Kansas City
22-7,12-4Summit League
North Dakota State
18-11,9-7Summit League
Roos Take Down Bison, Qualify for First Title Game Since '97
11/20/2023 11:19:00 PM | Volleyball
The top-seeded Roos used a balanced attack to fluster NDSU and qualify for tomorrow's championship match
VERMILLION, S.D. - Top-seeded Kansas City Volleyball (22-7, 12-4 Summit) made history in the Summit League Semifinals this evening, running past #5 North Dakota State, 3-1 (25-19, 25-21, 28-30, 25-20) to qualify for the title game for the second time in program history, the first since 1997. The Roos looked the part from the jump, out-hitting the Bison by nearly 90 points and tallying 13 blocks while holding NDSU to five blocks.
As it has been all season, the Kansas City attack was varied and potent, led by a 16-kill effort by Odyssey Warren. Sila Ozyurek was next with 10 kills on .600 hitting, while Kaia Dunford, Kimora Whetstone and Carly Gillen all finished with nine. Leah Green backed up her Defensive Player of the Year honor with a team-high 18 digs, followed by Dunford with 14.
The Roos now have 22 wins on the season, which stands alone as the second-most in the program's 37-year history. KC moves on to take on #2 Omaha in the Summit League title game tomorrow at 7 p.m.
SET-BY-SET
- Set One / 25-19 | The two teams traded points to start the match until Caroline Keithley stepped up to the service line, sending across three-straight aces and putting the Roos ahead, 10-7, a lead that they would hold for the rest of the set. Kansas City maintained a lead into the late stages of the set, and Keithley's fourth ace followed by a kill from Sydney Henry gave KC 22-15 advantage and forced the Bison into a timeout. The Roos would coast from there as a kill from Warren sealed the set.
- Set Two / 25-21 | The second set started much like the first, with neither team jumping out to much of a lead. A solo block by Whetstone and an attacking error by the Bison put KC ahead, 11-8, but that advantage was quickly erased and NDSU tied things up, 13-13. North Dakota State looked to take an edge, 20-17, but KC rattled off four-straight points on two kills by Warren, one by Ozyurek and a block by Ozyurek and Whetstone. In total, Kansas City closed the set on an 8-1 run and Gillen gave the Roos a two-set lead with the final kill.
- Set Three / 28-30 | The Roos were the first team to gain and edge in the third set, using a 4-1 run to take a 15-11 lead into the media timeout. Kansas City appeared to have control of the set, using a kill by Warren and an error by NDSU to extend the lead to 19-14, but then the Bison came charging back, claiming a 22-21 lead. Both teams went back-and-forth, each with three set-point opportunities, but NDSU was the team to take advantage and force a fourth.
- Set Four / 25-20 | Kansas City went on an early three-point run behind a kill by Warren, a block by Henry and a kill by Gillen to claim an 8-4 lead. An ace by Dunford would later extend KC's lead to five points, but the Bison were not easily deterred. They cut KC's lead down to two, 16-14, but could not get any closer than that. Back-to-back blocks from Ozyurek and Whetstone pushed the Roos' lead out to 22-16, and the Roos would coast to victory, clinched by Gillen's ninth kill of the night.
STATS TO NOTE
- Kansas City was excellent in serve-receive, allowing just two NDSU aces. Blair Taylor received a team-high 27 serves, Dunford took 23 and Green took 10, all without committing an error. The excellent reception game allowed the Roos to side out at a 67% rate.
- Keithley finished the night with four aces, all coming in the first set. That mark doubles up her previous career high, and is her third-career match with multiple aces.
- Ozyurek finished the night with 10 kills and one error on 15 attacks for a .600 hitting percentage. That marks her third match this season in double-digits, the first since Sep. 23.
- This is the Roos' first postseason win since returning to the Summit League in 2020. The last win came in the Western Athletic Conference quarterfinals on Nov. 21, 2019. It marks the second time in program history that KC has qualified to a conference title match, the first coming in 1997.
- Head Coach Christi Posey earned her fourth-career postseason win, her first in seven attempts in the conference semifinal round.
UP NEXT
The Roos will take on second-seeded Omaha in the title game at 7 p.m. tomorrow evening. The two teams split the regular season meetings, with KC winning a five-set battle on Sep. 21 to open up conference play and the Mavericks winning the second match-up, 3-1. The game will be available to stream on the Summit League Network.
