Notes: Kansas City Hosts South Dakota, Visits Oral Roberts

Kansas City Notes

Kansas City Volleyball heads back home after a short stint at South Dakota State as the Roos fell in straight sets to the Jackrabbits on their home floor last Thursday.
Kansas City's last home stand was a successful one as the Roos took North Dakota State to the limit in a five set nail-biter. The Roos then took charge against North Dakota, taking the Fighting Hawks to five sets and winning (25-21, 24-26, 25-14, 22-25, 15-13) to earn their first conference victory.
Kansas City continues to perform defensively, ranking 2nd in the Summit League and 113th nationally in digs as a team with 969 in 2025. The Roos are also fourth in the SL and top 100 nationally in digs per set, churning out 15.02 digs per set.
Veteran defensive specialists Alaina Larson and Chloe Kaminski are both top 10 in the Summit League in digs. Larson's 194 digs ranks 8th in the Summit and is a top 300 mark in the country. Kaminski's 177 digs is 10th in the conference while the senior has six matches of double figure digs and a season-best of 22 vs. EMU.
The Roos have heavily relied on freshmen this season with Stella Smith, Emry Brown and Mia Weaver all playing major roles in the rotation. The three freshmen have combined for 124 sets played so far in 2025.
Smith notched 11 kills on a .500 hitting percentage at Denver while holding a .190 hitting percentage, ranking 3nd best on the team. Brown posted her first career double-double with 19 points and 17 digs vs. UND while being fourth on the team in points and kills this season. Weaver is third on the team in points with 98 and kills with 81 as a true freshman.
Ledisi Kpea continues to anchor the Roos on both ends of the floor. The sophomore middle blocker is 5th in the Summit League in blocks with 65 while posting 1.00 blocks per set which is top 200 nationally. Kpea is also 2nd on the team in points (157.5), kills (118) and leads the team in hitting percentage (.247).
Ryanne Wattree leads the team offensively in both points with 165 and kills at 151 in her sophomore season. Wattree also leads the squad in kills per set at 2.36, the only Roo over the 2.00 mark. Wattree has earned her way to the double figure kill mark on four occasions this year.
Lyla Jones has been spreading the wealth this season, leading the team in assists with 330 this year. That mark is the 7th highest in the Summit League. Jones is also 8th in the conference in assists per set at 5.08 in the 2025 season.

South Dakota Notes

USD has performed at a high level in 2025, coming into Wednesday's match with an 11-6 record overall and a 3-2 record (T-4th) in Summit League action. The Coyotes are on a two match win streak and have won three of the last four, including wins over St. Thomas 3-1 and Omaha 3-2.
South Dakota leads the conference in numerous statistcal figures as a team, including assists per set, digs per set attacks per set, team kills etc. The Yotes rank 19th in the country in assists per set at 12.88 and USD's 16.94 digs per set ranks 15th in DI NCAA volleyball.
Lauren Medeck is first in the Summit in points (287) and second in kills per set (3.97), both top 70 marks nationally as well. Kamryn Farris leads the Summit in digs per set (4.71) and total digs (306), both top 50 marks nationally.
South Dakota was picked to finish second in the Summit League preseason poll, recording 57 points and three first place votes from coaches across the conference.

Oral Roberts Notes

Oral Roberts matches Kansas City's record at 2-16 overall. The Golden Eagles remain winless in Summit League play at 0-6. Kansas City is only one of two teams the Golden Eagles have yet to play in 2025.
Most recently, ORU dropped a contest to North Dakota State in five sets and one to North Dakota in four sets. Oral Roberts has a chance to get their first Summit win against Omaha on Thursday before hosting the Roos Saturday afternoon.
ORU's Julia Carr ranks second in the Summit League in total digs with 218 this season. That 218 dig mark is also top 200 in the country on the national scale.
Oral Roberts was picked to finish ninth in the Summit League preseason poll, the lone team to finish lower than Kansas City as voted on by the coaches across the conference.