KANSAS CITY, Mo.—UMKC defeated CSU Bakersfield 3-1 in Western Athletic Conference volleyball play Thursday night.

The Kangaroos (9-8, 2-2 WAC) posted 10 kills in their first 11 attempts and would only make three hitting errors in the first set as UMKC defeated the Roadrunners 25-20 in the opener.  

CSUB would score four of the first five points of the second set, but UMKC charted eight of the next 11 to take the lead. With the 'Roos leading 11-9, CSUB forced four consecutive offensive errors to regain the lead. The Kangaroos bounced back to tie the set at 14. The set would be tied at 15 and 16 before the 'Runners scored two in a row to force a UMKC timeout. Back-to-back Carol Grasso kills increased the CSUB advantage to four before UMKC scored three in a row. The 'Runners called timeout and went back to Grasso who responded with a kill to return the serve back to the Roadrunners.

With CSUB up 22-19, The Kangaroos tallied back-to-back points before a UMKC hitting error earned CSU Bakersfield a two-point lead and resulted in a 'Roo timeout.  CSUB earned its first set point (24-22) on a Sydney Haynes kill but kills from Emma Hagedorn and Alicia Harrington tied the set. Audrey Grant's hitting error resulted in CSUB earning its third set point. Both teams recorded hitting errors to make it 25-25. Harrington's kill earned UMKC set point which resulted in another Harrington kill and a 27-25 2-0 victory for UMKC.

CSUB started the third set by scoring four of the first five points before the Kangaroos returned the favor by scoring four of the next five on their own. Leading 7-5, the 'Runners sped off to a second 4-1 spurt to raise their lead to 11-6. A UMKC timeout led to three straight 'Roos' points before the Roadrunners took three of the next four.  CSUB would maintain a two-point lead for most off the set before a 'Runner hitting error would result in an 18-18 tie.

CSUB called timeout and came off the bench by scoring a four of the next five again, taking a 22-19 lead and forcing UMKC to call timeout. The Kangaroos and Roadrunners traded points before CSUB got up 23-21.  The 'Roos rallied for the next two points to tie the match at 23. Haynes provided the Roadrunners its first set point with a kill. Harrington tied the set with a kill before a Haynes kill earned CSUB its second set point. A Harrington attack error extended the match in favor of the 'Runners 25-23.

The fourth set began with teams playing to a tie on seven different occasions before CSUB took a 13-11 lead on a Grasso kill. The Roadrunners would go up 17-12, resulting in UMKC taking both of their timeouts. The Kangaroos took advantage of three 'Runner unforced errors to whittle the lead down to 18-16.

CSU Bakersfield called a timeout which resulted in the teams exchanging the next four points. Two more CSUB unforced errors tied the set at 20. The Roadrunners again called timeout. Kaylan Brandt and Hagedorn blocked a 'Runner attempt to make it 21-20 in favor of the 'Roos. The teams again traded kills before UMKC took a 23-22 lead. A Kangaroo service error returned the serve to the 'Runners. Fabiana Andrade's ace tied the match at 23. Harrington earned UMKC a match point with a kill before a CSUB hitting error resulted in 25-23 set and 3-1 match victory.

Grasso led all players with 20 kills. She earned her eighth double-double of the year when she added 10 digs. Haynes recorded 14 kills and a .379 hitting average (14-3-29).  Hagedorn hit .500 as she put up 17 kills (17-3-28). Harrington, Madison Mosier, and Devan Porter each registered 13 kills. Brandt, the UMKC setter, tallied a double-double of 44 assists and 12 digs.

“We were not very disciplined tonight,” said CSUB director of volleyball Giovana Melo. “We showed some fight in the third set after losing the first two, but we couldn't maintain the momentum in the fourth set.”

The Roadrunners (5-12, 2-2 WAC) travel to Chicago State on Saturday for a 12 p.m. (CT) start.

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