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KCKCC volleyball team defeats three ranked teams in opening tourney

by Alan Hoskins

It wasn’t a perfect start for Kansas City Kansas Community College’s No. 12 ranked volleyball team but it was awfully close.

After losing to the nation’s No. 1 team in four sets, the Lady Blue Devils knocked off the No. 4, No. 9 and No. 14 teams in Division II in the South Suburban Conference tournament in Wisconsin Dells, Wis., Friday and Saturday.

“It was a good start to find out who we are, especially against the competition we saw,” said KCKCC coach Mary Bruno.

Facing No. 1 Parkland in the opener, the Blue Devils fell behind 25-21, got even in the second set with a 25-22 win, dropped a 25-23 heartbreaker and then fell 25-16 in the final set.

“We just made too many errors in the last set,” Bruno said.

But it was all KCKCC the rest of the way as the Blue Devils won 12 of their final 15 sets starting with a sweep of No. 14 South Suburban 25-17, 25-16, 25-16 and a 30-28, 25-21, 26-28, 25-22 decision over No. 4 Illinois Central.

The Blue Devils jumped in front of No. 9 Des Moines Area 25-16, 25-23 and then won the decisive fifth set 15-9 after losing 25-23, 25-18. KCKCC then closed out the tourney with a 25-21, 25-19, 25-16 sweep of Waubunsee, which had received votes in the national rankings.

“Our defense was the key,” Bruno said.

Three Blue Devil sophomores vaulted into the national rankings with their performances in the opening tourney. Libero Andrea Aparicio took the lead nationally in both total digs (119) and average digs per set (6.26); outside hitter Blair Russell of Marysville is second in kills with 68 and sixth in kills per set (3.58); and setter Lily Thornberg of Junction City is fourth in assists per game (10.11).

The Blue Devils will get no time to rest on their early laurels as they open Jayhawk Conference play Wednesday at Neosho County, a team ranked right behind Johnson County, Cowley County and KCKCC in the preseason rankings.

The KCKCC home opener will come Wednesday, Sept. 3, against Hesston but the Blue Devils will go back on the road for 11 straight matches including weekend tournaments at Highland Sept. 5-6 and New Port Richey, Fla., Sept. 12-13.

T-Bones hammered in loss

Gary, Ind. – The Gary SouthShore offense pounded Kansas City with 19 hits and scored in every inning in an 18-3 win over the T-Bones on Sunday afternoon at the U.S. Steel Yard.

Much like Saturday night against T-Bones starter Jared Messer, things got out of control early as the RailCats chased T-Bones starting pitcher Derek Gordon (1-1) in just 1 inning of work. Gordon was charged with six runs as he exited, like Messer the night before, with the bases loaded in the second.

As part of its offensive juggernaut, Gary SouthShore got two home runs and five RBIs from recently acquired Henry Wrigley. The RailCats scored two or more runs in five frames, including a five-run second and a four-run sixth. All five pitchers that Kansas City used gave up at least two runs.

During a game in which every Kansas City starter except Vladimir Frias got at least one hit, Brian Erie was the lone bright spot, as he finished the game 2-for-3 with an infield RBI single.

The T-Bones (41-51) are off Monday before beginning a three-game series at Fargo-Moorhead Tuesday night at 7:02. The game can be heard in the Kansas City area on 1660-AM or worldwide at tbonesbaseball.com.

Box score: http://www.pointstreak.com/baseball/boxscoretext.html?gameid=233345
– Story from T-Bones

Sporting KC drops 3-0 decision versus D.C. United

Sporting Kansas City suffered a 3-0 defeat against D.C. United on Saturday at Sporting Park in a match-up of the top two teams in the Eastern Conference.

First half goals from Fabian Espindola, Chris Rolfe and Perry Kitchen powered the visitors in Sporting KC’s second home loss of the season.

D.C. United, the reigning U.S. Open Cup champions, did their damage in a seven-minute span that started in the 24th minute when Espindola cut inside from the left flank and curled his shot inside the far post from the edge of the penalty area. The Argentine striker has now scored in both games against Sporting KC this season and has nine on the season, most among D.C. United players.

Just over four minutes later, Rolfe beat the offside trap en route to his sixth goal of the season. Sporting KC goalkeeper Jon Kempin came well off his line and was able to get a touch in the one-versus-one situation, but it wasn’t enough to keep the shot from finding the back of the net.

Rolfe and Espindola — who have a combined 107 MLS regular season goals between them in their careers — have each scored in back-to-back matches for D.C. United, who were playing without designated player and former KC forward Eddie Johnson (suspension). Luis Silva earned assists on both goals, doubling his total for the season to four.

Sporting Kansas City’s deficit stretched to three by the 31st minute when D.C. United again found space behind the backline. This time it was Kitchen on the break and the 22-year-old made no mistake in slipping his shot beneath Kempin, giving D.C. United goals on each of their first three shots on goal of the game. The offensive outburst was the first time in 2014 that Sporting KC had conceded three times in MLS play.

Three days after returning from a mid-week CONCACAF Champions League match in Nicaragua, Sporting Kansas City’s best scoring opportunity of the opening 45 minutes came in the ninth minute. Benny Feilhaber unleashed a shot from 25 yards out that forced a diving save from D.C. United goalkeeper Bill Hamid to push it over the end line.

Hamid made three saves in the shutout, his sixth of the season and 26th of his MLS career. Saturday’s match was the first in MLS history in which both teams started homegrown goalkeepers, with Kempin making his second MLS start due to injuries to Eric Kronberg and Andy Gruenebaum.

A scoreless second half wasn’t without scoring opportunities for the two sides. Nick DeLeon struck his shot off the post in the 53rd minute and Sporting Kansas City responded with a pair of close chances on the opposite end.

Graham Zusi’s long-distance effort had Hamid beaten only to smash off the crossbar in the 60th minute. Then two minutes later, Soony Saad found space centrally and let loose an ambitious attempt that whistled inches wide of the post.

Dom Dwyer, the second leading scorer in MLS with 16 goals this season, connected on a cross from Igor Juliao in the 73rd minute and snapped his header on target from the penalty spot only to see Hamid go full extension to his right to make the sprawling stop.

The woodwork denied D.C. United a fourth goal in the game’s late moments. Second-half substitute David Estrada was on the end of a cross from Espindola and hit a first-time volley off the post from 15 yards out.

Entering the match with the League’s best goals against average, Sporting Kansas City has now gone nine MLS matches without a clean sheet. The stretch is the club’s longest span without a shutout since 2007. Additionally, Saturday’s loss was the team’s largest margin of defeat at Sporting Park and first three-goal loss at home since June 2010.

Sporting Kansas City now sits in second place in the Eastern Conference standings, one point back of D.C. United with nine games remaining in the regular season. The team will next play host to the Houston Dynamo at 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 29, at Sporting Park in a nationally televised rematch of the 2013 Eastern Conference Championship. A limited number of tickets remain available via Ticketmaster.com.

– Story from Sporting KC