Tuesday, September 16
Kansas City, Mo.
6:00 PM
Kansas City
vs
Western Illinois
Notes: Kansas City Set for Home Opener Against Western Illinois
9/15/2025 3:34:00 PM | Volleyball
Roos to tangle with Leathernecks for 46th match all-time, lead series 23-22
Kansas City NotesÂ
- Kansas City took part in the Bradley Family Weekend Tournament last weekend. The Roos went 1-2, including beating Jacksonville State 3-1, their first win of the year, and falling to Central Michigan and Bradley in straight sets. Kansas City dropped the first set to the Gamecocks before rattling off three straight (25-21, 25-15, 25-21) to take the match in comeback fashion.Â
- Ryanne Wattree made the Bradley Invite All-Tournament Team following a surgical showing. The sophomore outside hitter tallied 28 kills and a .379 hitting percentage across all three matches. Wattree leads the Roos in kills and points and has six matches of nine kills or more this season.Â
- Kansas City and Western Illinois have a strong series history with 45 total matchups since the series began in the mid-90's. The Roos are 23-22 and 12-11 at home against the Leathernecks. KC has won the last 10 matchups of the series dating back to 2011. Last time out against WIU, the Roos won 3-2, taking the deciding set 16-14 on November 19, 2022.
- The Roos ranks third in the Summit League in digs as a team with 451 in nine matches and fourth in digs per set in the conference at 15.03 in 2025.Â
- Chloe Kaminski leads the charge for the Roos defensively as the junior libero ranks fifth in the Summit League in digs with 108 and digs per set at 3.60 for the year. The Oklahoma transfer has five matches of double digit digs this season, including a season-high 22 digs against Eastern Michigan.Â
- Lyla Jones is fourth in the Summit League in assists with 193 in the 2025 campaign. The senior setter ranks fifth in assists per set at 6.43 as the Roos leader in assists for the year.Â
- Kailee Deffebaugh is tied for sixth in the Summit League in service aces with 12 across the Roos nine matches so far this season. The senior middle blocker is also ninth in aces per set, averaging 0.40 a frame.
Western Illinois NotesÂ
- The Leathernecks competed in the Evansville Tournament hosted by the Evansville Aces last weekend, falling to Morehead, Evansville, and UAB. WIU fell to 1-8 on the 2025 season and comes into KC on a four game skid.Â
- Keyana Cruse surpassed the 1,000 kill milestone at the Evansville Tournament last weekend. With her 42 kills, Cruse has now amassed over 1,000 kills in a Leatherneck uniform. She also needs just 54 digs to surpass 1,000 digs in her WIU career.
- Outside hitters Keyana Cruse and Kennedy Adair both earned All-OVC Preseason Honors. Cruse was named to the All-OVC Preseason team. Junior Kennedy Adair was named as a player to watch for WIU.Â
- Western Illinois was predicted to finish sixth in the preseason polls. This is the highest preseason projection for WIU since joining the Ohio Valley Conference.
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ Volleyball
RS/OH
/ Volleyball Volleyball Highlights vs, Western Illinois
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