November 1, 2010
Full Notes (PDF)
The penultimate week of the regular season brings with it an NCAA tournament feel for the 16th-ranked Truman volleyball team, as the Bulldogs will take on two teams listed in the top eight of last week's regional poll. The Bulldogs have their home finale on Wednesday night against No. 8 Central Missouri before traveling to Nebraska-Omaha on Saturday afternoon.
Truman (23-5, 12-4 MIAA) will try to split the regular season series with the UCM Jennies (24-4, 14-2 MIAA), who enter the week with a half-game lead in the conference standings. UCM defeated Truman, 3-0, on Oct. 6 in Warrensburg, and were the region's top team through last week's NCAA South Central region poll. That could change, however, as the Jennies fell for the second time this season to Washburn, who sit at 13-2 in the conference. Wednesday night's match is set for a 7pm first serve.
Then, on Saturday, the Bulldogs begin a three-match road trip to wrap up the regular season, starting with the UNO Mavericks (15-13, 5-11 MIAA). Despite their sub-.500 conference record, the Mavs still found themselves seventh in the region entering play this week. After an early October slide that saw the squad drop five straight, UNO appears to be rebounding, having won three of its past five matches – falling only to Washburn and Emporia State.
In an additional scheduling note, Saturday's contest has been pushed back one hour to a 5pm start after being initially listed as a 4pm match on Truman's schedule.
Following Along This Week:
Live stats for both matches will be available this week, and a link to each will be provided on the Bulldog volleyball schedule page at TrumanBulldogs.com.
Pay-per-view live online video will also be available for both matches through the MIAA's online provider – AmericaOne/B2 Networks. In addition, free radio broadcasts for both matches will be available through each school's student station. Links to both audio and video broadcasts will be provided on the Bulldog volleyball schedule page at TrumanBulldogs.com.
Bulldog Coaching Staff:
Ben Briney in is his second season as the head coach of the Truman volleyball program and is now in his sixth season overall at the University after serving as the program's top assistant from 2005-2008. He is the ninth head coach in program history and has a 47-18 career record.
In his first season as head coach, the Bulldogs maintained a top-25 ranking throughout the season, extending the consecutive-week streak to 140 for the program. The squad won 24 games and reached the NCAA tournament for the tenth time in program history. He had five players named all-MIAA, headlined by freshman Megan Sharpe, who garnered National Freshman of the Year accolades as well as first-team all-region status.
During his tenure as an assistant, the Bulldogs advanced to the NCAA Division II tournament in all four seasons, won two South Central regional championships and advanced to the national semifinals one time (2008). He helped coach six different players to 11 combined AVCA all-American awards, saw two players win the MIAA's MVP award and led the team to its first No. 1 ranking in the AVCA top-25 coaches poll in school history.
He is assisted by Megan Wargo, who is also in her second season at Truman after spending four years as the assistant coach at Lees-McRae (N.C.).
AVCA Poll Update:
The Bulldogs dropped five spots to No. 16 after a 2-1 record last week. Four MIAA teams stayed in the top-25, with Washburn holding at No. 6, Central Missouri falling one spot to No. 8 and Emporia State sitting at No. 12.
Regional Update:
Week two of the NCAA's regional rankings saw Truman slip from No. 2 to No. 3 following its loss at Washburn University on Friday, Oct. 22. Central Missouri held on to the top spot, while the Bulldogs and Lady Blues flipped at Nos. 2 and 3.
In addition, Abilene Christian moved past Emporia State to No. 4, while the Hornets fell from No. 4 to No. 5.
The top eight teams from three conferences in the South Central region will qualify for the postseason, which begins on Nov. 18. Conference champions from the MIAA, Lone Star and Heartland conferences receive automatic berths, leaving five at-large positions for the remaining programs. Teams must be .500 or above to be eligible for the postseason.
Northwest Missouri (No. 6) and Nebraska-Omaha (No. 7) stayed in place to keep six of the top seven spots belonging to the MIAA, while West Texas A&M (No. 8), Angelo State (No. 9) and Tarleton State (No. 10) rounded out the final three spots while representing the Lone Star Conference. No Heartland team was listed in the top-ten for the second straight week.
Quick Sets:
- The Bulldogs were selected to the AVCA coaches' top-25 poll for the 150th straight week, dating back to 2000, when they came in at No. 16 in this week's poll. The next poll comes out on Monday, Nov. 8.
- The Oct. 29 match against Missouri Southern provided a handful of statistical anomalies, as the 'Dogs totaled more kills and digs than the Lions. It was also the first time this season that Truman lost a five-set match, as the purple and white are now 7-1 when going the distance this year.
- Truman has often been able to avoid getting blown out in sets this season, going 47-20 in sets that have a five-point or greater spread at conclusion. In addition, the team is 10-0 in sets decided by 11 or more points.
Creating that Lasting Impression:
Senior Ashley Petak cracked the program's all-time digs chart this past week, moving past Brenda Ippensen (1998-2001) into tenth all-time with 1,292 career digs. With just 13 more digs, she'll move into ninth past Janelle Zehr (1997-2000), who closed her career with 1,304 digs.
She also is third all-time in career assists (3,363), fifth in service aces (135), and sixth in both matches (148) and sets (537) played. At her current pace, she will have chances to move up the charts even further in both matches and sets played.
Crunch Time:
With just four regular season matches remaining, senior libero Casey Bruno currently has a .08/set lead in Truman's all-time digs per set chart. She leads Whitney Boehler (2005-08), who finished her career with a 4.40 digs/set average.
Despite playing the majority of her career in the 25-point rally-scoring era, Bruno is also just four matches behind Boehler for the most 20+ dig matches in program history. The 5-foot-5 Pearland, Texas-native has 24 career matches beyond that level and needs four more to tie Boehler's program record of 28.
Signed, Sealed, Delivered:
When the 'Dogs have gotten ahead, 2-0, in a match this season, it's been lights-out for their opponents, as the 'Dogs are closing out matches 100% of the time in the ensuing sets. Truman is now 14-0 when getting ahead, 2-0.
Throw it in “Neutral”:
In neutral-site matches this season, the Bulldogs are 10-0, compared to 8-1 at home and 5-4 in true road contests.
Milestone Watch:
- After moving into the program's top-ten in all-time assists last week, junior Kylie Easlon (1,217) needs just two more to pass Theresa Huff's one-year career total of 1,218 and move into ninth all-time. She is also just 56 digs (444) away from reaching 500 for her career.
- Sophomore Heather Hargadine needs one kill to reach 250 for her career.
- Sophomore Allyson Stellmach needs two blocks to reach 50 for her career.
- Sophomore Lauren Radix needs three blocks to reach 50 for her career.
- Sophomore Megan Sharpe (203) surpassed 200 career blocks last week.
Up Next:
Following Saturday's match at Nebraska-Omaha, the Bulldogs will have just two matches left in the 2010 regular season – both on the road next weekend. Truman will head to Maryville, Mo., to take on Northwest Missouri on Friday, Nov. 13, before heading to St. Joseph, Mo., on Saturday (Nov. 14) evening for a battle with Missouri Western.
