KANSAS CITY, Mo. - In an exciting, close match, fifth-seeded Missouri-Kansas City defeated No. 4-seed Seattle U in five sets (25-22, 20-25, 25-22, 22-25, 15-12) in the second match of the WAC Tournament Thursday. The 'Roos advance to face top-seeded NM State in the semifinals Friday.
Madison Mosier led the 'Roos with 20 kills, while Jessica Hendin posted a double-double of 18 kills and 16 digs. Sydney Crimmins chipped in 14 kills, while Taryn Miller had a match-high 20 digs.
Seattle U's Martina Samadan led all players with a career-high 25 kills on .432 hitting. She also added seven blocks. Jelena Vujcin had 12 kills, six digs and six blocks, while Matea Mamic finished with nine kills, eight digs, five blocks and four assists. Iris Ivanis paced the team with 15 digs and four service aces.
The first set was tightly contested, with the sixth tie at 20 apiece before UMKC rattled off four straight points and went on to a 25-22 win.
In the second set, Seattle U jumped out to a 6-0 lead and led by as many as nine (17-8). The ‘Roos got as close as three, 23-20, before the Redhawks got the last two points for a 25-20 win.
After Seattle U jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the third set, UMKC answered with four straight points to take a 5-4 lead. After four more ties, UMKC took a timeout trailing by four (16-12) and rattled off four straight points to tie it again. After another tie at 22, the 'Roos scored the final three points of the set to win 25-22.
Neither team led by more than two points in the fourth set until Mamic posted back-to-back kills to close out the set and give Seattle U a 25-22 win.
In the fifth set, UMKC jumped out to a 4-0 lead, forcing Seattle U to call a timeout. The 'Roos continued to roll, leading 8-2 at the switch, forcing James Finley to call his second timeout. UMKC led 13-5 and looked to be cruising before the Redhawks rattled off six straight points, during which time Christy Posey used both of her timeouts, to bring the score to 13-11. After both teams traded points, the 'Roos won the match on a service error.