Kansas City
Arkansas State
UMKC Falls To Arkansas State in Kangaroo Klassic Finale
9/6/2008 8:30:00 PM | Volleyball
Kansas City, Mo. -- The UMKC volleyball team dropped its Kangaroo Klassic finale to Arkansas State in three sets on Saturday night at the Swinney Recreation Center. The Kangaroos dropped the match to the Red Wolves by the scores of 25-23, 25-18 and 25-22. Freshman Elizabeth Beck was named to the all-tournament team after finishing with 29 kills in the team's four matches on the weekend.
Head Coach Geno Frugoli switched up the starting line-up for the match, as five freshmen and Mandy Tipton were among the starters introduced. Once the first set started, UMKC and ASU battled to a nine all tie through the first 18 points before the Red Wolves pushed out to a 14-12 advantage. The Kangaroos kept the margin to within two before tying the set at 18 via a Mandy Tipton kill. The squad then stretched its lead to three at 21-18 before ASU ran off four straight points to regain the 22-21 advantage. The 'Roos tied the score twice in the final five points, but with the score 23 all, the Red Wolves used a pair of UMKC attack errors to take the set, 25-23.
Arkansas State started the second set strong by scoring seven of the first 10 points before kills by Beck and TIpton pulled the 'Roos to within two at 12-10. The Red Wolves quickly stretched their advantage to six at 17-11, but UMKC wouldn't get any closer than four (19-15) for the remainder of the set. ASU went on to claim the set by the 25-18 scoreline.
After the 10-minute intermission, Arkansas State jumped out to a 10-7 lead before the Kangaroos reeled off six of seven points to take a 13-11 lead. Freshmen Christiana McQuin and Kate Humphreys contributed kills for the team during the spurt. UMKC pushed its lead to four at 17-13 and again at 20-16 but ASU wouldn't back down. The Red Wolves fought back to even the tally at 22 before a pair of Kangaroo attack errors put ASU up two at 24-22. Cayla Field, who was named to the all-tournament team, then gave the Red Wolves the win with a kill to end the match.
UMKC finished with 34 kills and a .158 hitting percentage, while ASU had 33 kills and a .158 clip. The Kangaroos also had 33 assists, 37 digs and six blocks in the match. Tipton posted her second straight double-digit kill total, as she finished with 11 on the night. Beck, meanwhile, added eight for the team off the bench. Erin Wellwood posted her first career double-double and the team's first double-double of the season, as she finished with 19 assists and 11 digs.
Samford claimed the tournament title with a perfect 4-0 record, while Florida Atlantic was the runner-up with a 2-1 mark. The Bulldogs' Hillary Fountain was named the Kangaroo Klassic MVP, while Courtney Gay (Samford), Sheriden Stangohr (Samford), Morgan Johns (FAU), Krystana Castro (FAU), Erica Turnbull (MSU), Fielder (ASU) and Beck (UMKC) were also named to the all-tournament team.
UMKC (2-6) will have a short turnaround, as it will travel to Lawrence, Kan., on Tuesday to face the Kansas Jayhawks.
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