Early Halloween fans may have helped scare Drake's Bulldogs into rolling over.

Roos hop on top of Bulldogs and Cougars

By: Elyssa Brogdon

Posted: 11/3/08

Coming back from a 0-2 deficit Wednesday, the Roos went on to win six straight sets - three against Drake University, and then another three against Chicago State University (CSU) on Saturday.

Taking a break from conference play, the UMKC volleyball team hosted both teams last week at the Swinney Recreation Center.

Drake's Bulldogs snagged the first six points of the first set. They extended their lead to 14 before the Roos got their fourth point from a Bulldog serving error.

Drake continued to press forward, coming to game point at 24-9. But the Kangaroos proved they weren't going to give up easily, knocking off four straight points before a serving error ended the set in the Bulldogs favor, 25-13.

Drake started the second set with another strong run, 7-1. The Bulldogs maintained a six-point lead, up to 14-8. They then gobbled up seven more points, bringing their lead to 21-8. The Roos responded with a 5-2 run, but the game ended just as the first -a Bulldog victory, 25-13.

After a brief intermission, the Roos came back re-energized, earning the first four points of the third set.

The Bulldogs nipped hard at the Roos' heels, but the UMKC team held its lead for the first half of the set, 13-9.

The Bulldogs fought to only one point away (16-17), but a kill by freshman outside hitter Elizabeth Beck (along with the Bulldogs knocking the ball out of bounds and into the net) changed the game. The Roos hopped up five more points, 22-16.

A few points later, the Roos faced their first set point of the night. They took the game, 25-20, at the hands of sophomore right-side hitter Holly Schmidt.

"Coming in on the third game is really hard to do, so I think it's a great step for our team," Schmidt said. "Coach [Geno Frugoli] told us there were a lot of people playing as individuals and we just needed to play together."

The teams split the first four points of the fourth set, but the next four all went to the Bulldogs. Beck brought the Roos back to within a point, and Schmidt followed up with a kill to tie the game, 10-10.

While the Roos held the lead for a moment, a couple of questionable referee calls gave the lead back to the Bulldogs, 13-11. But the Roos hung tough, earning another tie at 14-14. Freshman middle hitter Christiana McQuin added a point for the Roos on her service, giving them a 16-14 lead.

The Bulldogs caught up again, but this time junior outside hitter Jamie Hagerman, freshman middle hitter Brittany Fossier and Beck fought them off with a kill each, taking the score to 19-14. The Roos continued their success all the way up to a 25-19 set win.

A service ace by senior setter Danni Sperry, a block from Fossier and a Hagerman kill gave UMKC a great fifth-set start of 7-1.

Beck and Fossier blocked well together and the Bulldogs could not stop senior libero Mandy Tipton's kills, carrying the Roos first to 10-3, and then to match point.

An assist by freshman setter Erin Wellwood and another Schmidt kill ended the match with the team exulting in its comeback win.

"Missouri Valley [Conference] is traditionally a much stronger conference," Frugoli said. "Drake is a team that is sneaking up over there, so this is a very good win. They're ranked much higher than us. It was just a great night for our program."

On Saturday, the Roos took an eight-point lead (11-3) in the first set against the CSU Cougars. The Cougars faced blocks, kills, amazing digs and pancakes from the Roos as they fell to a 12-point deficit 9-21. The Roos took the game with a kill by freshman outside hitter Kate Humphreys.

The Roos got off to an early 5-1 lead in the second set, but the Cougars fought back to a 5-5 tie. In a key moment, junior outside hitter Kelly Gettinger slid the ball over the net with ease, giving the Roos a 10-7 lead.

The Roos would continue to lead for the rest of the game until McQuin ended it at 25-15 with a kill.

The Roos wasted no time catching a substantial 11-2 lead against the Cougars in the final set. Tipton extended the lead with a couple of service aces, 16-4. Making quick work of their opponents, the Roos closed out the match, 25-9.

UMKC (11-17, Summit League 4-8) has four regular season games remaining this year, all of them valid for conference results.

The first three are at home, starting with a match against IUPUI at 7 p.m., Nov. 7 at Swinney Rec. The last one is scheduled for Nov. 16 at Tulsa, Okla., against Oral Roberts.

ebrogdon@unews.com