Kansas City
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Kansas
Kangaroos Take Set From Jayhawks; Fall 3-1 In Lawrence
9/9/2008 10:30:00 PM | Volleyball
Lawrence, Kan. -- The UMKC volleyball team dropped a four-set decision to Kansas on Tuesday night at the
KU opened the match strong, as it jumped out to a quick 10-3 advantage to start the first set. A pair of Jayhawk errors and a Kate Humphreys kill pulled UMKC to within three at 10-7, but KU responded by scoring eight of 11 points to build an 18-10. Kansas, which hit a match-best .542, went on to claim the set, 25-14.
The Jayhawks grabbed a 5-1 and 10-4 lead to start the second set before kills by Christiana McQuin and Kate Humphreys helped the Kangaroos climb to within a pair at 12-10 before kills by Mandy Tipton and Elizabeth Beck then tied the match at 14. The set was tied three more times at 15, 19 and 22 all, but KU scored the final three points to claim the 25-22 victory.
After the break, the Kangaroos stormed out to a 10-5 lead to force a KU timeout. UMKC then stretched its lead to eight points at 15-7 behind kills by Humphreys and Beck and an Alexandra Miller service ace. The Kangaroos kept applying the pressure behind the team's freshmen. With the score 20-14, Beck and Humphreys tallied kills to make the score 22-14 before Nicole Kerkman's ace made the score 23-14. After a pair of KU points, Beck and McQuin gave the squad its first set win over KU since the 2001 season by the 25-16 score. UMKC finished with a .259 hitting percentage in the set.
The Jayhawks jumped out to a 5-1 lead to open the fourth set before building an 11-5 advantage. After a timeout, UMKC reeled off five straight points to climb to within one at 11-10, but KU responded by taking five of six points to take a 16-11 lead. The Jayhawks then limited the Kangaroos to just three points to close out the set, as they went on to the 25-14 victory.
UMKC finished with 36 kills and a .076 hitting percentage, while Kansas had 52 kills and a .238 hitting clip. The Kangaroos also had 36 assists, 51 digs and five blocks in the match. Beck and Humphreys led the team with nine kills apiece, while senior Mandy Tipton had a team-best 14 digs. Senior Danni Sperry, meanwhile, became the second UMKC player to have a double-double on the year, as she finished with 16 assists and 11 digs.
The Kangaroos (2-7) will return to action on Friday at the ULM Warhawk Classic in Monroe, La. UMKC opens play against Houston Baptist on Friday afternoon.
