Melissa Hartsel led UMKC to an upset win in volleyball over the Missouri Tigers, (photo/UMKC Athletics)
According to UMKC athletics, it’s only happened four times, and for the first time since 1994, the Kangaroo volleyball squad knocked off the Missouri Tigers 3-1 on Monday night in front of a record crowd on the UMKC campus.
For the ‘Roos it is their 12th straight victory, a streak that started back on September 12.
“Give credit to UMKC – they played well tonight,” Missouri head coach Wayne Kreklow said. “We weren’t ready to go and you can’t afford to do that when you’re on the road. We didn’t make it easier on ourselves tonight. We made errors in key spots and didn’t respond very well when things didn’t go our way. Proud of the fight we showed in game three, but we needed to come out sharper in set four.”
The Tigers fell to 12-8 on the season.
“This is a big win for our team, our program and the Kansas City community,” UMKC Head Coach Christi Posey said. “Our kids continue to play so hard and give our team a chance and we couldn’t be more proud of them. They responded when Missouri made a run and never let up. We talk about doing the little things every day and that is what our team has done and it has translated into wins. ”
UMKC improves to 16-3 on the season.
Melissa Hartsel, who played at Missouri in 2010, was pumped up for this game. She finished with a .444 hitting percentage on nine kills with a team-high six blocks. The Tigers were led by sophomore All-American Carly Kan, who finished with 19 kills on .280 hitting with 12 digs. The match is Kan’s SEC-leading 13th double-double.