Full Notes (PDF)

 

(KIRKSVILLE) – The 16th-ranked Truman volleyball team will play in front of its home crowd for the first time in 2010 this Friday night in a second-straight top-25 battle, as No. 3 Washburn comes to Kirksville for a 7 pm match. Following that, Truman will face Fort Hays State at 4 pm on Saturday afternoon.

 

Truman has lost two straight after opening the season with seven wins, though each of the past two losses came on the road to current top-25 opponents.

 

The Bulldogs welcome a Washburn squad that is 9-0 overall, 1-0 in the MIAA, and is coming off a 3-0 win against Northwest Missouri State in Topeka, Kan., on Tuesday night to open conference play.

 

Meanwhile, Fort Hays State (3-6, 0-1 MIAA) fell in three sets to Missouri Western at home on Wednesday night.

 

The Bulldogs went 3-2 in a five-match stretch from Sept. 10-14, which included four contests at the Triton Invitational in St. Louis, Mo., before opening MIAA play at No. 13 Emporia (Kan.) State on Tuesday night.

 

Truman won a five-set match against Southern Indiana before posting back-to-back sweeps against Illinois-Springfield and Arkansas-Fort Smith. But the host Missouri-St. Louis Tritons were able to then turn the tables and sweep the 'Dogs, dropping the purple and white to 7-1 through the first two weekends of non-conference action.

 

Then, on Tuesday night, a high-powered offensive showdown resulted in the No. 13 Hornets slipping out with a 3-1 victory in Emporia against Truman. Sophomore middle blocker Megan Sharpe recorded a career-best 20 kills to go with zero attack errors, while three other 'Dogs recorded double-digit kills. The Bulldogs hit .340 for the match and out-dug the Hornets by six.

 

Following Along This Week:
Check out the all-new TrumanBulldogs.com this weekend, as live stats, box scores and game recaps will all be available throughout the weekend to follow along with the Bulldogs if you're unable to make it to Kirksville for the home openers.

 

Free live stats for all home matches in 2010 will be available through Truman's sports Information office, while live video will be hosted by B2 Networks.  

 

Truman home volleyball matches are free for all spectators.

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 31-15 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.).

- The Truman volleyball program reached career win No. 800 in a 3-0 sweep of Illinois-Springfield on Sept. 10 at the Triton Classic. This is the 37^th season of Bulldog volleyball, meaning the program has averaged more than 20 wins per season throughout its duration.

 

- The Bulldogs were selected to the AVCA coaches' top-25 poll for the 143^rd 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, Sept. 20.

 

- The Bulldogs have had success this season when heading to “overtime” in a set, as Truman is 3-1 in sets that go beyond 25 points (ex: 26-24).

 

- The Bulldogs were picked to finish fifth in the MIAA this season, as selected by the coaches in the annual preseason poll. Defending MIAA champions, the University of Central Missouri, were picked to repeat, followed by Washburn, Emporia State, Pittsburg State and Truman.

 

- Truman has nine matches this season against teams ranked in the preseason top-25, with eight coming in MIAA play. Last season, Truman went 4-9 in top-25 showdowns.

- Team Offense: 13.36 kills/set; .229 atk pct; 1.85 aces/set

- Team Defense: 15.70 digs/set; 2.33 blocks/set

 

- Top Offense: Molly Sinclair (3.50 kills/set, .246 atk pct); Megan Sharpe (2.94 k/s, .385 atk pct)

- Top Setter: Ashley Petak (200 assists, 6.06/set); Kylie Easlon (147 assists, 4.45/set)

- Top Defense: Casey Bruno (125 digs, 4.31/set); Sharpe (33 blocks, 1.03/set)

- Team Offense: 14.41 kills/set; .301 atk pct; 1.69 aces/set

- Team Defense: 16.34 digs/set; 2.38 blocks/set

 

- Top Offense: Breanna Lewis (2.82 kills/set, .466 atk pct); Hillary Hughes (2.67 k/s, .299 atk pct)

- Top Setter: Amanda Guess (241 assists, 9.64/set)

- Top Defense: Molly Smith (109 digs, 4.54/set); Jessica Fey (27 blocks, 1.12/set)

- Head Coach: Chris Herron (9^th season at WU; 256-49 record … 12^th season overall; 331-78 record)

- Team Offense: 11.73 kills/set; .179 atk pct; 1.12 aces/set

- Team Defense: 13.73 digs/set; 1.06 blocks/set

 

- Top Offense: Tracie Hileman (2.94 kills/set, .153 atk pct); Makayla McPhail (2.91 k/s, .187 atk pct)

- Top Setter: Whitney Liggett (281 assists, 8.52/set)

- Top Defense: Kirsten Chamberlin (110 digs, 3.93/set); Samantha Ledy (17 blocks, 0.52/set)

- Head Coach: Kurt Kohler (2^nd season at FHSU; 10-33 record)

2009: Washburn won, 3-1, on Sept. 18, in Topeka; Washburn won, 3-0, on Oct. 23, in Kirksville.

2009: Truman won, 3-1, on Sept. 17, in Hays; Truman won, 3-1, on Oct. 24, in Kirksville.

One of Truman volleyball's top measures of offensive efficiency is its career hitting percentage chart, and, with just 12 more total attacks, sophomore middle blocker Megan Sharpe will be eligible to be counted on that list.

 

Through just nine matches into her second season, last year's national freshman of the year has a career hitting mark of .359 – more than 40 points higher than the current chart's leader, Allie Cherven (2006-2008; .317). The class of 2008 holds the top three spots on the list currently, with Cherven, Melissa Keck (.315) and Lisa Weber (.307) all leading the way amongst all players with more than 1,000 career attempts.

 

Sharpe is averaging 2.99 kills/set for her career, which is also just outside of the program's top-ten in that category as well. Both areas were helped by a 20-kill, zero-error performance on Tuesday night at No. 13 Emporia. For her career, she has destroyed the Hornets, averaging 4.42 kills/set, hitting .600, and posting 1.25 blocks/set in three matches.

The Bulldogs will close out a three-match homestand by welcoming Southwest Baptist (5-4, 0-1 MIAA) to Pershing Arena on Wednesday (Sept. 22) night before traveling to Missouri Southern (6-3, 0-1 MIAA) on Friday (Sept. 24) and Pittsburg State (3-5, 0-1) on Saturday (Sept. 25).