'Necks take on UMKC
Ryne Wooden
Issue date: 10/14/09 Section: Sports
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The Fighting Leathernecks (8-12, 4-5 Summit League) hosted the Kangaroos on Sept. 19 and came away with a 3-1 win.
Junior setter Ellen Miller led the Leathernecks with 47 assists and recorded a career high in digs with 31, while sophomore Cait Egan added 16 kills in the 'Necks' last match with UMKC.
Egan and Miller have led the 'Necks all season. Egan leads the team in kills with 221, averaging 2.95 per set while Miller has earned 723 assists.
Egan has also helped on the defensive side of the net, adding 56 total blocks. Freshman Bridget Murphy has tallied a team high 219 digs with an average of 2.84 per set.
Head coach Kym McKay has watched her team spin off three wins in its last five games. The 'Necks lost their last contest to conference foe Oakland in three-straight sets over the weekend.
"We didn't get into a rhythm and Oakland did a great job getting into a rhythm offensively," McKay said. "A big part of the game camedown to our lack of ball control. You are not going to win any match with that."
Western Illinois has already faced every team in The Summit League this fall, winning four of the nine matches.
Thursday's match against UMKC will kick off the second round of conference play.
"The second half of Summit League play is always tougher," McKay said. "It is tough physically because of the wear and tear of the season, but it is also much more demanding mentally. We have to evaluate our levels of mental toughness from the first half of the season and do more than that."
The UMKC Kangaroos have bounced back after a long seven- game losing streak to win three of their last four matches. The team will head into Macomb after a big weekend where they handled both Oral Roberts and Centenary at their home courts.
Sophomore libero Nicole Kerkman is currently leading the Kangaroos with 288 digs this season while sophomore outside-hitter Kelsey Knoche has posted 221 kills.
Geno Frugoli is entering his third season as the head coach of the UMKC volleyball program, where he has posted a 17-47 overall record and a 7-25 mark in Summit League play.
After Thursday's match, the 'Necks will head to Cedar City, Utah to take on another Summit League opponent, Southern Utah. The 'Necks hosted the Thunderbirds earlier this year and shut them out in straight sets.
If Western posts victories against UMKC and Southern Utah, the 'Necks will move above the .500 mark in Summit play.
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