Libero nicole kerkman makes the big dig.

UMKC grab another victory at the Kangaroo Klassic

By: Elyssa Brogdon

Posted: 9/8/08

T??he Kangaroos added another victory to their pre-conference games at a home tournament.

UMKC hosted the Kangaroo Klassic Tournament on Friday and Saturday. Five schools participated in the tournament: UMKC, Morgan State University (MSU), Samford University, Florida Atlantic University (FAU), and Arkansas State University (ASU).

"It's been great," volleyball Head Coach Geno Frugoli said. "The administration has done a great job of making sure everything runs smoothly. I've heard from many of the other teams that they like our facilities and they think this is a great place to come to for a tournament. So this will become more and more successful throughout the years."

The Roos finished with only one win, but freshman middle hitter Elizabeth Beck ended the week with a personal victory. Beck received all-tournament honors.

Roos vs. Bears

The Roos started the Kangaroo Klassic on the right foot, beating the MSU Bears in three games (25-22), (25-20), (25-16).

The first game was tied for the first part, but then the Roos rose above, gaining an 11 to 7 lead. Unfortunately, the Bears quickly caught up, and tied it at 13-13.

The scoreboard was served tie after tie until the Roos hopped ahead. Senior outside hitter Jacqui Wood's serving and a couple of MSU errors landed the Roos two points, bringing the score to 22-20.

The teams split the next four points, giving the Roos a game point at 24-22. The ball bounced off a Bear player, flew out of bounds and the game ended 25-22.

"I didn't like how we started out," Frugoli said. "I think there were nervous for the first tournament at home,. When they relaxed they played a lot better and had a lot more fun."

The second game began much like the first, with tied scores.

Wood gave UMKC its first substantial lead of the game by serving three aces in a row, and the score reached 10-7. Wood totaled five aces by the end of the match.

"Serving is all about focus," Wood said. "You just have to go back there, relax, focus on what you have to do and have 100 percent confidence."

The Bears didn't back down. They climbed to within one point of the Roos, 16-15. But freshman middle hitter Brittany Fossier fought them off with a kill.

With the Bears lingering three points behind, 18-15, MSU came back from a time-out by grabbing two quick points.

The Roos staved them off again, and, moments later, with freshman setter Erin Wellwood's service ace UMKC led 22-18. Sophomore middle hitter Holly Schmidt sent a kill through a Bear block and inched the Roos closer to game point.

Christina McCarthy served the game-ending ace, with the Roos taking it at 25-20.

After an intense team huddle, the Roos came back to the court ready for game three with freshman Alexandra Miller as the new libero.

The Roos took a strong lead, 15-5., thanks also to freshman middle hitter Christiana McQuin, who led the Roos with 10 match kills against MSU.

"I just focused on the game and tried to stay pumped up and motivated with my team that usually helps a lot," she said.

UMKC kept a 10-point or higher lead for most of the rest of the game. With the score 19-6, the Bears bounced back after a timeout, hit two straight kills and doubled their score before the end of the game.

At match point, MSU slammed the ball into the net and and it was all over, with a score of 25-16.

Roos vs. Bulldogs

Against the Samford University Bulldogs, the Roos faced the fastest offense present at the Kangaroo Klassic.

The Roos fell by scores of 14-25, 7-25 and 15-25.

"I told the girls before the game that we were going to have to come out and defend home court and that this was going to be a tough team, maybe the toughest of the tournament," said Frugoli. "I think the energy was there - just technically we couldn't perform the way we should have."

The Bulldogs seemed to find the Roos' weak spots on the floor during game one. Samford pounded the first four of five points to the floor.

UMKC started to make some headway when senior libero Mandy Tipton slammed a kill against the Bulldog opponents, and brought the teams within one point, 5-6. But the Bulldogs maintained the lead for the entire game. The game ended 14-25 when the ball floated out of bounds off a Roo teammate's hand.

The Bulldogs continued to dominate in the second game, cleaning up with 11 straight points before UMKC junior Kelly Gettinger broke Samford's scoring spree, making it 1-11.

"It felt good to be able to step in and put a ball down when we were struggling," Gettinger said.

The Roos only earned six more points before losing the game 7-25.

The final game of the Samford match began with UMKC's first lead of the match 2-1. The Bulldogs quickly caught up and tied the score, then went on to an eight-point run.

McCarthy's ace at 6-12 stopped the Bulldogs scoring spree. However, Samford came back with a run bringing the score to 7-17.

The Bulldogs maintained a 10-point lead all the way up to game and match point at 14-24.

McQuin kept the Roos in the game with a kill, but it was a small satisfaction in a game that ended 15-25.

"We are going to learn from this," Frugoli said. "That's the quickest offense we've seen in a while and we're going to continue to grow from this experience."

Roos vs. Owls

The Roos played the longest match of their season, falling in four games [(25-20), (12-25), (22-25), (24-26)] against the FAU Owls in their third match of the tournament.

Game one was a tight game all the way up to end. The Roos finally got a big break with a 7-1 run giving them a 21-16 lead, thanks to scoring plays by Tipton, Gettinger and Beck. FAU ended the game as they knocked the ball straight into the net, giving UMKC the game, 25-20.

"Our big thing for this match was winning the first game," Tipton said. "That's a big thing for us since we haven't been winning the first game of the match in the past. I saw a lot more hustle from all of my teammates and a lot more confidence this match."

In game two, the Owls took the first big lead, 13-4. The Roos inched up the scoreboard with a couple of kills from Tipton, but the Owls stayed strong, keeping up a 14-point difference, 8-22.

The Roos gained a couple of points from FAU errors but it wasn't enough. Beck and Tipton scored Roo points and tried to fend off defeat, but the game ended in the Owls favor, 25-12.

Coming back from a break, the Owls kept the Roos scoreless for the first five points and continued to lead for most of the third game.

A couple of digs from senior setter Danni Sperry and a pancake by freshman libero Nicole Kerkman brought UMKC within three points, 14-17.

A Beck kill and block with McQuin put the Roos within a point at 18-19. Tipton tied the game up with a kill and McQuin gave UMKC the lead 20-19 with a kill of her own.

The Owls reacte swifly, tying the game and then pulling ahead. On a block, the Owls closed it out at 25-22.

"We really saw it coming together in this game with trusting each other," Beck said. "The team trusted in me, and we just had to remember that we play our best when we are last and we did a great job of that tonight."

The Roos fought their way up to a one-point difference, 17-18, and Tipton made a kill to tie the game. The Roos then wrestled for the lead, but the Owls came out on top.

The Roos tied the score again and pulled ahead to game point, 24-22. But, the Owls would not give in as they took the lead and finished the game, 26-24.

"We won game one and we fought back in the third and fourth game," Frugoli said. "Florida Atlantic had a lot of size and a lot of power and I feel like we neutralized that. Just little improvements here and there and we'll win a match like that."

Roos vs. Red Wolves

The Kangaroos lost three games in the final match of the tournament against the ASU Red Wolves. The Roos fell to the scores of 23-25, 18-25, and 22-25.

After a couple of questionable referee calls, the Red Wolves maintained a small lead for most of the game.

Freshman outside hitter Kate Humphreys and Tipton were on their game. With McQuin's ace, the Roos took the lead, 21-18, but ASU made a quick comeback and turned the tables. In a fight to the finish, the Roos made repeated saves, but the game ended in the Red Wolves victory, 25-23.

"We played our hardest, but when we get to the end of a game we let up a little bit and we should have fought through," Humphreys said.

In the second game the Roos led early on, 3-1, but never again. ASU gained a 7-3 lead with a six-point run. The Red Wolves maintained the lead for the remainder of the game. UMKC delayed defeat with a good block, but couldn't prolong defeat for long, and the game ended 25-18.

The third game of the match began with the teams tying the first 12 points, 6-6.

The Red Wolves pulled ahead 10-7, but the Roos weren't lingering too far behind. A Humphreys play set the Roos into motion, as they stole the lead, 13-11. UMKC kept ahead for most of the game until ASU hit a five-point run and closed out 25-22.

"We faced three different teams that were all different types of teams," Frugoli said. "We had Samford and was very quick, Arkansas State was very scrappy, and Florida Atlantic was very tall, so we got a little bit of every type of team that we are going to see in our conference."

ebrogdon@unews.com