Kansas City
3-25,2-13Summit League
Denver
17-10,9-7Summit League
Kansas City Celebrates Senior Day, Drops Match to Denver in Straight Sets
11/15/2025 2:48:00 PM | Volleyball
Seniors Maria Eduarda Motta, Nyle Mathis, Kailee Deffebaugh, Lyla Jones and Doga Eski where all honored before the Roos final home match of the 2025 season
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kansas City concluded the home portion of the 2025 season, losing in straight sets 0-3 to Denver on Saturday afternoon at the Swinney Center. Before the match, the Roos honored and recognized the career contributions of five seniors, including Maria Eduarda Motta, Nyle Mathis, Kailee Deffebaugh, Lyla Jones and Doga Eski.
Motta came to Kansas City after earning all-conference honors at Butler Community College and has spent the last two seasons with the Roos, appearing in 25 matches and tallying 37 kills on her career. Motta gave the Roos a spark in last year's win over Eastern Washington, posting a career-high eight kills.
Jones spent her senior season in KC after a pair of years at the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff and has been a starter all season long. She averages a team-high 4.78 assists per set and ranks second on the team in service aces. Jones surpassed the mark of 1,000 career assists earlier this year against Omaha and has 464 total assists this season.
Mathis has been with Kansas City for all four seasons of her collegiate career, playing in 58 career matches and winning a Summit League Regular Season Championship in 2023. Mathis has tallied 252 career kills and 46 career blocks, including a career-best 14 kills against Bradley in 2024. Mathis is averaging 1.79 kills per set this year, the fourth-most on the team.
Deffebaugh came to Kansas City after two years at Southern and has been a starter for the Roos the past two seasons, appearing in 51 matches. Deffebaugh ranked second on the team and 16th in the Summit with an average of 0.75 blocks per set last season and has tallied 104 total blocks across her Kansas City career.
Eski joined the Roos after an all-conference career at Cloud County Community College and has been with KC for the last two seasons, appearing in 36 total matches. Eski has proven herself an offensive threat this year, playing in 51 sets and averaging 1.5 kills per set, ranking fifth on the team.
The match began with the Roos and Pios alternating points until a Ryanne Wattree kill put KC up 5-3. Denver found their way back, going on a 6-0 scoring run to gain the early advantage. Mathis had the response for Kansas City, notching one of her team-leading six kills to break the Pios scoring run. While the Roos cut the deficit to as little as three, Denver was too overwhelming and closed the opening set on a 15-8 run to go up 1-0.
Set two saw more success for the visiting Pioneers as Denver opened the frame on a 8-2 scoring run backed by their kills leader Ava Reynolds who finished with a game-best 12 putdowns. Kansas City was unable to find a groove in the second set and dropped behind 0-2 with set two going to Denver 25-9.
The Roos played their best volleyball in the third and final set, coming out of the gate hot behind a pair of kills by seniors Mathis and Eski. The Roos didn't go down easy, exchanging points with the Pioneers and holding a 10-7 lead at one point in the third set. Points from Deffebaugh, Motta and Ledisi Kpea kept the Roos offense churning along in the middle portion of the third.
After Denver grabbed a 21-19, the Roos didn't give up, getting a point from a Pios attack error as well as Kpea notching a set-tying kill. Denver went on a 4-1 run to close out the third set 25-222 and take the match in straight sets.
Kansas City was outscored 54-32 in points and 39-28 in kills while equaling the Pios in the digs departments with both sides registering 38 digs in the contest. Jones and Alaina Larson led the Roos in digs with seven each while Mathis led the team in kills with six. Eski notched four kills on senior day and recorded a .231 hitting percentage, the best mark on the team Saturday.
The Roos finish up the 2025 regular season with a road match against Omaha at 7 p.m. on Tuesday evening.
