Kansas City volleyball beat North Dakota State this past Saturday in a clean sweep. The Roos’ last six victories have all been three-set sweeps, providing a strong resume for the 17-6 team.
It was also an exciting day for UMKC graduate student Ali Schomers, who reached her 100th career ace in the third set. Schomers is only the tenth player in Roos history to reach the 100 mark. Senior Melanie Brecka also had a great game and recorded a total of 1,500 career points.
“Our kids understand what we need to do to take care of business en route to our ultimate goal, which is putting ourselves in a position to win the conference tournament,” Coach Christi Posey said.
Set One
Set one began with a serve by Schomers, and an attack error by North Dakota junior Michelle Glover gave Kansas City the first point of the game.
UMKC maintained a small lead early on, earning kills from sophomore Odyssey Warren and senior Melanie Brecka.
North Dakota rallied from a three-point deficit, using six serves to take the lead 11-10.
The Bison continued to build on their momentum, cementing their own lead with a kill from North Dakota senior Alexandria Hicks to go up 16-13.
The Roos ramped up their high-powered offense to catch back up with the Bison, with an attack error by Tanchin tied the set 21-21.
Kansas City had the last three serves of the set and a kill by sophomore Carly Gillen ended the set.
The Roos took set one 25-22.
Set Two
Set two began with a Bison serve by junior Ava Schmoll, but Kansas City’s Brecka sent over a kill that gave the Roos a 1-0 lead.
Another kill by North Dakota’s Tanchin gave the Bison an early 6-4 lead.
However, the Roos managed to turn things around and found themselves with a modest lead 16-13 after a kill by junior Bree Thompson.
Kansas City senior De’Janae Arnold had two strong kills in a row to keep the Roos in the lead.
A Roo serve was sent over by freshman Leah Green, and Bisons’ Tanchin stumbled across an attack error that ended the set.
Kansas City won the second set 25-20.
Set Three
The Roos built a strong lead off some early serves, earning a commanding 6-1 lead.
A kill by Kansas City’s senior Arnold extended their lead to a six-point deficit, landing the Roos at 10-4.
However, an attack error by Kansas City’s junior Thompson made this a close game. The Roos’ lead dwindled to two points and securing a win no longer looked like a sure thing.
Kansas City rallied, however, and the Roos took set three 25-22 and won the match 3-0.
Next Up
Kansas City volleyball improves to 17-6 and will travel to Vermillion, South Dakota, to take on the Coyotes tomorrow, Oct. 28.
