Mandy Tipton (#5) is racking up impressive stats.

Roos win two battles in Warhawk Classic

By: Elyssa Brogdon

Posted: 9/15/08

After falling to the University of Kansas (KU) Jayhawks in a four-set match Tuesday evening, the Kangaroos set off for the University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM) Warhawk Classic tournament last weekend.

"I think the KU game started us off," said volleyball Head Coach Geno Frugoli. "It gave us a lot of confidence because we hadn't won a set against KU since 2001."

Roos vs. Huskies - (18-25) (21-25) (23-25)

UMKC began the weekend tournament playing the Houston Baptist University (HBU) Huskies. The Huskies, who defeated the tournament's host ULM earlier in the day, took down the Roos in a three-set match.

In the first set, the two teams wrestled for a lead, falling into tie after tie. But the Huskies broke away with a four-point run, 13-10.

Kangaroo freshman middle hitter Christiana McQuin helped the Roos get within a point of the Huskies with a kill, followed by a service ace (12-13), but HBU continued to lead for the remainder of the game, winning 25-18.

In the second set, the teams stayed close the whole game, with UMKC gaining small leads several times.

Kills by freshman outside hitter Elizabeth Beck and sophomore middle hitter Holly Schmidt took it to 6-5. Senior setter Danni Sperry's ace and some Huskies errors kept the Roos at 10-9. Later, with a pair of service aces from freshman Erin Wellwood, UMKC was ahead 16-14.

But it was the Huskies who were again victorious in the end, as they climbed four points up from an 18-18 tie. Another kill by Beck staved off defeat momentarily, but the set ended in the Huskies favor, 25-21.

The final set of the match was the closest of the match.

The Roos grabbed the first two points of the set thanks to a freshman outside hitter Kate Humphreys. The Roos wrestled with the Huskies for the lead up through an 18-18 tie. HBU then took control of the rest of the set. The game ended with the Roos just two point behind, 23-25.

"They were a very tough team," Frugoli said. "They had a lot of their seniors and juniors playing, so they had a lot of experienced players."

Roos vs. Lions - (25-18) (19-25) (23-25) (25-17) (16-14)

On the second day of the tournament the Roos pulled out two straight victories.

In the first match, UMKC played Southeastern Louisiana University (SLU) in a five-game match.

The first set began with UMKC earning the first four points thanks kills from McQuin and senior libero Mandy Tipton. The Roos held the lead for the entire game.

The Lions climbed the scoreboard with a five-point run near the end of the game, 17-23, but the Kangaroos finished the set 25-18.

SLU's momentum at the end of the first set carried over, as they knotted the first half of the game and then won the set. The Roos fought up to a two-point difference, 18-20, credited to points by Beck and Humphreys, but the Lions wouldn't let them get any closer, as they completed a 5-1 run, ending the game 25-19 in SLU's favor.

The third game stayed pretty even until the Lions hit a 6-1 run that gave SLU a three-point lead 10-7.

The Roos fought back for a 16-14 lead, thanks to freshman outside hitter Brittney Fossier's kill and a block with Tipton. Both Fossier and Tipton achieved double-digit kills by the end of the match.

The teams stayed close, as they traded points back and forth all they way up to the end where the Lions prevailed, 25-23.

"I feel like this game was full of lessons for us," Frugoli said. "We made a huge come back in the fourth game, and then ended the fifth game 16-14."

The Roos made their come back in the fourth game after the Lions made a strong 11-3 lead. UMKC started climbing the scoreboard with a Sperry service ace, a Tipton kill, a Fossier and Tipton block, and another two kills from Fossier. Not only did UMKC catch up to the Lions, but took the lead 16-13.

The Lions came close at 17-18, but another Fossier kill not only fought them off, but started a seven-point run bringing a 25-17 win.

The final set yielded no significant leads from start to 16-14 finish. The Lions and the Roos stayed close all the way up to 14-14. Fossier pulled UMKC ahead, and an error ended the game in the Roos' favor 16-14.

"We played eight games in a row and only had a 30 minute break," Frugoli said. "I think the girls got a lot of confidence and momentum from the first game to go into the second."

Roos vs. Warhawks - (25-23) (25-20) (25-15)

The Roos finshed off their weekend in style by beating the tournament's host, the ULM Warhawks, in three sets.

In the first set the teams stayed close only getting a few points ahead of the other. Tied at 20-20, the Roos surged ahead on a Humphrey kill and McQuin service ace, 22-20. Moments later another Humphrey kill ended the game, 25-23.

In the second set, the score saw tie after tie until a Tipton kill and some Warhawks errors gave UMKC a 13-10 lead. The Warhawks evened it up two more times at 15-15 and 19-19, but the Roos held on well.

Kills by Beck, Fossier, Humphreys and McQuin brought the Roos to game point at 24-20, and a Warhawk error ended the set.

The third and final set of the match began with an early five-point lead (10-5) for the Roos. The Roos maintained their lead for the rest of the game with run after run. A kill by Beck, followed by a Tipton service ace and a McQuin kill ended the game, 25-15.

The Roos continue their season on the road next Friday taking on Oakland University in their first conference game on the season.

About coming into conference play, Frugoli said, "This is what we have been doing all this work for."

ebrogdon@unews.com