Kansas City
5-6
California Baptist
6-7
Volleyball Battles, Sweeps CBU
9/28/2019 4:31:00 PM | Volleyball
Roos Fight Through Adversity to Win Fourth Straight
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - For the second straight year, Kansas City volleyball has opened up Western Athletic Conference play with two victories after sweeping California Baptist, 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-18). After opening up the season 2-6, the Roos have gone on a tear, defeating their last four opponents to move them to an even 6-6 on the year. This one did not come as easily as their conference play-opening sweep of CSUB, however, as the team had to battle through errors and injury to defeat the Lancers.Â
Things looked flat for Kansas City to open the match. They were errant on their first four service attempts, falling behind 7-3 in the early going of the first set before an Alicia Harrington kill was able to give them their first service hold. From there, the teams went back and forth up to a 19-19 tie, when the Roos were able to finally take over. They ended the set on a 6-1 run, using two kills by Melanie Brecka to take the set.
"We talked to the team about an opportunity to learn, when you may not be at your very, very best, that you still can grind and withstand some of the ugly," Head Coach Christi Posey said.
The team found its stride in the second set, leading from start to finish. Alli Schomers spread out the Roo attack, finding Harrington six times for a kill, Ty Lukes five times, Brecka four times and Mykal Sadler three times. The diverse attack kept the Lancers on their heels, and despite keeping it close, the Roos controlled the whole way through.
"The first set we were still learning about (CBU), but the second set everyone on the bench was helping and supporting," Harrington said. "That helps me succeed when I have so many people that have my back."
The third set began poorly for the Roos once again. California Baptist won the first three points and Kansas City seemed out of sorts. Sadler was able to get the Roos on the board, but they couldn't make much progress, trading points back and forth. Mikala Wells entered the rotation and threw down her only kill of the match to cut CBU's lead to 10-8. When coming down from that swing, Wells collapsed with what appeared to be a knee injury and did not return. She will wait for test results next week for more information.
"The chances of you getting an injury like that are low, in general, but when it happens it's just really, really hard," Posey said.
The Roos were able to rally behind the loss of their teammate, immediately shifting the momentum of the third set. A kill by Harrington tied things at 13-13, and KC never looked back. They finished the match on a 12-5 run, fueled by a flurry of Lancer errors.Â
The victory moves the Roos to 3-0 all-time against CBU, winning nine of ten sets played. Today and Thursday's matches give them their first consecutive sweeps since October of last year, when they ran through Seattle U and Grand Canyon.
"We were a little nervous for conference season, because we wanted to make sure the flow of the game was good," Harrington said. "But we've been working really hard and I think we're really clicking."
The Roos will play their third match in five days on Monday, as they host Grand Canyon at 7 p.m.
