September 4, 2010
Friday Box Scores: Nova-Southeastern (W 3-0) | West Virginia State (W 3-0)
Saturday Box Scores: Wayne State (W 3-1) | #4 Indianapolis (W 3-2)
Photo: Molly Sinclair
 
(INDIANAPOLIS) – The No. 25 Truman volleyball squad wrapped up the University of Indianapolis Classic in style, beating the host-No. 4 Greyhounds in a five-set thriller, 3-2 (20-25, -22, -23, 17-25, 15-12). The Bulldogs concluded the opening weekend with a perfect 4-0 record after an earlier 3-1 win against Wayne (Mich.) State on Saturday afternoon.
 
After falling behind a set, the Bulldogs rallied to take a 2-1 lead in the match behind two close wins at 25-22 and 25-23. Indianapolis (3-1) recovered to take the fourth set, 25-17, to force a fifth set between the two top-25 teams.
 
The Bulldogs then took four of the first six points in the final frame to grab a 4-2 lead, which they would hold all the way until Indy tied the score at 12 apiece. But back-to-back kills by Truman's sophomore right-side hitters – Lauren Radix and Allyson Stellmach – came before another sophomore, Emily Briseno, stepped up with Stellmach for a final block to seal the three-point win.
 
Junior outside hitter Molly Sinclair led the Bulldogs for the fourth straight match offensively, tallying 17 kills en route to finishing the tournament with 56 total (3.73 kills/set) to pace Truman. Senior Allison Barker added 13 kills and 19 digs, with Stellmach reaching double-figures as well with ten kills and a .381 hitting percentage.
 
The Bulldog setters came through both offensively and defensively, as senior Ashley Petak handed out 33 assists and tied for the team-high with 20 digs, and junior Kylie Easlon added 20 assists and ten digs. Easlon also dealt three aces, half of Truman's six for the match.
 
Senior libero Casey Bruno shared the team-lead in digs with Petak, finishing with 20.
 
“Indy is a very good team, so to go into their place and beat them is a great start to the season,” head coach Ben Briney said. “We'll go into this next week of practice to improve on the things on the things we need to get better at for a tough weekend ahead at Missouri-St. Louis.”
 
Sinclair, Barker and sophomore Megan Sharpe all were named to the all-tournament team, as Truman hit .223 as a squad for the weekend and averaged nearly 2.50 aces per set. The Bulldogs also blocked 2.53 opponent attacks per set for the weekend.
 
Truman will head to the University of Missouri-St. Louis next weekend for four matches spanning Friday and Saturday.
 
Wayne (Mich.) State Recap
After splitting its first two sets with Wayne (Mich.) State in Saturday afternoon's opener, the #25 Truman volleyball team hit the gas and flew past the Warriors with third and fourth set romps, improving to 3-0 on the season with a 3-1 (27-25, 22-25, -15, -13) win to open up day two at the University of Indianapolis Classic.
 
Junior outside hitter Molly Sinclair continued her hot start to the season, racking up her third-straight 13-kill contest while also adding eight digs. Sophomore middle blocker Megan Sharpe also joined her in double-figures offensively, putting away 12 kills and adding six block assists and a service ace for a team-best 16 points.
 
The Bulldogs struggled to put the ball away in the first three sets, amassing a high of .171 in the first set before rebounding with a .389 fourth set to raise the match mark to .193. But the defense picked up the offense, forcing 28 Warrior hitting errors, blocking 14 WSU attacks and out-digging the Warriors by 13. Senior libero Casey Bruno averaged more than six digs per set, finishing with 25, while senior outside hitter Allison Barker added 17.
 
The 14 team blocks were the highest for the Bulldogs on the young season and most since a 16-block effort against Missouri Western in October of 2009.
 
Senior Ashley Petak led the squad with 23 assists and three service aces, and junior Kylie Easlon added 21 assists.
 
Friday Recap
(INDIANAPOLIS) – The No. 25 Truman volleyball team got a second straight 13-kill performance from junior Molly Sinclair, while sophomore Emily Briseno put down ten kills on just 14 attempts to help guide the Bulldogs past West Virginia State, 3-0 (26-24, -18, -16) in the second match of the day at the University of Indianapolis Classic. The Bulldogs also won Friday's opener against Nova-Southeastern, 3-0.
 
Sinclair hit .385, totaling 13 kills to go with two service aces to tie for the team-high with 15 points. She was joined atop the offensive chart by Briseno, whose .714 percentage off ten kills led the team. Briseno added four block assists and three services aces.
 
"Molly had a great day today, because she was seeing the block extremely well," head coach Ben Briney said. "She worked extremely hard this past spring and preseason, and the work is paying off."
 
For the second straight match, the Bulldogs (2-0) tallied double-figure aces, dealing 11 against WV State (0-2) after handing 12 to Nova earlier in the day.
 
Sophomore Megan Sharpe added eight kills and hit .417, while sophomore Lauren Radix chipped on six kills and a .385 mark. For the match, Truman hit .298 as a squad.
 
Both of Truman's setters – junior Kylie Easlon (21) and senior Ashley Petak (20) – hit the 20 assist mark, with sophomore Tassia Hegyi handling the libero position and totaling ten digs.
 
"We hit .290 or better in both matches, and the girls are beginning to feel more comfortable with the offense," Briney said. "We served very aggressively with 23 service aces in two matches, and we just want to build off of today and continue to get better."
 
The Bulldogs will face Wayne (Mich.) State at 12:30 pm (Central) before a top-25 showdown with the host No. 4 Indianapolis Greyhounds at 5:00 pm.
 
Nova-Southeastern Recap
Keyed by junior outside hitter Molly Sinclair's team-high 13 kills, the No. 25 Truman volleyball team opened its 2010 season with a 3-0 (-20, -18, -21) victory against Nova-Southeastern (Fla.) at the University of Indianapolis Classic on Friday morning.
 
The Bulldogs hit .290 as a team and displayed an array of balance, with five separate players tallying at least five kills in the three-set match. Sinclair tacked on 11 digs to post a double-double and hit .303 on 33 total attacks. Sophomore right-side hitter Lauren Radix added six kills, while senior Allison Barker, junior Johanna Ruff and sophomore Megan Sharpe each put down five kills apiece.
 
After pulling away midway through the first set and right away in the second, the Bulldogs gave up a 10-0 run to fall behind, 15-5, during the third frame. But Truman rallied quickly, scoring nine straight and 14 of 17 to regain the lead at 19-18. Sinclair put away seven kills in the stretch before the 'Dogs widened the gap at the end for the 25-21 win.