Kansas City volleyball earned its third straight sweep this past Saturday against St. Thomas University. It was a thrilling match and the first time these two teams have met. It was also an exciting game for Kansas City freshman Devynn Day and sophomore Emma Crouch as they both recorded their first career kills in set two.
Coach Christi Posey was very proud of her team, but made it clear that there is always room for improvement.
“Any win is appreciated, especially on the road, but we still have room to grow, and the strength of the league means we have more work to do,” Posey said.
Set One
Set one began with a kill by Kansas City senior Melanie Brecka. A Roo serve from junior Kennedy Schritenthal followed, but a kill was sent back by St. Thomas sophomore Claire Ricard.
Kansas City didn’t hesitate to take the early lead from there, with a serve from Brecka and a kill by sophomore Carly Gilen putting the Roos up 6-2.
St. Thomas fought back from the deficit, and an unfortunate attack error by Kansas City senior Brecka tied the set 11-11.
The Tommies had the next five serves and took the lead, 15-11. However, a service error by Tommies freshman Lauren Galvin gave Kansas City the next two serves.
The Roos turned the momentum and capitalized on a service error by St. Thomas junior Selena Levendoski to take a 20-19.
The Roos had the next five serves and ended the set with a 25-19 win.
Set Two
Set two began with a Roo serve by graduate student Alli Schomers, but an attack error by Brecka gave St. Thomas the first point.
After jumping out to an early 6-2 lead, the Roos managed to stay ahead for most of the set. An attack error by St. Thomas sophomore Claire Richard kept Kansas City in the lead, 15-9.
Kansas City’s senior Brecka was on fire with kills. Brecka had another kill and advanced the Roos score to 16-10.
The Roos cleaned up and only allowed four points to the Tommies for the rest of the set, winning 25-14.
Set Three
Set three began with a St. Thomas serve sent over by freshman Lauren Galvin, but a kill by Kansas City junior Raina Smith gave the Roos the first point.
A block error by St. Thomas freshman Libby Mattila tied the set, 3-3.
Scoring went back and forth once again, and in the middle of the match Kansas City junior Kennedy Schritenthal sent over a perfect serve and cluttered St. Thomas’ rotation. It was an easy kill for Brecka to take an 11-8 lead.
A kill by Levendoski raised St. Thomas’ score to 11 points, but that still wasn’t enough to keep up with the Roos.
Kansas City sophomore Odyssey Warren sent across three straight kills and gave Kansas City a 17-12 lead.
The Tommies rallied to put the pressure on with a kill by St. Thomas freshman Mattila to close Kansas City’s lead to 24-23.
A kill by Kansas City sophomore Carly Gillen ended the game.
The Roos won set three 25-23.
Next Up
Kansas City improves to 15-5 and will travel to Omaha to take on the Mavericks today, Oct. 19.
