Kansas City
13-9,9-3WAC
California Baptist
11-14,5-7WAC
Offense Flourishes as Volleyball Takes Down California Baptist
11/5/2019 12:18:00 AM | Volleyball
RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Coming off of a clean win against Chicago State that was enough to earn Alicia Harrington Western Athletic Conference Player of the Week honors, Kansas City volleyball wanted to carry that momentum into Monday night's match against California Baptist. The Roos' offense was transcendental, tearing the Lancers apart by the seams en route to a 3-1 (23-25, 27-25, 25-23, 25-19) victory.
There was no easy win, but Kansas City's offense was enough to carry them through to the win. Harrington, Melanie Brecka and Ty Lukes were near unstoppable, and Alli Schomers dished the ball like never before. With just four matches now remaining in the regular season, the fortitude that the Roos showed against the Lancers will prove pivotal down the stretch.
"At this point in the season, every team is fighting for position in the standings," Head Coach Christi Posey said. "Close games provide you that opportunity and we were tough and gritty when we had to be. We weren't very clean defensively but we were able to stay ahead offensively with great output from Alicia, Mel and Ty."
After dropping a tight first set, the Roos battled with CBU to pull out the second and third sets. Harrington produced kills in volume, with 19 kills in the first three sets. She ended the night with 24 kills, tying a career-high from her sophomore year. Brecka was flawless, swinging without error until late in the third set. She finished with 18 kills on .472 hitting, her second-straight match with a hitting percentage above .400.Â
"Offensive balance was critical tonight so that CBU couldn't key on any one attacker," Posey said. "Our hitters did a great job of executing."
Lukes took over in the fourth set, and Kansas City took it going away. The turning point came at 15-15, when Lukes put down her first of three consecutive kills. She added two more kills in the next five points, and the Roos suddenly had a four point advantage. Kansas City was able to maintain the lead, and win the only set decided by more than two points.
"Ty is so explosive and she connected well with Alli tonight," Posey said. "She took over midway through the fourth and really propelled us to finish."
Schomers has flourished in the one setter system, and continued to add to her Setter of the Year campaign against the Lancers. She tossed out a career-high 54 assists, breaking her career mark for the second time this season and surpassing the 50 assist mark for the fifth time on the year.
"Alli established our hitters well with good balance, and at times just feeding the hot hitter," Posey said. "She worked hard to get them a quality ball at the right time."
The Roos remain in control of third place in the WAC, drawing two games ahead of UTRGV. They will travel back home for a pair of matches at the Swinney Center this week, taking on Utah Valley on Thursday at 7 p.m. before clashing with Seattle U for a senior day match on Saturday.
