'Dons Bounce Kangaroos for 19th Win of Season

Friday, October 19

Fort Wayne, Ind.

7 p.m.

Purdue Fort Wayne

19-4, 8-2SL

UMKC

14-9, 7-4SL

UMKC

IPFW

Photo by: Lucas Carter

'Dons Bounce Kangaroos for 19th Win of Season

10/19/2012 8:52:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

BOX SCORE

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - For the second time in as many meetings this season, the IPFW women's volleyball team has swept the Kansas City Kangaroos, this time at the Gates Sports Center by scores of 25-23, 25-11, 25-17, improving the team to 19-4 on the year, and 8-2 in league play.

Seniors Tessa McGill and Megan Steenhuysen each eclipsed career milestones in the win. McGill's 18 digs gives her 2,080 for her career, passing IUPUI's Erin Jones for fourth all-time in Summit League history. Next up for the libero from Muncie, Ind. is Shari Bernhardt of IUPUI, who ended her career last season with 2,192 (112 ahead of McGill) and Becky Dreher of Oral Roberts 54 past Bernhardt for second all-time.

Steenhuysen dished out 37 assists in the three-set win, giving her 4,274 for her career, moving past Jill Lyon into third in IPFW school history. The Grand Rapids, Mich. native needs 376 more to pass Lindi Bankowski into second in school history. Steenhuysen also stands fifth in Summit League history with her total, 255 from moving into fourth in the league standings.

Haley Emenhiser had a team-high 12 kills against UMKC (14-9, 7-4 Summit League), while Emily Spencer added 10, and Hailie Ripley and Kendall Wienkes each had eight. Five players - Steenhuysen, Wienkes, McGill, Este Stoffel, and Erica Dryden - had a service ace, while McGill and Spencer had 18 and 16 digs, each. Jessie Manwaring had a match-high five blocks, with Steenhuysen chipping in three.

The Mastodons and Kangaroos squared off in the first set to the tune of 12 tie scored and a pair of lead changes. The teams were tied at 21 apiece, forcing an IPFW timeout, before the Mastodons rattled off four of the next six points, closing on an Emenhiser kill, giving the 'Dons the 25-23 opening-set win.

The second set was all IPFW, as the hosts carried over the momentum from the end of the first set and scored the first three points of the second and never looked back, taking a 25-11 set victory, highlighted by a 10-1 run behind the serving of Steenhuysen and Spencer.

UMKC regrouped in the locker room during the break, and came out firing in the third set, leading 8-5 before IPFW ran off four straight points to take its first lead of the game at 9-8. The Kangaroos pushed back to take a two-point, 12-10 advantage before the serving duo of Steenhuysen and Spencer came through again for the 'Dons, as the pair served to a 9-1 run, giving IPFW a 19-13 lead, as the hosts cruised the rest of the way in the 25-17 deciding-set win.

The Mastodons return to action on Saturday night at 7 p.m. against the South Dakota Coyotes, in the program's Breast Cancer Awareness Night, in which the team will wear special pink jerseys, and $1 from every ticket sold with go towards the Vera Bradley Foundation to help fund research to find a cure for the disease.

~ Feel the Rumble ~