"Explosive" Savannah Davison
Once again the Aggies were playing the #2 team in the
conference, but this time it was the Roos. This might be the Aggies last trip to Kansas
City with the Roos leaving the conference next season. The Roo announcer was a lady coach, who was,
as you’d expect, well-informed on the sport.
She was expecting a close game and giving out some pretty technical
playing information. Their PA would do
some embellishments on the Roo’s kills, which was okay, but their music was
terrible.
The first set started with Natalie Mickels serving it out.
I didn’t want to see that. Nor
did I want to see Savannah Davison
also doing that along with a couple other players. UMKC’s setter had a great dump shot for a
couple of kills. The score stayed close
to the first media timeout, 15-14 Aggies.
The Aggies continued with a slim lead.
The Roos got dinged for being out-of-rotation. (I wouldn’t have minded more explanation on
that call.) “Who wins volleyball games
is who makes the least errors,” the announcer said. The Aggies took Set 1, 25-21.
Julianna
Salanoa came up with an ace early in Set 2! Yes!
That was a good way to start. The
Roos went to the well one too many times with the dump shot. It was dug out and Sav got a kill. The announcer really liked her, as Sav was
hitting .500 through Set 2. She was
amazed that someone that relatively short could be an outside hitter. She referred to Sav as “explosive” and other
adjectives. Analyssa Acosta also put in an ace.
The Aggies went up 11-5, prompting a Roo timeout. They took another three points later as the
Aggies were completely blocking them. It
was a good talk as the Roos went on a six-point run, including 3 aces and the
Aggies being called for out-of-rotation.
A block finally broke up the run.
Sav got a kill when the Roos got within 3. Beautiful Megan Hart got it to set point with a couple of blocks and a
kill. Another block won the set, 25-18.
During the half, there was a fan serving contest on
court. The PA enjoyed it. The UMKC fight song played, “Go Kangaroos! .
. .” It was really catchy. I liked it.
The Roos got the first point on a dump shot. They didn’t look back after that. The Aggies were again called for being
out-of-rotation. “Coach Jordan is not happy,” said the announcer in what was surely
an understatement. The Roos fired
another ace. There was some theater as
the coach sent a player to talk to the up official to dispute a call. I missed that point and, thanks to technical
difficulties, I missed the rest of the set.
So did the Aggies, as they dropped it, 25-13 to the Roos. (I’m not
being selective in reporting. I really
did have an issue watching on my iPad.)
I rejoined the game in progress in the fourth set. The Aggies came back from a couple of points
down to tie it at 10. That long rally
was exhausting to watch. Nat went on a
good serving run. There were more
incredible rallies as neither team was giving an inch. After a Roo timeout, the Megan started
getting the ball and made the most of it with 3 straight kills. 21-18, Jules came up with a big kill that
probably finally broke them. Nat aced to
get the Aggies to match point. They
converted on it to win Set 4, 25-18,
and the match, 3-1
Savannah
Davison led with 16 kills.
Cat Kelly followed with 14
and Megan Hart with 11. Ashley
Anselmo and Julianna Salanoa led
in blocks with 5 each. The Aggies were
up 50-41 in kills. They were only 9-4 in
blocks, but those blocks were demoralizing.
There were 10 service errors again, but 7 aces. Coach Jordan might be okay with that. He won’t be as happy with the Roo’s 13 aces. This felt like a good, gritty win. I know I’m biased, but Megan again came up
big in this match. She just crushes the
opponent’s will with her shots. Aggie
blocking is also a demoralizer. As long
as the team stays strong, they can win the psychological war. The announcer did say this game was very
mental.
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