Roos Remain Undefeated in League Play with Five Set Win

Saturday, September 23

Kansas City, Mo.

1:00 PM

Kansas City

11-3,2-0Summit League

South Dakota State

3-11,1-1Summit League

South Dakota St.

Kansas City

Photo by: Francie Wilson

Roos Remain Undefeated in League Play with Five Set Win

9/23/2023 4:52:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

Odyssey Warren surpassed 1,000 career kills and led the Roos to victory with 26 total kills on the day

KANSAS CITY - Kansas City defeated South Dakota State in its Summit League home opener, winning a close five-set match. The Roos pulled out the 3-2 (25-15, 25-23, 20-25, 23-25, 17-15) victory to remain undefeated in Summit League play. Odyssey Warren reached a collegiate milestone with 1,000 career kills and led the match with a career-high 26 kills. Kaia Dunford delivered five aces from the service line, and Sydney Henry efficiently managed the offense with 54 assists.

SET BY SET

SET ONE / 25-16 | Kansas City jumped out to an eight point lead on the serve of Kaia Dunford, sending across two aces and a kill. Blair Taylor notched an ace as well, extending the Roos lead to nine points. The Jackrabbits drew back within four points, but a four-point Kansas City run, led by two kills from Warren, iced the set.
SET TWO / 25-23 | Both teams went back-and-forth to begin the second set, until a Sila Ozyurek kill sparked a 6-0 Kansas City run, giving the Roos a 14-8 lead. South Dakota State battled back to take a brief lead, but Caroline Keithley came in to serve and the Roos regained the lead using kills from Carly Gillen, Dunford and Warren. SDSU battled off two set points, but a kill by Warren gave KC the two set lead.
SET THREE / 20-25 | The Jackrabbits jumped out to an early lead in the third set, but the Roos battled back to take a 6-4 lead on a streak of five-straight kills. The teams traded runs back-and-forth, as SDSU went on a four-point run, followed by a seven-point streak by the Roos. South Dakota State notched a 10-2 run to claim the lead for good and force a fourth set.
SET FOUR / 23-25 | Kansas City jumped out to a 4-0 lead behind a pair of kills from Kimora Whetstone, but the Jackrabbits would battle back to tie things up at 11-11. The Roos reclaimed a brief lead and looked in control of the set with a 22-19 advantage, but SDSU ended the set on a 6-1 run and took things to the fifth set.
SET FIVE / 17-15 | The fifth set was a battle, with neither team claiming a lead of more than three points. The Roos were called for a rotation error that gave the Jackrabbits a match point, 14-12, but Kansas City battled back and pulled out the victory, with kills from Sydney Henry and Dunford icing the match.

STATS TO NOTE

With her seventh kill today, Odyssey Warren surpassed the 1,000 kill mark on her career. She finished with a game-high 26 kills, putting her 19 kills away from crossing into the top ten in program history in career kills.
Three Roos posted double-doubles on the match: Warren (26 kills, 17 digs), Dunford (14 kills, 21 digs) and Henry (54 assists, 13 digs).
Kansas City finished the match with nine aces, led by Dunford, who sent across a career-high five.
Leah Green finished the day with 30 digs, her second time this year surpassing that mark.

UP NEXT
The Roos are back in action on the road next week, taking on South Dakota on Thursday at 7 p.m.