Seniors Honored Prior to Final Regular Season Match with Omaha

Tuesday, November 19

Kansas City, Mo.

7:00 PM

Kansas City

6-21,4-12Summit League

Omaha

16-11,14-2Summit League

Omaha

Kansas City

Photo by: Ryan Weaver Photography

Seniors Honored Prior to Final Regular Season Match with Omaha

11/19/2024 9:29:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Highlights

Kansas City fell to Omaha, 3-1 in the match

KANSAS CITY - Kansas City (6-21, 4-12) put up a good fight but were ultimately defeated by Omaha (16-11, 14-2) in four sets on Tuesday evening in the Swinney Center. The Roos won the first set by eight points, totaling 15 kills and registering a set-best .394 hitting percentage. Kansas City allowed the Mavericks to win three sets in a row following the Roos opening set victory.

The Roos totaled 42 kills on 127 total attacks for a .189 hitting percentage for the match. Kansas City also finished the match with 10 total blocks and five service aces. Nyle Mathis led the Roos in kills with 12 for the match to go along with two block assists. Kaia Dunford continued her excellent offensive season, posting another double digit kill performance, finishing with 10 and six digs for the match. Ledisi Kpea contributed to the cause, totaling nine kills on 12 attacks for a .667 hitting percentage and chipping in 3.5 blocks for the match.

Prior to the match, Kansas City honored three seniors in Sila Ozyurek, Leah Green and Kaia Dunford with a senior night celebration where their friends and families surrounded them to a rounding applause from the rowdy Roos crowd in the Swinney Center.

SET-BY-SET VS. Omaha

Set One / 25-17: Kansas City started off on the right foot against the Mavericks, taking an early 5-2 lead thanks to a pair of early kills by Ozyurek. The Roos kept their foot on the gas, retaining a 14-10 first set advantage at the first timeout break. From that point on, the Roos and Mavericks alternated scores with the Roos getting to the 20-point mark by way of an epic rally which saw Sydney Henry set up Kpea for a filthy kill. Kansas City finished the set on a 8-4 run and the Roos triumphed 25-17 over Omaha in the match's opening set. The Roos were efficient in the first set, registering 15 kills off 14 assists and generating a .394 hitting percentage.
Set Two / 23-25: The second set opened up in back and forth fashion with the Roos and Mavericks exchanging blows to a 10-10 score. The Roos committed three service errors and three attack errors in that stretch. After lots of back and forth volleyball, Omaha broke through halfway through the second set with a 7-2 Maverick run to give them a 17-12 lead to force a Kansas City timeout. Moving forward, the Roos went on a 4-1 run which was punctuated by kills from Kpea and Dunford, to bring KC with two points of Omaha. On the ensuing play, Kailee Deffebaugh and Henry combined for a block to tie the second set up at 20 apiece. A couple plays later, the Roos took a 22-21 lead via a Henry service ace. Omaha finished the set on a 4-1 point run to win the set 25-23 and draw even with the Roos in the match.
Set Three / 21-25 : Omaha got ahead of Kansas City in the early stages of the third set climbing their way to a 9-5 lead. The Mavericks kept up their offensive attacks, stretching out their lead to six points with a 4-2 run that saw the Roos make multiple unforced attack errors in that span. Kansas City responded with a 7-4 run of their own off the backs of key service aces from Leah Green and Blair Taylor to bring the Roos within three points. While the Roos got close, they couldn't close the narrow gap, resulting in Omaha taking the third set 25-21 and taking a 2-1 lead in the match. The Roos committed five attack errors and posted a .207 hitting percentage in set three.
Set Four / : The Roos kept pace with the Mavericks in set four, as Omaha held a two-to-three point lead over KC for the majority of the fourth set. Kills from Mathis, Kpea and Taylor brought the Roos within two at 17-15 favoring the Mavericks. Kansas City was bitten by costly mistakes that made the difference, committing five attack errors and two service errors in the fourth set. The Mavericks went on a 8-2 run to close off the fourth set and ultimately take down Kansas City 25-18 in set four and 3-1 for the match.

STATS TO NOTE

Nyle Mathis led the Roos in kills with 12 for the match. It was the junior's third game this season with double digit kills, the other two occasions were against UT Martin and Bradley.
Kaia Dunford ended up with 10 kills in the evening, her fifth consecutive match of double digit kills. The Waimanalo, Hawaii native has recorded 10 or more kills in 18 of her last 19 matches.
Sydney Henry set a new career high in digs with 19 for the match, surpassing her previous career high of 18 digs against Southern Missouri State on September, 15, 2023. Henry also posted 30 assists, making this the third match in the last four where Henry has marked up 30 assists or more.

UP NEXT

The Roos will stay in the City of Fountains for the 2024 Summit League Volleyball Championship. Kansas City has the pleasure of hosting this year's tournament thanks to winning the 2023 Summit League regular season title. The Roos will start the tournament as the sixth seed and play third seeded South Dakota at 6 p.m. this Sunday.