Chicago State Box | UMKC Box

RADFORD, Va. – Radford volleyball split on day two of the RU Fall Tournament, sweeping Chicago State before falling to UMKC in the championship match, 3-2.
 
Senior Megan McWhorter (Newport News, Va./Peninsula Catholic) and freshman Emma Deininger (Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven) were named to the all-tournament team. McWhorter recorded 25 kills and 24 digs, including a 16-kill, 17-dig performance against UMKC, on day two.
 
Radford (2-4) hit .325 and used a balanced offense to sweep Chicago State, 3-0. Six players recorded five-plus kills led by McWhorter with nine. Rachel Wiechecki (Wilmington, Del./Ursuline Academy) added seven with Jesse Miedema (Huron, Ohio/Huron) and Carly Fleming (Manassas, Va./Osbourn Park) chipping in with six apiece.
 
Fleming hit .600, followed closely by McWhorter at .562. The rookie setting tandem of Christine Beckham (Ashburn, Va./Stone Bridge) and Jena Braden (New Knoxville, Ohio/New Knoxville) each distributed 17 assists. Defensively, Rachel Brummitt (Plano, Texas/Plano West) registered 11 digs and junior Emily Hayes (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) recorded a match-high five block assists.
 
Powered by a .400 attack percentage, Radford cruised to a 25-12 game-one victory. With the score knotted at 4-4 apiece, the Highlanders, behind three of McWhorter's four kills (.667), took command with an 8-1 run to push ahead 12-5.
 
Another 8-1 run, this time in game two, broke open a 10-10 deadlock and keyed Radford to a 2-0 advantage (25-19). Two of the Highlanders' five blocks keyed the game-changing run. Rachel Fertitta (Roanoke, Va./Emory and Henry) and Deininger found the floor for seven of the team's 11 kills and were involved in half of Radford's blocks.
 
Radford closed out the match hitting .323 for a 25-17 game-three victory. McWhorter tallied four more of her team-best nine kills in the clinching set. Wiechecki and Fleming added three each. A 7-1 spurt broke an 11-11 tie, giving the Highlanders an 18-12 lead and they would close out the match on Fleming's sixth kill.
 
Against the Kangaroos, Radford, playing its fourth five-setter in six matches, jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but UMKC rallied with three straight victories to rally and earn the win the championship match. The 'Roos finished undefeated (3-0) on the weekend, while the Highlanders went 2-1.
 
The Highlanders raced out to an 8-2 lead in game one and led start to finish to grab the early advantage. Radford led by as many as seven and after UMKC cut the lead to 23-20, it scored two of the final three points, the last on a Deininger kill, to secure the win.
 
Another fast start gave the Highlanders, 7-0 and 15-6 leads in game two. However, a late 6-0 spurt saw the 'Roos stave off five game points and give them a 25-24 lead. Radford dug down and reeled off three straight, which included blocks by McWhorter and Fleming, for the 27-25 win and 2-0 lead.
 
The Kangaroos (3-3), behind a 9-4 start, led start to finish in game three to extend the match to four games with a 25-14 win. They would force a game five after rallying from a 9-4 deficit to eventually tie the match at 20 with a 4-0 spurt. With the game knotted at 22-22, three straight kills by all-tournament selection Chloe Jarema closed gave the 'Roos the victory.
 
The Highlanders got another quick start (4-2) in game five and pushed their lead to 9-5 and seemed in control. However, UMKC came out of a timeout and rattled off five straight points to grab a 10-9 lead. After Radford tied it on a McWhorter kill, the Kangaroos scored four in a row to give them four match points. The Highlanders were able to net three in-a-row before a kill by Elizabeth Beck completed the rally.
 
Along with McWhorter, Deininger tallied 10 kills, while Brummitt and Wiechecki recorded 14 and digs, respectively. Braden and Beckham added 25 and 19 assists. Tournament MVP Kelsey Knoche led all attackers with a match-high 18 kills to go along with 10 digs.
 
Radford returns to action next weekend at Miami/Best Western Tournament where it will face Alabama A&M on Friday at 5 p.m. and close out with host Miami (Ohio) and Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday.