Kansas City
1-10,0-0Summit League
Southeast Missouri State
6-4,0-0OVC
Roos Push Billikens to Brink, Come Up Short in Double Match Slate
9/19/2025 11:27:00 PM | Volleyball
Kansas City stole the first two sets before dropping next three to SLU, conceded match to SEMO in straight sets
SAINT LOUIS, MO. - Even with the odds stacked against them, Kansas City Volleyball (1-11) showed tremendous fight against the Saint Louis (7-3), pushing the Billikens to the edge of an upset but ultimately falling short in a back and forth thriller . The Roos took the first two sets, 25-17 and 25-23 before falling in the ensuing three sets 26-24, 25-22 and 17-15.Â
The match began with several prolonged rallies going the Roos way, including an 11-4 late run by KC to close out the opening set in dominant fashion. In set two the Roos and Billikens played more evenly matched volleyball, but the Roos once again brought their best when it counted, stealing the set from the grip of the Billikens with a 5-2 run to seal the deal.Â
Saint Louis swung the momentum back in their favor at the 17-16 mark of the third set and proceeded to fight off the Roos at match point, going on a three point run from 24-23 to win it at 26-24 and force a fourth set. Like the majority of the match, Saint Louis and Kansas City went down the wire in sets four and five to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and break the Roos hearts.Â
Kansas City was outscored in the points department 89-73 and also failed to equal the Billikens 73 kills as the Roos posted 57 of their own. KC had 13 less errors than SLU but notched 16 less assists and doubled the Billikens up on blocks 10-5. The Roos saw four players reach double figures in kills including Ledisi Kpea at 15, Doga Eski at 12, Emry Brown with 11 and Ryanne Wattree delivering 10 for the match, all career-high nights for the former three. KC also had three players post over a .300 hitting % with Kpea leading the team at a staggering .652 for the match.Â
Alaina Larson led KC in digs with 25, posting the most digs in a match by a Roo all season. Lyla Jones, Megan Lawson and Mia Weaver all joined Larson with double digit digs, the most Roos reaching 10 or more digs in a match this season. Jones had a double-double with 12 digs and 19 assists. Chloe Kaminski led the team in assists with 22, a career-high for the Oklahoma transfer.Â
Earlier in the day, Kansas City was swept by SEMO, falling 25-16, 25-20, 25-23 consecutively to drop their third straight match to that point. The Redhawks led for the entirety of the first two sets, taking the first one by a staggering nine point margin. Kansas City kept things closer in set two, going on a three point run with a pair of kills from Kpea and one from Eski to make it a 22-20 game and force a SEMO timeout.Â
The Redhawks adjusted and took control of the ensuing rallies to take the set by a five point margin. The Roos showed the most promise in the third set, exchanging points early on with the Redhawks and taking their first lead of the match at the 6-5 mark. KC found a groove offensively as freshman Emry Brown led the charge with five kills in the third set alone.Â
Following a Redhawks run to flip the score in their favor 18-15, the Roos struck back on a 6-1 run of their own which flipped the set to 21-19 favoring Kansas City. At the 23-23 mark, the match was decided in the Redhawks favor as SEMO took the last two points to win the set and match.Â
SEMO only outscored Kansas City 50-47 in the points department and equalled the Roos in kills as both teams had 37 for the match. The difference came down to KC's 19 attack errors versus the Redhawks 10, a nine point swing that caused the Roos to stumble down the stretch. Kpea led the team in kills with nine and boasted a strong .467 hitting % while Weaver led the squad in digs with 15, a career-best for the freshman.Â
The Roos round out the Missouri Challenge with a date against Missouri State Saturday at noon.
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