Bulldogs Edged in Five by 5th-ranked Washburn

Box Score | Season Statistics

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - - The Truman volleyball team gave 5^th-ranked Washburn all it could handle on Friday night, but the Lady Blues escaped with a 3-2 victory in front of a large crowd in Pershing Arena.

On the scorecard, the first four sets followed the same pattern, as Washburn (10-0, 2-0 MIAA) took sets one and three by 25-19 scores, while Truman (7-3, 1-1 MIAA) took sets two and four by 25-22 marks. However, after the Bulldogs jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the fifth frame, Washburn rattled off 10 of the next 11 behind the serving of reserves Sami McHenry and Kylie Miller to build an 11-4 advantage. Truman would never get closer than six, as the Lady Blues finished off the match with a 15-7 decision.

Three Bulldogs recorded double-doubles on the night – all of different varieties – as Allie Brak (The Colony, Texas, The Colony) led the 'Dogs with 17 kills coupled with 10 digs; Megan Sharpe (Edwardsville, Ill., Edwardsville) added 11 kills and 10 blocks, and Meghan Zimmerman (Papillion, Neb., Gross Catholic) handed out 34 assists along with digging 14 WU attacks. Abby Heise (Jacksonville, Ill., Springfield Lutheran) added career-highs in both kills (12) and blocks (5), while Emily Briseno (Lee's Summit, Mo., Lee's Summit West) set a new career-best with five solo blocks to go along with three assisted turn-aways. Abby Moser (Wildwood, Mo., Lafayette) led all players on the court with 19 digs.

Truman blocked 19 Lady Blues attacks, the most for the program since a 21-block performance on Oct. 14, 2011 against Lindenwood – also in five sets. It tied for the third most blocks in program-history, with Truman tallying eight solo blocks and 22 block assists.

The two teams finished nearly identically in both hitting percentage (WU-.153; TSU-.150) and digs (TSU-65, WU-64), although Washburn served well, dealing 10 aces with eight errors to four aces and 10 miscues for the 'Dogs.

Overall, the teams saw 20 tie scores and eight lead changes in the match, as long stretches of points were common with the teams siding out at just 52% (WU) and 45% (TSU) clips.

Jessica Fey led Washburn with 18 kills and hit .270 with nine blocks, while Jessica Kiopp added 13 kills and a pair of aces.

The Bulldogs return to the court tomorrow (Saturday) night for a 6:00 pm match at Southwest Baptist. Live stats will be available via a link at TrumanBulldogs.com.

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