Six Roos Honored on Summit Postseason Lists as Posey and Green Earn Individual Awards
11/18/2023 9:30:00 AM | Volleyball
Coach Christi Posey was named Coach of the Year while Leah Green earned Defensive Player of the Year honors
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Kansas City Volleyball put together one of its best seasons in program history this year, winning a share of the Summit League Regular Season Championship for the first time ever, and the Roos were appropriately honored for doing so. Three Roos were named First Team All-League, and two more were named Honorable Mention All-League, while Leah Green was named Defensive Player of the Year and Head Coach Christi Posey was named Coach of the Year.
Christi Posey - Coach of the Year
In her 13th year at the helm of Kansas City Volleyball, Posey put together a season that few expected coming into the year. Prior to the season, the Roos were selected for a seventh-place finish in the Preseason Coaches' Poll. Instead, Posey led the Roos to a regular season conference championship for the second time during her tenure, going 12-4 in Summit League play and earning the top-overall seed. Overall, she has led the Roos to 21 regular season victories, the fifth 20-win season in program history and the fourth during her time as head coach.
This year's Roos' team ranks at-or-near the top of the league in nearly all major statistical categories. They lead the Summit in digs per set (16.47) and opponent hitting percentage (.185), while ranking second in assists per set (11.95), hitting percentage (.239) and kills per set (12.94). KC's five players named to all-league teams this season marks the most in a single season in program history. Across her 13 seasons, Posey has had 36 players named to postseason all-league teams.
This marks the third time that Posey has earned Coach of the Year honors. The first two came in 2014 and 2018, when the Roos were a member of the Western Athletic Conference. She is one of two coaches in program history to earn the recognition, and is the only to do so multiple times.
Leah Green - Defensive Player of the Year/First Team All-Summit
Green stepped into the libero role for Kansas City this season and has been a rock in the back line for the Roos all year. She has been named the Summit Defensive Peak Performer of the Week three times this season and was named the league's Female Athlete of the Month in September. In conference play, she led the league with an average of 4.56 digs per set and has been the Roos' most reliable player in serve-receive, notching a .955 percentage on 420 receptions.
In every match this season, Green has logged at least 10 digs, and in conference play has gone for 20-plus digs five times. During a Sep. 23 win over South Dakota State, she notched 30 digs, her second 30-plus dig performance of the year. On the season, she owns two of the league's top-three single-game dig performances. In addition to her defensive prowess, Green has also averaged 0.38 aces per set in conference play, ranking seventh among qualifying players.
Green becomes the second player in program history to earn Defensive Player of the Year honors, joining Maddie Renn, who earned the award in 2021. Renn is now an assistant coach with the Roos.
Sydney Henry - First Team All-Summit
Henry took over as Kansas City's primary setter coming into her second season with the Roos, establishing herself as one of the best in the league. She has averaged 10.17 assists per set in conference play, ranking second in the league. Her role went beyond setting, as she also averages 2.34 digs per set, ranking 22nd in the league. An attacking threat as well, she has sent across 109 kills on .324 hitting on the season.
In every league contest she distributed at least 30 assists, going for 40-plus in eight matches and 50-plus three times. She is responsible for three of the league's top-six single-game assist marks on the season, including a career-high 56-assist performance in the Roos' win over Missouri State on Aug. 31. She has gone for seven double-doubles in league play and was involved in multiple block in all but four league matches.
Odyssey Warren - First Team All-Summit
Warren's senior season has been one to behold, following up her Honorable Mention All-League selection last year with First Team honors this year. She has been one of the most reliable attackers in the league this season, ranking second in league play in kills per set (3.66) and third in points per set (3.97). On the season, she ranks in the top-50 in the NCAA in total kills with 390. She has pitched in on the defensive side as well, ranking 19th in league play with 2.48 digs per set while also contributing on 19 blocks.
Throughout Summit League play, she has gone for double-digit kills in 13-of-16 matches, including four games of 20-plus kills. Her career-high of 27 kills against Denver on Nov. 24 was the second-most in a league game by any player this season and she holds three of the league's top-four single game kill performances this year. She went for six double-doubles in league play, including an 11-kill, 20-dig showing against South Dakota State on Oct. 21.
Kaia Dunford - Honorable Mention All-Summit
Dunford has been named an Honorable Mention All-Summit performer for the second-straight season, but this time in a different set off threads. During her first season with the Roos, she has solidified herself as one of the league's best six-rotation players, ranking top-12 in league play in kills (2.91; 10th) and digs (3.00; 12th) per set. She has the league's 24th-best hitting percentage during conference matches, doing so on over 100 more swings than any player ranked ahead of her. In addition, she ranks 15th in the league in aces per set (0.30) and 11th in points per set (3.42).
Since the start of league play, Dunford has posted 11 matches with double-digit kills and 10 matches with double-digit digs. That has translated into seven double-doubles, including a streak of three-straight from Sep. 21-28. She went for multiple aces in four league matches, including a career-high five at South Dakota State on Sep. 23, a top-10 single-game ace total by a Summit League player this season.
Carly Gillen - Honorable Mention All-Summit
Gillen's senior season has been marked by establishing herself as one of the best middle blockers in the league, earning Honorable Mention All-League honors. Throughout league play, she has had the fourth-best hitting percentage in the league (.363) while averaging the 19th-most kills per set (2.44). She has also contributed an average of 0.88 blocks per set, the 12th-best average in the Summit.
Throughout conference play, Gillen has gone for double-digit kills 10 times, including in each of the team's final four matches. In eight of those 10 matches, she also finished with a hitting percentage of .350-plus. She was involved in multiple blocks in all but three league matches, going for five-plus block assists five times. Against Florida Atlantic on Aug. 25, Gillen went for three solo blocks and 10 block assists, the best single-game blocking effort by a Summit League player this season.
The Roos take the #1 seed into Summit League Championship play and have earned a first round bye. They will take on the winner between #4 South Dakota and #5 North Dakota State on Monday at 7 p.m. Kansas City swept the Coyotes in the regular season, splitting a pair of match ups with the Bison. The semifinal match can be watched on the Summit League Network.
