September 11, 2010
Friday Box Scores: USI | UIS
Saturday Box Scores: UAFS | UMSL

 
(ST. LOUIS) – The No. 15 Truman volleyball squad was handed its first loss of the season but earned a split in day two of action at the Triton Classic on Saturday. Truman swept Arkansas-Fort Smith to open the day but were defeated, 3-0, by host Missouri-St. Louis in the afternoon's final match. The Bulldogs are 7-1 on the season and will open up MIAA play on Tuesday night at No. 13 Emporia State at 7 pm.
 
Saturday's Matches
Arkansas-Fort Smith Recap
Sophomore middle blocker Megan Sharpe (Edwardsville, Ill., Edwardsville) had 15 kills and four blocks to pace the Bulldogs past the UAFS Lions, 3-0 (-23, -23, -14) on Saturday morning. Junior Molly Sinclair (St. Louis, Mo., Ursuline Academy) added 14 kills and hit .268, while senior Allison Barker (Racine, Wis., Racine Lutheran) added eight kills and a team-best 17 digs.
 
The Bulldogs took two close sets from UAFS (2-6) before running away in the final frame with a nine-point win. Truman got 43 of its 46 kills from just four players, with sophomore Emily Briseno (Lee's Summit, Mo., Lee's Summit West) adding six to go with the three other leaders.
 
Senior Ashley Petak (Omaha, Neb., Bellevue West) had 23 assists and 11 digs for a double-double, with Barker leading four Bulldogs in double-figure digs.
 
Truman hit .206 in the match and held UAFS to a .087 clip.
 
Missouri-St. Louis Recap
Tournament host UMSL handed Truman its first loss of the 2010 campaign in the final match of the Classic, sweeping the Bulldogs, 3-0 (-23, -21, -19).
 
The Bulldogs hit just .140 as a team and put down 12 fewer kills than UMSL, who moved to 6-2 on the season following the match.
 
Sharpe led the Bulldogs in kills for the second straight match, posting seven on 14 attempts, while also tacking on two solo blocks and a block assist. Three other 'Dogs – Barker, Sinclair and sophomore Heather Hargadine (Labadie, Mo., St. Francis Borgia) – added six kills apiece.
 
Petak paced the Truman setting core with 16 assists and added ten digs for her second double-double of the day, as only she and senior liberoCasey Bruno (Pearland, Texas, Lutheran South)(13) reached double-digit digs.
 
The Bulldogs out-blocked the Tritons, 6-4, in the match but were held well-below their season average by serving just four aces.
 
Friday's Matches
Southern Indiana Recap
Senior Allison Barker's career-high 18 kills led three Bulldogs in double-figures, as the 15th-ranked Truman volleyball squad held off an upstart Southern Indiana squad in five sets with a 3-2 (-14, -15, 17-25, 21-25, 15-13) win in the opening match of the Triton Classic on Friday morning.
 
Barker's 18 kills and 11 digs marked her 14th career double-double, while reigning national player of the week junior Molly Sinclair and sophomore Megan Sharpe each added 14 kills in a match that told two separate stories.
 
Truman (5-0) jumped out to a fast 2-0 lead, winning the first two sets by more than ten points each, before Southern Indiana (2-2) recovered to win the next two and force a fifth set. The Bulldogs then appeared to have the final frame under control, rattling off a 9-2 run midway through to earn a 13-7 advantage, but USI crawled back to within one at 14-13 before a Sinclair kill ended the match.
 
The Bulldogs won every major statistical category, outhitting the Screaming Eagles .244 to .092 and putting away 21 more kills. Led by senior libero Casey Bruno's 20 digs, Truman outdug USI, 69-57, and served eight aces.
 
Junior Kylie Easlon (Edmond, Okla., Edmond Santa Fe) recorded an assist/dig double-double with 18 and 11, while senior Ashley Petak led the Bulldog setters with 23 assists.
 
Illinois-Springfield Recap
The Truman defense held Illinois-Springfield to a .000 hitting percentage, blocking 11 Prairie Star attacks without being blocked themselves, as the Bulldogs cruised to a 3-0 (-18, -22, -19) win in Friday's finale at the Triton Classic.
 
Ten different 'Dogs recorded kills, led by sophomore Emily Briseno's six. Truman tallied six solo blocks and ten block assists, led by seven total by sophomore Megan Sharpe and four more by Briseno.
 
For the match, Truman hit just .208, but the defense stood tall by forcing 27 attack errors by UIS.
 
The win also marked the 800th win for Truman in the 37th year of the program.