UMKC Rallies for Five-Set Thriller over Mastodons

Saturday, September 25

Fort Wayne, Ind.

7:00 PM

Purdue Fort Wayne

7-8, 3-2Summit

UMKC

5-10, 2-4Summit

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
UMKC	25	15	14	25	16	3
IPFW	17	25	25	20	14	2

Stephanie Lamberti picked up a double-double with 14 kills and 10 digs in IPFW's 3-2 loss to UMKC

UMKC Rallies for Five-Set Thriller over Mastodons

9/25/2010 9:21:03 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Box Score | Photo Gallery

Fort Wayne, IN - Despite ending the match with more kills and the same number of digs, the IPFW Mastodons fell in a five-set Summit League match on Saturday evening by a 3-2 score, 25-17, 15-25, 14-25, 25-20, 16-14.

Stephanie Lamberti led IPFW with 14 kills while Maya Schlindwein and Taryn Parker had 11 and nine, respectively. Tessa McGill and Jen Milligan led five Mastodons in double-figure digs with 26 and 18, each, while Parker and Alli Hook each had four blocks.

Megan Steenhuysen dished out a match-high 40 assists, while adding 10 digs for the double-double, as Schlindwein and Lamberti each also had a double-double with 16 and 10 digs, apiece.

UMKC (5-10, 2-4 Summit League), who fell 3-0 a night earlier to the Oakland Grizzlies, came out firing out of the gate, pulling ahead to a 15-11 lead early in the opening frame. A timeout by IPFW head coach Kelley Hartey Hutton turned the momentum for IPFW (7-8, 3-2 Summit), as the hosts cut the gap to a single point at 17-16, but the Kangaroos went on a 5-0 run to lead 22-16, cruising to the 25-17 opening-set victory.

The Mastodons rebounded quickly from their first-set loss by jumping ahead 4-0 and 9-2 before UMKC interim head coach Joan Rickert called a timeout to attempt to put an end to the IPFW run. After a pair of back-and-forths, IPFW ran off four more points in a row to take their lead to ten at 14-4, setting the table for the 'Dons to run away with the set at 25-15.

IPFW jumped ahead 5-1 early in the third set, and never trailed, using a pair of 7-0 runs throughout the frame to take a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-14 third set victory.

The fourth set opened as if the 'Dons were going to run away, as the hosts jumped ahead to a quick 4-0 lead out of the gate, but a series of 2-0 runs, followed by a 5-0 streak gave the visiting 'Roos a 10-7 advantage nearly halfway through the set. After two straight IPFW points, the teams shared sideouts for the next nine combined serves, with UMKC still ahead 15-13.

The Mastodons used back-to-back points to tie the score at 15, and the teams remained tied through 18 points apiece before UMKC used a pair of 2-0 runs, and a set-ending 3-0 run to force the match into a fifth and deciding set at 25-20.

After an early back-and-forth in the fifth set, the Mastodons used a 4-0 run to jump ahead 7-4, and led 11-6 before three straight Kangaroo points cut the gap to two. The two teams traded sideouts until the Mastodons served for match point at 14-11; however, the 'Roos went on a run, scoring the final five points of the match to come back for the thrilling Summit League victory.

Christiana McQuin and Demetria Williams had 16 and 14 kills apiece to lead the victors, with Williams setting a new UMKC single-match record with a dozen blocks, as Elizabeth Beck added seven. Erin Wellwood, who dished out 17 assists, had a team-best 22 digs, while Nicole Kerkman added 18.

With the two-game homestand now complete, the Mastodons take to the road for three straight matches, the first coming at defending Summit League regular season champion North Dakota State on October 1, on the same floor that the 'Dons won the 2009 Summit League Tournament Title a season earlier.

~Dons~