Kansas City
16-8,12-3WAC
UTRGV
13-16,7-8WAC
Volleyball Finds New Ways to Win over UTRGV
11/14/2019 10:02:00 PM | Volleyball
Roos Finish with Eight Aces, 11 Blocks in Victory
EDINBURG, Texas - The Kansas City volleyball team wants to enter next weekend's WAC tournament with a strong close to the regular season this weekend, and got off to a good start against UTRGV this evening. The Roos showed off with eight aces and 11 blocks and came away with a sweep (25-22, 25-21, 25-12) to win their fifth match in a row.Â
Not a single Kansas City player reached the double-digit mark in the kill category, a rarity for the second-best (in terms of kills per set) hitting team in the Western Athletic Conference. However, what the Roos lacked in hitting, they made up for in other ways.
"We weren't as offensively efficient as we would like but we were tough serving and we blocked pretty well," Head Coach Christi Posey said.
Alicia Harrington continued her domination of the Vaqueros at the net. Her career-high of eight blocks came against UTRGV her freshman year, and she piled up six total blocks tonight. Two of those blocks came in solo fashion, her first match with multiple solo blocks in her career.
Mykal Sadler added five total blocks, all coming from block assists. That gave her 231 on her career, which moved her into tenth in Roo history in block assists, only three away from passing Sarah Johnson for ninth.
"Our team was locked in from the start and steadily put pressure on UTRGV," Posey said.
The Roos were led in the attack by Ty Lukes, who finished with nine kills on .375 hitting. Not far behind her were Harrington and Melanie Brecka, who finished with eight apiece. Raina Smith had one of the most effective nights of her career thus far, finishing with five kills and zero errors on nine attacks for .556 hitting.
The five-match winning streak is Kansas City's longest since last season, when they won seven in a row over a month long stretch. The Roos are hitting their stride at the right time, having dropped only three sets in those five matches.
"We talk about playing the best at the end of the season," Posey said. "One thing that this team has done well all year is playing tough in difficult environments."
Kansas City will finish the regular season against New Mexico State on Saturday afternoon. The Aggies are currently on a 16-match winning streak and have clinched the number one seed going into the WAC tournament. The Roos will have the final shot to put a blemish on NM State's WAC record and carry the momentum into the conference tournament.
"Our team continues to play with intent and purpose. We're aware of NMSU's great season and the conference streak they've put together. They've played very well and it's another tough place to play.," Posey said. "As long as we keep playing hard and we battle on every point, we give ourselves the best chance to reach our goals."
