Kansas City
2-15,1-3Summit League
North Dakota
4-11,1-3Summit League
Brown’s Breakout Performance Powers Kansas City Past North Dakota
10/4/2025 5:50:00 PM | Volleyball
Freshman Emry Brown impressed, tallying first career double-double on 19 kills and 17 digs
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Nothing good ever came easy. A lesson the Roos have learned all too well in the 2025 season but also one that culminated into a lot of hard work paying off Saturday afternoon as Kansas City (2-15, 1-3) found victory in five sets (25-21, 24-26, 25-14, 22-25, 15-13) over North Dakota (4-11, 1-3). The Roos and Fighting Hawks alternated set wins with KC taking charge in sets one, three and five while UND outpaced the Roos in sets two and four.
The match began with Kansas City cruising in the early portions of the opening set. The Roos got out to a sizable five to seven point margin in their favor and while UND fought back into the set late, KC held them off to clinch an early 1-0 advantage. The second set was tighter than the first throughout but saw North Dakota lead for the majority of the frame. Kansas City cut the margin slowly but surely and drew even with UND at 23-23 but the Hawks took three of the next four rallies to seize the set.
With the match tied at 1-1, Kansas City put together perhaps their best set of volleyball yet, grabbing control thanks to some crisp passing, explosive attacking and bouncy blocking on the defensive end. The Roos cruised the whole way and led by as many as 11 points at the end of the set, taking the 2-1 edge thanks to a blistering 25-14 set win. UND pushed the Roos to the limit, forcing a fifth set with a 25-22 decision in set four.
The Roos proved to be made for the moment in set five, showcasing remarkable resilience in key moments. One of those moments arrived when the Roos were faced with a five point deficit at the 12-7 mark of the deciding set. The Roos responded with an electric six point unanswered run to take a slight edge before the Hawks tied it up at 13 all. In a first to two more points situation, Kansas City came out on top ending the match on a 8-1 run.
Emry Brown was the star of the show, pacing Kansas City with a career-best 19 kills, three aces and a noticeable .367 hitting percentage on the offensive end. The freshman outside hitter also totaled 17 digs, the second highest mark on the team against the Hawks Saturday. Fellow outside hitter Ryanne Wattree chipped in 11 kills, tying her season-best and did so hitting .320 with four blocks assists and three digs.
Alaina Larson steadied the ship defensively, notching 23 digs. For Larson it was her second match of 20-plus digs this year and her ninth match registering a dig count in double figures. Lyla Jones spread the wealth for the Roos in assists with 22, her fifth match of 20-plus assists this season. Chloe Kaminski joined Brown in the double-double club, producing 15 assists and 11 digs in the Roos 3-2 victory over UND.
Ledisi Kpea charged up the Roos defense, registering seven blocks and bringing her total for the week up to 15 following her eight block night against NDSU on Thursday. The Roos defense was stellar against the Hawks, recording 16 blocks to UND's 10. Kansas City outscored the UND 80-74 while the kills department was nearly even at 58-57 in favor of the visiting Fighting Hawks. The Roos also hit the volleyball at a .214 clip, besting UND's .148 for the match.
Kansas City will look to keep the momentum going against South Dakota State in Brookings, S.D. at 7 p.m. next Thursday evening.
