Volleyball Takes Big Win at Denver

Thursday, November 18

Denver, CO

1:00 PM

Kansas City

20-9,11-6Summit League

Denver

22-5,13-4Summit League

Kansas City

Denver

Photo by: Ryan Weaver Photography

Volleyball Takes Big Win at Denver

11/18/2021 3:49:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

Three Roos finished with double-digit kills as KC defeated the Pios for the first time in program history

DENVER, Colo. - After being swept by Denver at home in their first matchup this season, Kansas City Volleyball used a balanced attack and strong defense to exact revenge against the Pioneers, winning 3-1 (24-26, 25-22, 25-15, 25-22) this afternoon. Reigning Summit League Offensive Player of the Week Melanie Brecka finished with a game-high 15 kills, while Maddie Renn dug up a game-high 19 attacks on the day.

KEY MOMENTS

S1 / 7-6 | After trading points to begin the set, a kill by Carly Gillen sparked a 5-1 run for the Roos that put them up by four.
S1 / 16-12 | Left alone on the right side of the net, Alli Schomers rose up for a block all by herself to give Kansas City some wiggle room.
S1 / 24-23 | A kill by Melanie Brecka gave the Roos set point, but the Pioneers would win the next three points to take a one-set lead.
S2 / 5-3 | After Denver took the first five points of the set, the Roos won the next three, capped by an ace from Kennedy Schritenthal.
S2 / 11-10 | Renn sent a pass to Odyssey Warren on the outside, giving Kansas City its first lead of the set.
S2 / 21-16 | Coming out of a Denver timeout, Schomers and De'Janae Arnold teamed up for back-to-back blocks, forcing another Pioneer timeout.
S2 / 24-22 | After the Pioneers drew within a point, Brecka sent across her sixth kill of the match, setting up a successful set point for the Roos.
S3 / 4-1 | After Denver took the first point in the third, KC rattled off four-straight, including a pair of aces by Schritenthal.
S3 / 16-7 | A 12-4 run, capped by a block from Gillen and Bree Thompson, forced the Pioneers to use both of their third set timeouts.
S3 / 25-15 | A kill by Arnold finished off the set, giving the Roos a convincing victory and the 2-1 lead.
S4 / 9-8 | The teams went back-and-forth to begin the fourth set, but a kill by Thompson put the Roos up by a point.
S4 / 19-18 | With neither team still able to gain a meaningful advantage, a block by Gillen and Warren gave the Roos the lead and forced a Denver timeout.
S4 / 23-20 | An ace by Brecka put the Roos in the drivers seat for the first time in the set.
S4 / 25-22 | Kansas City showed great end-game resolve, winning the final two points of the set to take the victory.

STATS TO NOTE

Coming into today's match, the Roos had never won a set against the Pioneers. Now, they have won three-straight.
Brecka led the Roos with 15 kills, but Arnold (11) and Thompson (10) were not far behind.
Kansas City finished the match with eight blocks, compared to Denver's five. In the 3-0 loss to the Pioneers on Sep. 28, DU out-blocked the Roos, 9-2.
In addition to her game-high kills, Brecka also sent across four service aces. Schritenthal had three of her own and the Roos finished with eight total.
In KC's dominant third-set victory, they held the Pioneers to just .030 hitting.

COACH CHRISTI POSEY, QUOTED

"At this time of the season, you really want to be in rhythm and in a groove. That was our focus."
"We just kept talking about playing well down the stretch. Whether we were up two or down two, we wanted to keep playing hard and executing our game plan. It was a great team victory!"

UP NEXT
The Roos return home for one final match in the regular season, taking on Omaha on Sunday at 1 p.m. Kansas City will honor seniors De'Janae Arnold, Melanie Brecka, Maddie Renn and Alli Schomers at the match.