Weekly Schedule:
Tuesday, Oct. 25 – at Emporia State; 7:00 pm, Emporia, Kan.
Friday, Oct. 28 – vs. #7 Washburn; 7:00 pm, KIRKSVILLE
Saturday, Oct. 29 – vs. Fort Hays State; 6:00 pm, KIRKSVILLE
FULL NOTES (PDF)
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - - Winners in seven of its last eight contests, the Truman volleyball team starts round two of the MIAA season this week with a trip to Emporia State on Tuesday before returning to Kirksville to host Washburn and Fort Hays State on Friday and Saturday.
The Bulldogs (16-9, 5-4 MIAA) are coming off their most dominant week of the season, winning three matches and hitting a combined .356 in wins against Southwest Baptist, Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State last week. Truman hit better than .350 for the first two times all year against SBU and PSU and moved to 9-0 on the year when holding opposition below .149 hitting in a match.
This week, Truman will look to notch a season sweep against ESU with a 7:00 pm showdown on Tuesday night in Emporia's White Auditorium. Then, on Friday, No. 5 Washburn visits Pershing Arena at 7:00 pm prior to a 6:00 pm match on Saturday against Fort Hays State. Truman's earlier trip through western Kansas was less than joyous earlier this year, as the Bulldogs were swept by the Lady Blues before being upset in five sets against the Hays Tigers.
Junior Megan Sharpe is coming off one of the most dominant offensive weeks in Truman volleyball history, averaging 3.78 kills and 1.22 blocks per set while connecting at a .577 clip. The two-time all-American committed just four errors on 52 swings. Freshman Allie Brak also topped three kills per set for the week (3.11) behind a .253 hitting mark, while junior Emily Briseno added to the strong week for middle hitters with 2.67 kills per set and a .595 attacking mark line.
Sharpe (2.99 k/s) and Brak (2.59 k/s) continue to be the top offensive weapons for the Bulldogs on the season, while both Molly Sinclair (2.17 k/s) and Briseno (1.98 k/s) add additional support. Senior Kylie Easlon (5.46 assists/set) and freshman Meghan Zimmerman (4.41 a/s) have both played in all 98 sets this year, while freshman libero Abby Moser (5.40 digs/set) surpassed the 500-dig mark last weekend and remains one of the MIAA's and NCAA's top liberos.
First NCAA Regional Poll Debuts This Week:
The first official NCAA regional ranking, which determines the top eight teams from the South Central region to make the season-ending NCAA Tournament, will be released this Wednesday. The South Central region is comprised of four conferences this season, with the MIAA, Lone Star and Heartland conference champions receiving automatic bids. The newly-formed Great American Conference will have its representatives available for at-large consideration but does not have an automatic qualifier in 2011.
Truman has reached the NCAA tournament 12 times overall – including 11 consecutive appearances – and has advanced as far as the national championship match twice (2001, 2004).
Following the Bulldogs:
Full coverage of Truman volleyball is available online at TrumanBulldogs.com, including results, upcoming game information and weekly updates.
When available, links to free online live stats are added to the Bulldog volleyball schedule page as well as the top of each weekly update.
Keep up with the Bulldogs by tracking in-game updates (when available). Follow Truman Athletics on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TrumanAthletics. Also be sure to sign up for TextCaster updates on the Bulldog homepage.
Checking Out the Competition:
Emporia State “Hornets” (14-8. 6-3 MIAA)
Poised for another important battle in the recent history between the two programs, the Bulldogs will travel to historic White Auditorium on Tuesday night looking for the season sweep of Emporia State. Truman downed ESU, 3-2, in Pershing Arena on Sept. 17.
Paige Vanderpool (2.77 k/s, 3.14 d/s), Katie Deutschmann (2.51 k/s, 4.4 a/s, 1.9 d/s, 0.6 b/s) and Brianna Kiser (2.50 k/s, 3.35 d/g) continue to lead the all-around Hornet attack, as ESU is hitting .226 on the season and holding opponents to a .162 mark. The Hornets have alternated wins and losses in their past four matches and are 6-4 in their last ten.
Bing Xu is in his seventh season as the head coach at ESU, having compiled a 166-61 mark. The Bulldogs hold a 34-13 lead in the all-time series and have won two straight.
Washburn “Lady Blues” (22-1, 9-0 MIAA)
Winners of 15 straight entering the week, Washburn makes the turn of the MIAA schedule having gone 9-0 the first time through, including a 3-0 sweep of Truman in Topeka on Sept. 23.
The Lady Blues are hitting .230 as a unit on the season and holding opponents to a .127 mark. Four different players are above 2.30 kills/set, led by Breanna Lewis' 2.92 and Hillary Hughes' 2.69. Washburn is the league-leader in digs at 18.55/set, led by Kelsey Lewis' 4.28 digs/set average.
Chris Herron is in his tenth season as the WU head coach, having compiled a 301-53 mark at the school. Truman has a 36-12 lead in the all-time series but has dropped two straight.
Fort Hays State “Tigers” (13-12, 2-9 MIAA)
The Bulldogs will be looking for retribution on Saturday night when FHSU visits Pershing after the Tigers upset Truman, 3-2, on Sept. 24 in Hays. The Tigers have dropped five of their last six MIAA matches and are 2-4 on the road this year.
Four regulars are averaging more than 2.40 kills/set for a Tiger team that is hitting .181 on the year. Jenna Ulrich (2.43 k/s, .272%) and Kylee Hoagland (2.62 k/s, .219%) are the top offensive performers, while Tracie Hileman rank third in the MIAA defensively with 5.24 digs/set.
Kurt Kohler is in his third season at FHSU, having posted a 27-64 record. Truman has a 10-1 lead in the all-time series.
Sharpe Nears Elite Company:
With 977 career kills, Megan Sharpe is poised to become just the 12th Bulldog in program history to reach the 1,000-kill mark for her career. She would be only the seventh player to reach the mark prior to her senior season, with the most recent Bulldog to reach the century mark being Eli Medina, who did so early in her senior season in 2008.
Sharpe is currently the program's all-time leader with a .337 hitting percentage and has 55 career matches with ten or more kills. She ranks eighth in all-time blocks (325), eighth in solo blocks (69) and ninth in block assists (256).
Serving Keeping Opponents Off-Balance:
The Bulldogs are the MIAA leaders in serving, averaging 1.40 aces/set with 137 total aces dealt on the season. Kylie Easlon (34), Meghan Zimmerman (29) and Allie Brak (22) all find themselves along the top-10 in the league with total aces, as Truman has out-aced their opponents on the season 137-104.
Freshmen Gaining Key Experience:
Allie Brak, Abby Moser and Meghan Zimmerman have all found themselves serving key roles in Truman's system this year, as Brak has earned a starting role on the outside, Moser has served as starting libero and Zimmerman has played every match as part of Truman's 6-2 setting system.
While Brak's numbers have been detailed above, she has also recorded nine double-doubles this season. Moser, meanwhile, is on pace for more than 700 digs this season, which would be the all-time single-season best by any Bulldog in program history. She has 15 matches this season with 20 or more digs and is second in the MIAA.
Zimmerman is one of only two Bulldogs to play in all 98 sets this season, as she is averaging 4.41 assists and 1.97 digs per set to the tune of 13 assist-dig double-doubles.
Continuing the Tradition:
The Bulldogs rank 15th in Div. II?history in all-time appearances in the top-25 (156) and are tied for ninth all-time for times ranked in the top-10 (97). Since the year 2000, the 'Dogs have posted eight 30+ win seasons, a postseason appearance each of the past 11 seasons, two trips to the national championship match and seven MIAA?championships.
Up Next:
The Bulldogs will have just six matches left in the 2011 regular season following this week's action, with a date at No. 8 Central Missouri, senior night against Northwest Missouri and a trip to Missouri Western headlining next week's docket.
