Kansas City
11-9,7-3WAC
Grand Canyon
17-5,7-3WAC
Volleyball Falls in Fight for Second Place
10/26/2019 7:52:00 PM | Volleyball
Errors Plague Roos All Night
PHOENIX, Ariz. - In terms of postseason implications, few matches will end up meaning as much down the road for Kansas City volleyball than Saturday's match against Grand Canyon. Both teams entered the match with a 7-2 standing in the Western Athletic Conference and a tie for second place. The Lopes outpaced Kansas City from the first serve, coming away with the 3-1 (25-16, 25-21, 21-25, 25-16) victory and moving into sole possession of the number two spot.
"Just not a great effort on our part," Head Coach Christi Posey said. "Way too many errors for an important match like that."
The first set began with traded points, and seemingly neither team could make a stop defensively. Kansas City edged its way up to a 13-11 advantage, but that's when Grand Canyon took over. The Lopes rattled off seven straight points, and 10 of the next 11, and took control of the set.Â
The Roos had trouble in the attack all night, finishing with an overall hitting percentage of .186. Perhaps the lone bright spots in Kansas City's attacking game were Melanie Brecka and Ty Lukes. Brecka finished with 16 kills, just one below her season high, including eight kills in the second set alone. Lukes aided, with 11 kills on .391 hitting.
"Melanie found a good offensive rhythm and helped with three aces," Posey said. "Ty battled and provided a good spark."
Compounding upon Kansas City's attacking issues, they could not seem to put a stop to the attack of the Lopes. They hit for a combined .391 clip, including .429 hitting in their three set victories. The Roos finished with just four total blocks, and 43 digs, led by Alicia Harrington with 13.
"We've just got to be tougher down the stretch," Posey said.
The loss drops the Roos to 11-9 on the season, and 7-3 in WAC play. The Roos move to third place, just one win ahead of UTRGV. They will have an opportunity to get back on track on Halloween night, as they host last-place Chicago State in the Swinney Center.
