UMKC Volleyball Team: 'Roos Set To Take On Kansas In Volleyball Action
The UMKC volleyball team (1-2) will continue its 2010 season when it heads to Lawrence, Kan., to take on the Jayhawks on Aug. 31. The match between UMKC and Kansas (3-0) is set to get underway at 6:30 p.m. at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center.
Follow The ‘Roos Online
All UMKC volleyball matches can be heard online at www.umkckangaroos.com during the 2010 season with all home matches being video streamed. The “Voice of UMKC Volleyball” T.J. Jackson, who is in his fifth season with the program, will provide all the play-by-play commentary for the Kangaroos. Check out Roo Vision for more details. You can also follow live stats for the ‘Roos online at www.umkckangaroos.com.
The Opponent
Kansas enters the match after going 3-0 in the Bluejay Invitational last weekend. In the tournament, the Jayhawks picked up wins over Lipscomb, San Francisco and host Creighton. Senior outside hitter Karina Garlington led the squad in the tournament, picking up MVP honors after posting 4.00 kills per set on a .290 hitting percentage. Junior outside hitter Allison Mayfield was also selected to the all-tournament team for averaging 3.73 kills per set and 2.91 digs per set. The Jayhawk lineup also featured three freshmen, as Brianne Riley started at libero, Kara Wehrs at setter and Caroline Jarmoc at middle hitter. Riley led the team with an average of 3.73 digs per set, while Wehrs and Jarmoc averaged 10.55 assists per set and 1.36 blocks per set, respectively.
Series Record
Tuesday’s match will be the 17th meeting between the two schools with Kansas winning all of the previous 16. Last season the Jayhawks swept the ‘Roos in three straight sets in Lawrence.
Last Week
UMKC went 1-2 last week at the Arkansas Invitational, falling to host Arkansas and Stamford before picking up its first win of the season against Grambling. In the opener against Arkansas, the team fell 3-1 as junior Kelsey Knoche led the ‘Roos in the match, posting a double-double with 10 kills and 17 digs. Against Stamford, Elizabeth Beck led the ‘Roos in the 3-0 loss, finishing with team-highs of 11 kills and 12 digs for her first double-double of the season. In the 3-0 win over Grambling, Beck again led the ‘Roos, notching her second consecutive double-double with a team-high 15 kills and 10 digs.
Beck Named To Arkansas Invitational All-Tournament Team
Junior Elizabeth Beck was named to the Arkansas Invitational all-Tournament team after posting team-highs of 38 kills and six service aces in the three matches, while also notching 30 digs, six assists and four blocks with a .252 hitting percentage. In the first match on Friday against Arkansas, Beck led the team with 12 kills in the loss, while adding eight digs, two blocks and an ace. Against Stamford, Beck again led the squad in kills, this time registering 11 with a .360 hitting percentage to go along with 11 digs for her first double-double of the season. Beck led UMKC in kills for a third consecutive match, notching 15 against Grambling. In the match, Beck recorded her second double-double of the day, adding 10 digs, four assists, four aces and a block to her totals.
New Career-Highs
Several ‘Roos set new career-highs over the weekend in the Arkansas Invitational, led by Emily Lucas. Lucas, in her sophomore season, notched 13 kills against Grambling, besting her previous high of 10. Ella Meier’s 15 assists, Elizabeth Beck’s four assists, Brittney Robers’ seven kills and eight digs, meanwhile, were also a new career-high.
Out-Digging
Through the first three matches of the season, UMKC has out-dug its opponent in each match. The ‘Roos are averaging 16.91 digs per match thus far in the 2010 season. Last year, UMKC finished ranked 24th in the nation in digs per match.
Double-Doubles
Over the weekend juniors Elizabeth Beck and Kelsey Knoche notched double-doubles during the Arkansas Invitational. In the opener against Arkansas, Knoche registered 10 kills and 17 digs for her 18th career double-double, while Beck finished with 11 kills and 12 digs against Stamford and 15 kills and 10 digs against Grambling for her third and fourth career double-doubles.
Summit League Individual Leaders
Junior Elizabeth Beck leads a quartet of ‘Roos among The Summit League stat leaders, as the outside hitter sits third in the league with .55 aces per set and 3.45 kills per set. Nicole Kerkman and Christiana McQuin, meanwhile, rank sixth in digs (3.91) and blocks (1.00), respectively, while Kelsey Knoche is seventh in aces (.40).
Summit League Team Leaders
Through the first week of the season, the UMKC volleyball team sits in the top half of nearly every category in The Summit League, including leading the league with an average of 1.91 aces per set. The ‘Roos also sit second in digs (16.91 d/s), third in assists (12.09 a/s), kills (13.00 k/s) and hitting percentage (.216) and fourth in opponent hitting percentage (.168).
‘Roos Picked Third In Summit League Preseason Poll
The ‘Roos were picked to finish third in The Summit League preseason poll. UMKC, who returns five starters from its 2009 squad, finished with 54 points in a voting of a league’s 10 head coaches. North Dakota State was the unanimous vote as the preseason favorite for the second straight season, earning nine first place votes and finishing with 81 points. 2009 Summit League Tournament champion IPFW earned the final first place tally and finished second with 64 points. Oakland was fourth, behind UMKC, with 53 points, followed by South Dakota State (49), IUPUI (47), Oral Roberts (39), Southern Utah (35), Western Illinois (19) and Centenary (9).
Captains Schmidt and Knoche
Senior Holly Schmidt and junior Kelsey Knoche were chosen as captains for the 2010 squad. Schmidt, who is entering her fourth season in the Blue and Gold, has played all over the court in her three seasons, including serving as one of the team’s two setters in 2009, amassing 446 assists. Knoche, meanwhile, enters her second season at UMKC after transferring from the University of Memphis. Last year, the junior registered a team-high 312 kills, while finishing second on the team with 355 digs.
‘Roo Newcomers
This season, the ‘Roos will welcome two newcomers to the squad in junior Demetria Williams and freshman Chloe Jarema. Williams joins the squad out of Butler Community College where she was an NJCAA all-American honoree last season after registering 231 kills, while also tying her own school record of a .304 hitting percentage. Williams was also named to the all-Jayhawk Conference team in both of her seasons as a Grizzly, while finishing her career at BCC as the record holder in career blocks with 316 and hitting percentage at .304. Jarema, meanwhile, was a two-time all-state honoree at Lone Peak High School in Highland, Utah, where she helped lead her team to the 5A State Championship and Region IV title in 2007 and 2008 and runner-up finishes in 2006 and 2009.
Senior Leaders
Three seniors will look to lead the way on this year’s squad in their final season at UMKC. Holly Schmidt, Kayla Riggs and Christina McCarthy are each entering their final seasons with the Blue and Gold after combining for 464 assists, 279 digs, 87 kills, 57 blocks and 12 aces in 2009. Schmidt and McCarthy, who are both three year members of the squad, have been part of 32 wins in their three seasons at UMKC.
Last season, Schmidt split the setting duties, posting a career-high 28 assists vs. South Dakota State, while leading the team in assists in six matches. Riggs, registered the third most digs on the team with 241 as the team’s top defensive specialist, finishing with 10 or more digs in 10 matches. McCarthy, meanwhile, recorded the best game of her career against Big 12 foe Kansas, finishing with team and career-high in kills (seven) and hitting percentage (.375).
Junior Power
The junior class at UMKC is by far the biggest, featuring six returning letterwinners, including four starters and the libero, and one newcomer for a total of seven players in the class. Last season as sophomores, the group featured the team leader in most major categories, including kills, attacks, assists, service aces, digs and blocks. As a group, the junior class combined for 60% of the team’s kills, 56% of the assists, 80% of the aces, 61% of the blocks and 67% of the digs.
Individually, Kelsey Knoche topped the team with 312 kills in her first season, while Erin Wellwood’s 617 assists and 33 aces were both team-highs. Nicole Kerkman finished 2009 with a team-high 460 digs, while Christiana McQuin’s 119 blocks were the most on the team. Brittany Fossier and Elizabeth Beck round out the returning juniors, as the duo combined for 301 kills, 133 digs and 126 blocks last season.
Looking To Take The Next Step in Year Two
The UMKC roster will feature three sophomores who will be looking to take a big step forward in year 2 of their careers at UMKC. Ella Meier, Emily Lucas and Brittney Robers combined for 20 starts a season ago and will be heavily relied on again this season as all three will see significant playing time and at least one will be in the starting lineup during this weekend’s action.
In 2009, Meier registered her first career double-double with 13 kills and 14 digs against Iona en route to being named to Sacred Heart Invitational all-Tournament team, while picking up her second against Oakland with 12 kills and 16 digs. Lucas and Robers, meanwhile, each notched their best games against Holy Cross where Lucas finished with a career-high 10 kills and Robers a career-high 12 assists.
Last Season
The UMKC volleyball team had one of its best seasons in 2009, finishing the year with a 15-16 overall record and a 10-8 mark and fourth place finish in The Summit League. The 15-16 record was the second highest winning percentage in school history, while also being only the third time in school history that the team has reached the 15 win mark. The fourth place finish was good enough to put the ‘Roos in The Summit League Tournament for the first time since 2003. The 10 league wins tied the school record for the most league wins in a season, while the squad’s 7-3 mark in home matches was the best in school history. During the season, UMKC also swept Oral Roberts for the first time ever, snapping a 34-match losing streak and giving the ‘Roos only their third and fourth wins over the Golden Eagles, while also taking their first set from Kansas State since 1993.
Diggin’ It
In 2009, the UMKC volleyball team finished 24th in the nation in digs, averaging 17.06 digs per game. Leading the squad was libero Nicole Kerkman, as the junior recorded a team-high 460 digs during her sophomore season. Kelsey Knoche finished second on the team with 355 digs, good for a 3.26 digs per game average. Also topping the 200 digs mark were defensive specialist Kayla Riggs with 241 digs and a 2.46 digs per set average and setter Erin Wellwood with 240 digs and a 2.11 digs per set average. Ella Meier, meanwhile, tallied 198 digs, while Jamie Hagerman (120 digs) and Elizabeth Beck (115 digs) each added to the back row defense.
Changes in the Coaching Staff
Heather Adams joined the UMKC volleyball program as an assistant coach after serving as an assistant coach at Brush Middle School in Brush, Colo. Before her time at Brush, Adams worked as the junior varsity head coach and assistant varsity coach at Clear Creek High School in Idaho Springs, Colo. Adams played collegiate volleyball at Western State College of Colorado in Gunnison, Colo., for five seasons, where she served as the team captain during her senior year. The middle hitter closed out her career as a Mountaineer by being named First Team all-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and Second Team all-Region honors. This came on the heels of earning second team all-conference honors as a junior.
Additionally, assistant coach Joan Rickert was promoted to associate head coach after helping guide the ‘Roos to The Summit League Tournament for the first time since 2003.
Second Team All-League Honorees
2009 marked the first time since Vanessa Portela earned First Team all-Summit League honors in 2005, that the ‘Roos put a player on either the first or second all-league teams, as last year both Jamie Hagerman and Christiana McQuin were selected as Second Team all-Summit League honorees. Last season also marked the first time since 2003 that two ‘Roos were honored in the same season, as Lindsey Zerr was named First Team all-Mid-Con and Sara Foster was named Second Team all-Mid-Con that year. Hagerman, meanwhile, was also named to The Summit League all-Tournament team, marking the first time UMKC has had a representative since Noe Perreira was honored in 2002.
Returning POWs
This season, the UMKC line-up will feature three players who were named Summit League Player of the Week during the 2009 campaign. Last season, junior Kelsey Knoche received Offensive Player of the Week honors on Oct. 26 after recording a double-double against Southern Utah with 18 kills, a .500 hitting percentage and 12 digs. Christiana McQuin earned her award on Nov. 9 for her defensive efforts in matches against Centenary and Oral Roberts, where she combined for 17 blocks, 20 kills and seven digs. Elizabeth Beck, meanwhile, received the award on Nov. 16 after posting 39 total kills against Oakland, IPFW and SIU Edwardsville.
UMKC Single Season Records
Sophomore Nicole Kerkman’s 460 digs last season were good for the fourth most all-time in a singles season, while her 4.04 digs per set put her sixth all-time. Sophomore Christiana McQuin currently sits seventh in the Kangaroo record books with a .263 hitting percentage posted during the 2008 season, while her 101 block assists from last season and her 89 block assists from 2008, rank fourth and ninth, respectively. Kelsey Knoche, meanwhile, registered the seventh most attacks all-time with 1,051, while her 9.64 attacks per set last season rank ninth all-time.
UMKC Career Records
Christiana McQuin leads a quartet of UMKC juniors who have already etched their names into the UMKC career record books with two more years of eligibility left, as the junior ranks fifth all-time with a .255 hitting percentage, and ninth all-time with 190 block assists. Nicole Kerkman and Kelsey Knoche each rank among the top-five in digs per set, with Kerkman sitting third with a mark of 3.34 digs per set and Knoche fifth at 3.26 digs per set. Knoche also sits fourth all-time at 9.64 attacks per set and seventh all-time with 2.86 kills per set. Erin Wellwood, meanwhile, ranks eighth all-time in assists, as the setter as registered 1,177 in her two seasons in the Blue and Gold.
NCAA Public Recognition Award
The UMKC volleyball team was one of 841 Division I sports teams to receive NCAA Public Recognition Awards for their exceptional work in the classroom as part of the organization’s Academic Performance Program. The awards are handed out annually to teams scoring in the top-10 percent in each sport with their APRs. High-performing teams receiving public recognition awards this year posted APR scores ranging from 978 to a perfect 1,000. The number of teams in some sports may exceed 10 percent depending on how many achieved perfect scores. The most recent APRs are multi-year rates based on scores from the 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 academic year.
‘Roos in The Classroom
Last season, 11 ‘Roos were named to The Summit League Academic all-Conference team, including current ‘Roos Elizabeth Beck, Brittany Fossier, Nicole Kerkman, Kelsey Knoche, Christina McCarthy, Christiana McQuin, Ella Meier and Erin Wellwood. In order to be named to academic all-League team, each student-athlete must post a GPA of 3.0 or higher in the semester in which they compete. Additionally, three ‘Roos were named distinguished scholars for posting a GPA above 3.6, including Beck.
Meanwhile, five current player and six total were named to the Commissioner’s List of Academic Excellence, including McCarthy, Beck, Fossier, Kerkman and Wellwood, for posting a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better.
