Junior outside hitter Jamie Hagerman tips the ball past ORU's wall.

Roos suffer a double dose of defeat

By: Elyssa Brogdon

Posted: 10/13/08

The Roos fell in two conference matches this weekend against Oral Roberts University (ORU) and Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW).

But the volleyball team did work at defeating another adversary.

The team sported pink T-shirts, shoelaces, socks, hair bands and ribbons for the Think Pink game Friday evening at Swinney Rec, drawing attention to a worthy cause also at a pre-game reception.

"[The Think Pink game] just raised awareness with our team as far as the girls knowing what cancer can do and what a big thing it is for women especially," Head Coach Geno Frugoli said. "They were really happy that they could be part of an event like this and just help raise awareness."

Roos vs. Golden Eagles

The Kangaroos took on the ORU Golden Eagles but lost in three sets at the start of the weekend.

In the first set, the Roos and Eagles stayed close, before the Roos edged to a three-point lead, 8-5.

ORU pushed back to a 12-12 tie, took the lead at 15-12, and then managed to make the next 5 of 7 points. With only 3 points needed to end the game, the Eagles held a 22-15 lead.

But the Roos started to climb the scoreboard (20-23) with a matrix move by freshman setter Erin Wellwood and a block by sophomore right side Holly Schmidt.

It was not enough to stave off an ORU first-set victory, 25-21.

The Roos held the lead for the first 17 points of the second game, thanks to amazing digs by Wellwood, freshman outside hitter Kate Humphreys and a couple of junior outside hitter Jamie Hagerman kills. ORU then forced it back to a 9-9 tie.

Even though the Roos rose in the tie, the Golden Eagles took a 15-10 lead and then surged to a 22-13 advantage. UMKC got in one more point before the Golden Eagles closed it out at 25-14.

Coming back from a break, the Roos stayed close to the Eagles lead, tying the score at 10-10, 11-11 and 12-12. Strong play by ORU gave the guests a 19-15 lead. The Golden Eagles ended the set and match on a kill, 25-19.

"Statistically we tied them in blocks, but I feel we could block them a little bit better," Frugoli said. "They had a lot of veteran players and foreign players who just played smarter. So, we need to learn how to play the game better, dig better, find better spots and play with that experience that they have over us."

Roos vs. Mastodons

Saturday, the Mastodons brought the Roos down in four sets.

In set one, the Roos took the first 8 of 10 points and then increased their lead into double digits 14-4 with a couple of McQuin kills. Hagerman threw in a kill of her own to maintain the 10-point lead, 17-7, as did freshman outside hitter Elizabeth Beck, 18-8. The Roos took the game, 25-17.

"It was a great start, the girls came out extremely focused and playing really good ball and that's the way we want to do it," Frugoli said. "You take that and you try to build momentum and we couldn't do that in the second game. It's just another learning experience."

After a couple of questionable calls started the second set, the Roos fought through tie after tie until the Mastodons broke the trends separating the score by 3 points, 16-13. While senior setter Danni Sperry, freshman libero Alexandra Miller, Humphreys and Hagerman made save after save, IPFW kept their lead, 20-17.

Humphreys' service ace brought the Roos within a point at 19-20 and McQuin followed up with a kill to tie the game. Still, the Mastodons pushed to set point at 24-22. The next two points split and IPFW won 25-23.

Coming back from the break, the Mastodons took an early 6-1 lead, but the Roos closed to within one at 10-11.

IPFW pushed back to make it 17-13. The Roos went on a run bringing the score close again, 17-18, but then the Mastodons went on a run of their own, earning seven of the next nine points to finish the set 25-19.

In the fourth set, after reaching a 10-10 tie, freshman middle hitter Brittney Fossier eased the ball over for the lead.

A few ties later, the Mastodons edged ahead again, 18-16.

But the Roos did not give up achieving another tie at the 20-20 mark. IPFW surged ahead and, with a questionable call, made it to set and match point 24-21.

The Roos stayed strong - Fossier's ace brought the Roos within a point - but a Mastodon kill ended the match, 25-23.

"I think we need to get better in crunch time," Frugoli said. "We lost two games by two points, and in those situations we have to come out and find ways to score points. And when we have a little bit of a lead we have to be more focused and continue to push."

ebrogdon@unews.com