Undefeated Bison thunder thru Kansas City

By: Dan Stroud

Posted: 10/27/08

The UMKC volleyball squad started strong before finishing flat in a hard fought 3-0 defeat at the hands of North Dakota State University (NDSU) on Thursday evening at Swinney Recreation Center.

"That's a great team," Kangaroo Head Coach Geno Frugoli said. "They're undefeated in the [Summit] league. For us to show that we can play that close … shows that we're making strides as a program."

Playing without the services of freshman outside hitter Kate Humphreys, the Roos received extended work from a pair of all-too-familiar veteran players.

Senior outside hitter Mandy Tipton, UMKC's leader in career kills, and junior outside hitter Kelly Gettinger showed great leadership on the court, despite the loss to the Summit leaders.

"It was a big difference for us, playing without Kate [Humphries] on the floor tonight," Frugoli said. "But Kelly came in and did a really nice job filling in … she was really steady tonight."

Humphreys spent the evening in a black boot next to the coaching staff, cheering on her mates.

In game one, both squads came out stiff, piling up unforced errors on both sides of the net.

The teams traded the advantage back and forth, with neither able to gain more than a single point to their favor until the final four points of the game.

Gettinger led the way early with five digs and a pair of kills in the opening stanza of action. Junior outside hitter Jamie Hagerman held her own at the net, as she collected five kills and a dig.

But, in what proved to be a smartly played battle, the Bison pulled ahead late and held on for a 25-21 win, registering three of the final four points.

So even was the game that the squads traded eight leads while being knotted up on 21 occasions.

The Bison seemed to take control early in the second game, as they jumped out to an 8-5 advantage.

The Kangaroos continued to battle by pulling to within one point at 14-15 midway through, but NDSU, led by dominant freshman middle hitter Chrissy Knuth, cruised in with a 25-20 victory.

In a stanza that was not as close as the final score indicated, it was freshman outside hitter Elizabeth Beck's turn to shine as she collected four kills to lead the Roos.

"We fought the entire night to gain control … it seemed like it was back and forth all night," Beck said. "They've [NDSU] got that skill level we're working for every day in practice and it seems like we're getting closer and closer."

It just wasn't quite close enough. Game three saw a sluggish Roo squad fall 14-25 to a Bison team that seemed to feed on every ensuing point.

UMKC seemed unable to establish any momentum whatsoever in the uneventful final game.

"It was a tough night," Frugoli said. "[Losing game one] took a notch out of their confidence, then falling in the second game took another notch away … by the third game they [Roos] were just mentally defeated."

UMKC (8-17 overall, 3-8 Summit) left the locker room after an extended session with their coach with Centenary College (Saturday's opponent) on their mind.

NDSU (15-3, 9-0 Summit) headed north for a match with South Dakota State University over the weekend.

dstroud@unews.com