most digs (585) and the third best digs per set mark (5.79), while Hagedorn has the second highest hitting percentage (.332) and the eighth most block assists (96), Melissa Hartsel has the fourth most block assists (104) and the top hitting percentage (.344) and Skyler Muff has the ninth best hitting percentage (.265).
Tournament Scenarios
With two weekends of WAC play remaining, the 'Roos sit atop the WAC standings and can finish no worse than the fourth seed in the standings. With two wins this weekend UMKC would clinch a top-two seed. Currently, the 'Roos magic number to clinch the WAC regular season title is 3 (UMKC wins and NMSU losses).
Just Keep Winning
The 21 wins by UMKC sets a new school record for most wins in a season, passing the 20 wins by the 1999 squad. The 21-3 start by the 'Roos is the best start in school history, while the 17 straight wins eclipsed the nine straight from the 1992 squad for the school record. The 9-0 conference start, meanwhile, is also the best mark in school history.
WAC Leaders
In overall games, the 'Roos sit atop the WAC in hitting percentage (.227), assists (12.71), kills (13.65) and digs (17.95), while Taryn Miller is tops in digs at 5.79.
In WAC matches, UMKC is first in opponent hitting percentage (.138), kills (13.65) and digs (17.62) and second in aces (1.48), blocks (2.64), assists (12.70) and hitting percentage (.246). Individually, Emma Hagedorn (.398) is tops in hitting percentage.
RPI Rankings
The 'Roos currently sit 86th in the nation according to RPI, making them the highest ranked team in the WAC.
NCAA Leaders
Currently, the 'Roos have put themselves near the top several NCAA rankings, as the squad ranks in the top of the country in digs per set (4th - 17.95), digs (10th - 1,813), win percentage (13th - .840), assists (13th - 1,284), attacks (16th - 3,840), blocks (19th - 251.5), kills (11th - 1,379), opponent hitting percentage (26th - .155) and attacks per set (15th - 38.02).
Individually, Taryn Miller ranks third in digs (585) and fourth digs per set (5.79), while Jessica Hendin is 59th in aces (33) and Emma Hagedorn (113) and Melissa Hartsel (117) are 38th and 26th in blocks, respectively.
In her career, meanwhile, Miller is sixth among active players in the NCAA at 5.13 digs per set and 22nd in total digs at 1,647.
Killin' It
The 'Roos have notched the five of the top-seven kill totals in the WAC this season, with 72 at Grand Canyon, 69 against Grand Canyon and 67 against Drake, Stephen F. Austin and Missouri. In the back row, meanwhile, UMKC has notched the top-three dig totals, while also recording four of the top-five assist totals, the top two ace total, two of the three best hitting percentages and five of the top-10 block totals.
Individually, Taryn Miller has amassed the top two dig totals, while Emma Hagedorn's 10 blocks vs. NDSU is tied for the most.
Taking Down The Tigers
On 10/13, UMKC beat Missouri, 3-1, marking only their fourth victory ever over the Tigers and their first since 1994.
Tournament MVP's
After the four preseason tournaments, the 'Roos have garnered a pair of MVP honors with Taryn Miller winning the accolade at the CEFCU Classic and Skyler Muff garnering the honors at the FGCU Hilton Garden Inn/Homewood Suites Classic. Six other 'Roos have also received all-tournament honors, including Emma Hagedorn and Jessica Hendin at the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Omaha Classic All-Tournament Team, Hendin and Melissa Hartsel at the Jackrabbit Invitational, Kaylyn Brandt and Sydney Crimmins in the CEFCU Classic and Emma Hagedorn at the FGCU Hilton Garden Inn/Homewood Suites Classic. In all, seven different 'Roos have been recognized nine times.
Knocking-Off Familiar Foes
The 'Roos have squared-off with three former Summit League foes this season, coming out victorious in all three. On Aug. 30, UMKC beat Omaha 3-2, before taking down South Dakota State 3-0 on Sep. 5. On Sep. 12, meanwhile, the Kangaroos beat North Dakota State for the first time ever, 3-2.
Tourney Champs
The 'Roos went a perfect 3-0 at the CEFCU Classic, beating North Dakota State, host Bradley and Miami (OH) to claim the tournament title, their first since the 2011 Radford Tournament. On Sep. 20, meanwhile, the 'Roos won their second tournament of the year at the FGCU Hilton Garden Inn/Homewood Suites Classic, marking the first time ever that they have won two tournaments in the same season.
Crimmins Named WAC POW
Sydney Crimmins was named the WAC Player of the Week on 10/13, as the Clay Center, Kan., native averaged 3.75 kills on .338 hitting, 2.12 digs, 0.75 blocks and 0.50 assists per set as the Kangaroos went 2-0 last week to extend their win streak to a school-record 11 matches. Crimmins opened the week with a season-high-tying 17 kills on 40 attempts with just one error for a .400 hitting percentage, her second highest of the season, to go along with seven digs and three blocks in a four-set win over Utah Valley. She followed it up with 13 kills, 10 digs and four assists in a four-set win over Seattle U on Saturday. It was her eighth double-double of the season. Crimmins now ranks fourth in the WAC in conference matches in points (3.85) and fifth in kills (3.22).
Miller Garners Second Straight POW
Taryn Miller was named the WAC Player of the Week after averaging 7.41 digs, 0.82 assists and 0.35 service aces per set over four matches last week. Miller opened the week with 22 digs and two assists in a four-set loss to No. 24 Kansas. Over the weekend, she was named MVP of the CEFCU Classic after averaging an astounding 8.00 digs, 0.92 assists and 0.46 service aces per set and leading the 'Roos to the tournament title with a perfect 3-0 record. Miller finished with 30 digs in three straight matches for the first time in her career, posting 35 against North Dakota State, 31 at Bradley and a career-high 38 vs. Miami (Ohio). The 38 digs was a Renaissance Coliseum record. Miller now sits in third place on the UMKC career digs list with 1,326, 10 digs shy of second place.
Hendin Named WAC Player Of The Week
Jessica Hendin was named the WAC Player of the Week after averaging 3.82 kills, 3.82 digs and 0.55 service aces per set over three matches last week en route to all-tournament team honors at the Jackrabbit Invitational, her second all-tournament selection in as many weeks. Hendin opened the week with a double-double of 15 kills and 17 digs in a four-set loss to Valparaiso. She then tied her career-high with three aces against South Dakota State and was just shy of a double-double, finishing with nine kills and 11 digs. Hendin closed out the week with a season-high 18 kills to go along with 14 digs in a win against Stephen F. Austin for her third double-double of the season.
All-Conference Returners
Last season, Sydney Crimmins and Taryn Miller were each named to the Second Team All-WAC, while freshman Kaylyn Brandt was named to the WAC All-Freshman Team in a vote by the conference's head coaches.
WAC Preseason Poll
The WAC volleyball coaches have selected Missouri-Kansas City to finish fourth in the preseason poll, as the Kangaroos garnered 27 points, while New Mexico State was chosen to win the WAC regular-season crown in 2014. New Mexico State received six of the first-place votes with Seattle U earning the other two. The Aggies earned 48 total points, followed by Seattle U with 43. Utah Valley was picked to finish third with 35 points, while just behind UMKC was Bakersfield in fifth with 26 and Grand Canyon in sixth with 22 points. Texas-Pan American and Chicago State rounded out the poll with 16 and seven points, respectively.
Preseason All-WAC Selections
The WAC coaches voted on the preseason award winners and Utah Valley junior middle blocker Lauren Bakker was the pick for WAC Preseason Player of the Year, with the 'Roos Sydney Crimmins and Emma Hagedorn named to the Preseason All-WAC Team.
Crimmins Reps WAC At SAAC
UMKC volleyball's Sydney Crimmins has been elected to represent the WAC as the conference's national Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) representative where she will serve as a liaison between the NCAA and the WAC and its SAAC reps. She will serve as a SAAC rep on an NCAA committee and will actively engage the WAC membership about issues concerning student-athletes on a national level.
Last Season
In their first season in the WAC, the 'Roos finished with a winning record for just the third time ever and recorded back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in school history after going 15-14 overall and 9-7 in the WAC. Sydney Crimmins was named to all-tournament teams in each of the 'Roos preseason tournaments and capped it off by being named Second Team All-WAC, alongside teammate Taryn Miller.
New Kids On The Block
The 'Roos will welcome in a pair of true freshman this year in middle hitter Emma Dyer and defensive specialist Adasia Bromberger. Redshirt freshman Meagan Kerns, meanwhile, will make her debut in the Blue & Gold after sitting out last season with a knee injury.
Upperclassmen Return
This season, the Kangaroo lineup will have a heavy dose of upperclassmen with a total of nine on the roster, including seven juniors and two seniors. In all, a total of seven upperclassmen and nine total returners started 12 or more matches in 2013.
Academic 'Roos
Last season, Kaylyn Brandt, Sydney Crimmins, Taryn Miller, Skyler Muff, Morgan Voorhes and Nicole Wemhoff each garnered a spot on the Academic All-WAC Team for amassing a 3.2 or higher cumulative GPA.
