Volleyball Opens KC Roos Klassic with a Split

Friday, September 15

Kansas City, Mo.

1:00 PM

Kansas City

8-2,0-0Summit League

Southeast Missouri State

6-3,0-0OVC

Southeast Mo. St.

Kansas City

Photo by: Ryan Weaver

Photo by: Copyright Ryan Weaver 2023

Photo by: Ryan Weaver

Photo by: Copyright Ryan Weaver 2023

Photo by: Ryan Weaver

Photo by: Copyright Ryan Weaver 2023

Photo by: Ryan Weaver

Volleyball Opens KC Roos Klassic with a Split

9/15/2023 10:57:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Highlights vs. APSU Highlights vs. SEMO Coach Posey Interview Warren/Whetstone Interview Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2

After falling to SEMO, Kansas City took care of Austin Peay in the night cap

KANSAS CITY - Playing at the Swinney Center for the first time this year, Kansas City Volleyball split a pair of matches to begin the KC Roos Klassic. The Roos fell to Southeast Missouri, 3-2 (16-25, 25-22, 25-21, 23-25, 15-11), before taking down Austin Peay, 3-1 (22-25, 25-21, 25-18, 25-13). Odyssey Warren led the Roos' attack in both matches, while the Roos' defense proved formidable, led by Carly Gillen up front and Leah Green in the back.

SET-BY-SET VS. SEMO

SET ONE / 25-16 | Kansas City jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the early going, following two aces in the span of three points by Blair Taylor. SEMO drew back within four points, but a kill by Sila Ozyurek sparked a four-point Kansas City run. The Roos maintained a large lead, finishing the set with a block by Ozyurek and Kimora Whetstone, and then a kill by Whetstone.
SET TWO / 22-25 | Back-to-back blocks by the Roos, one by Whetstone and Odyssey Warren, another by Whetstone and Ozyurek, got KC out to a three-point lead early. The lead expanded as large as five points, the Redhawks drew back and tied things up at 15-15. The teams traded points back-and-forth, but SEMO ended the set on a 7-1 run to tie things up, 1-1.
SET THREE / 21-25 | A kill by Warren gave Kansas City an early 3-0 lead, but SEMO quickly tied things back up. Neither team could gain more than a two-point advantage throughout the middle of the set, until a four-point run by the Redhawks gave them the lead for good at 21-17. The Roos drew back within two points following a kill by Warren, but SEMO was able to put the set away.
SET FOUR / 25-23 | A block by Warren and Carly Gillen tied the set at 4-4 early, and the set remained close until 12-12. SEMO used a 3-0 run to gain a 15-12 advantage, but the Roos battled back to tie it at 17-17 following an attack error by the Redhawks. After SEMO took the next two points, Warren took over, sending across four kills as the Roos closed the set on a 8-4 run.

S4 | ????
KC(1): 8
SEMO(2): 10#ROOUP | #DeclareKC pic.twitter.com/nBs5GKZfXf
— Kansas City Volleyball (@KCRoosVB) September 15, 2023

SET FIVE / 11-15 | In the decisive fifth set, the Redhawks jumped out to an early advantage, 5-2. Warren sent across two-straight kills to bring KC within a point, but the Roos were unable to ever tie the game back up. After falling behind by five, a block by Gillen and Warren completed a 3-0 Roo run, but SEMO closed the match out with a late block.

SET-BY-SET VS. AUSTIN PEAY

SET ONE / 22-25 | After the first score of the game neither team allowed more than a one-point lead until back-to-back kills from Odyssey Warren brought the Roos to a two-point lead at 13-11. The match remained close until 20-20, but the Governors closed the set on a 5-2 run to claim an early lead.
SET TWO / 25-21 | After a tight start to the first set, a kill and an ace by Warren, followed by a kill from Sydney Henry gave the Roos a 10-7 lead. The Roos remained slightly in front until making a run on the serve of Kaia Dunford, expanding the advantage to six points. Austin Peay drew back within three points to make things interesting, but Henry sent a final kill across to tie the match up.
SET THREE / 25-18 | After Whetstone opened the set up with a kill, Kansas City never looked back, never trailing throughout the set. An ace by Henry opened the lead up to seven points, 12-5, and later an ace by Dunford made the score 15-6. The Roos never gave way to pressure from the Governors, finishing things off with a kill by Gillen.

S3 | Man Down In The Roos House
KC(1): 8
APSU(1): 3#ROOUP | #DeclareKC pic.twitter.com/ajnuUqgYi3
— Kansas City Volleyball (@KCRoosVB) September 16, 2023

SET FOUR / 25-13 | The first kill of the game by Austin Peay was responded with four points by KC giving the Roos an early lead in the set. The Roos proceed to keep a two or more lead with a kill from Whetsone giving KC an eight-point lead at 18-10. Warren and McKenzie Moburg served the match out, finishing on a 5-1 run.

STATS TO NOTE

Against the Redhawks, Odyssey Warren achieved a career-high, sending home 26 kills on .264 hitting. Her previous career-high of 22 kills was reached against Oral Roberts on Oct. 22, 2022.
Four Roos tallied double-digit digs against the Redhawks, Leah Green (27), Kaia Dunford (19), Sydney Henry (18) and Taylor (13). Kansas City notched 100 digs total on the match, the most digs by the Roos since Nov. 1, 2014, a five-set thriller against Grand Canyon.
Whetstone went for 11 kills on .529 hitting against Austin Peay, her second double-digit kill performance of the year. She also notched six total blocks, her fourth performance of the year with five-plus.
Henry posted double-doubles in both matches on the day, tallying 96 total assists and 28 digs. Her current mark of 9.97 assists per set ranks first in the Summit League and 53rd in the nation.

UP NEXT
Kansas City will look to close the KC Roos Klassic out with a win tomorrow, taking on cross-state rival Saint Louis at 2 p.m.