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Truman State University Athletics

Tim Barcus - University Photographer

Women's Volleyball Tyler Madsen, AMR Assistant Director

#20 Bulldogs Return Home for Two

(#20 AVCA) Truman Volleyball Weekly Notes (Matches 25-26)
Full Notes (PDF)
Match 25 (Live Stats | Live Video):
#20 Truman (17-7, 10-1 GLVC) vs. Southern Indiana (17-6, 9-2 GLVC)
Date: Saturday, November 2 (5:00 PM)
Location: Kirksville, Mo. (Pershing Arena)
Series Record: Truman leads, 5-0
Briney vs. USI: 1-0 (+1 set differential)
Last Meeting: September 10, 2009 – Truman won, 3-2, in St. Louis.
 
Match 26 (Live Stats | Live Video):
#20 Truman vs. Bellarmine (11-9, 6-5 GLVC)
Date: Sunday, November 3 (1:00 PM)
Location: Kirksville, Mo. (Pershing Arena)
Series Record: Truman leads, 1-0
Briney vs. BU: First meeting
Last Meeting: September 5, 1999 – Truman won, 3-1, in Kenosha, Wis.
 
Social Media: @TrumanAthletics || @TrumanVB || #TSUGameDay
Opening Serve:
The quest for a conference title continues this Saturday and Sunday, as the 20th-ranked Truman volleyball team returns to Pershing Arena for GLVC matches against Southern Indiana and Bellarmine (Ky.).
 
The Bulldogs (17-7, 10-1 GLVC) lead the GLVC West division by one game and continue to share the conference lead with Lewis, who is the East division leader also at 10-1. Truman is coming off a 1-2 weekend at the GLVC/GLIAC Crossover in Aurora, Ill., where the Bulldogs lost 3-1 to then-No. 17 Grand Valley (Mich.) State and 3-0 to Ashland (Ohio) before rebounding with a 3-2 win against Northern Michigan to cap the event. No Bulldog was named to the all-tournament team, but both Allie Brak and Meghan Zimmerman turned in a pair of double-doubles, while Ali Patterson, Emilee Walters, Abby Moser and Heather Hargadine helped control the defense in both blocks and digs.
 
This weekend, Truman hosts the second- and fourth-ranked squads out of the GLVC East division, as USI sits one game back of division-leading Lewis at 9-2 in the league, while Bellarmine is currently two games back of third-place Indianapolis at 6-5.
 
On the season, Truman is hitting .225 as a team, averaging 12.9 kills, 15.4 digs, and 2.2 blocks per set, while holding opponents to just a .177 attack line with 12.2 kills, 15.7 digs and 1.7 blocks per set.
 
Brak is the team-leader in kills (3.58/set) and points (4.02/set), while sharing the squad lead in aces (27) with Zimmerman. Abby Heise ranks second on the team with 215 total kills (2.47/set) while hitting .277, with fellow sophomore Patterson checking in at 2.26 kills/set and a .339 hitting line.
 
Zimmerman is averaging 10.53 assists/set while sitting third on the team with 220 total digs (2.42/set), while fellow junior Abby Moser leads all 'Dogs with 331 digs (3.85/set). Both Patterson and fellow sophomore middle Walters are averaging at least 1.00 blocks/set.
 
Ben Briney is in his fifth season as the program's head coach and has a career record of 113-49 (.698).
 
Following the Bulldogs:
Full coverage of Truman volleyball is available online at TrumanBulldogs.com, including results, upcoming match 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-match updates (when available). Follow Truman Athletics on Twitter (@TrumanAthletics). Also be sure to sign up for Text Caster and Newsletter updates on the TrumanBulldogs.com homepage.
 
Opponent Quick Glance:
Southern Indiana
Winners of six straight and 10 of 11 entering last weekend, the Screaming Eagles hit a bit of a wall in the GLVC/GLIAC crossover – posting a 1-2 record. USI swept NMU in the opener before being swept by both Saginaw Valley and GVSU on day two. USI visits Cedarville (Ohio) on Tuesday night before making the trip to Kirksville for Saturday's contest.
 
On the season, USI is hitting .200 as a team and has four hitters averaging more than 2.20 kills/set. Lauren DeShaney is the team leader at 3.06 kills/set, while Fawn Ryan is hitting .205 and putting down 2.80 kills/set. The Screaming Eagles are an excellent blocking team, averaging 2.55/set – led by Abbey Winter's 1.35/set average. Opponents are hitting just .147 against USI this year, with the Screaming Eagles posting a 6-2 record in true road matches this year – including league losses at Rockhurst and UIndy.
 
Leah Mercer is in her ninth season at the helm of the USI program and has a 158-112 record at the school.
 
Bellarmine
Winners of just four of its last 10 matches entering the weekend, the Knights check in at 11-9 overall on the season, 6-5 in the GLVC. BU also went 1-2 at the GLVC/GLIAC Crossover last weekend, falling to Hillsdale and Northwood before downing Wayne State in four sets to close the weekend. The Knights host Kentucky Wesleyan on Tuesday and visit Quincy on Saturday night before making the trip to Kirksville for Sunday's match.
 
On the season, BU is hitting .184 as a team and is led offensively by Krista Gibson's 3.28 kills/set average. Only two regular hitters are connecting at a +.200 clip, including both Ashley Jefferson (2.49 kills/set; .210) and Emily McDaniel (2.27 kills/set; .202). Jaclyn Ohlmann is one of the nation's top liberos, averaging an astronomical 6.51 digs/set on the back line. The Knights are just 4-6 in true road matches this season.
 
Jenni Grzebin is the head coach of the BU program and is in her first season at the school.
 
'Dogs Set to Celebrate Senior Day Sunday:
Prior to the team's first serve on Sunday against Bellarmine, the Bulldogs will recognize its two senior student-athletes for their on- and off-court accomplishments throughout their time at Truman.
 
Outside hitter Heather Hargadine and defensive specialist Lauren Radix will be honored pre-match, as the duo has been responsible for nearly 750 combined kills, 1050 combined digs, and 170 combined blocks in three-plus years of action.
 
Hargadine was recognized during her "official" senior season last year, but obtained a medical redshirt after playing just three sets in 2012 and has played 84 sets this season. Radix returned to the squad after taking the 2012 year off and transitioned from an opposite hitter to a defensive specialist to play in 64 sets entering the weekend.
 
Brak Attacking the Record Books:
With seven aces in the NMU match on Saturday (Oct. 26), junior OH Allie Brak set a new program single-match high during the rally-scoring era. She had already tied the previous high of five earlier this season and came up just two short of the all-time record of nine, set by Rebecca Knefelkamp on Oct. 11, 2003 against Christian Brothers (Tenn.).
 
Brak also moved into the all-time top-ten career attempts chart during the weekend, knocking out recent graduate Megan Sharpe with her 3,109 career attempts. She has a shot to move up two more rungs on the ladder, as she trails Cassy Felkerson (3,210) and Satoko Miyame (3,226) for 8th and 9th.
 
Allie also is 143 kills away from reaching the program's top-ten in total kills, as Miyame holds the No. 10 slot at 1,184. Just two weeks ago, the junior became only the 14th player in Truman history to reach 1,000 career kills back when she surpassed the milestone in a 3-0 sweep of Drury in Pershing Arena.
 
Zimmerman, Moser Continue Upward Climbs:
Junior specialists Meghan Zimmerman and Abby Moser continue to move up the Truman all-time career charts with their play through the first two-plus seasons in a Bulldog uniform.
 
Zimmerman flew past both Kelly Mangels (199698) and Christine Wagener (2003-06) last weekend to move into fourth all-time in career dimes, as she now has 2,897 in her two-plus seasons as a Bulldog. She now trails recent graduate Ashley Petak (2007-10) by 564 for third-place, as Petak set her final tally at 3,461.
 
The Nebraska-native is also up to an 8.23 assists/set mark, trailing Theresa Huff's (1992) average of 9.02/set for third place.
 
Moser, meanwhile, sits seventh on the all-time digs chart with 1,576 entering the week, trailing Satoko Miyamae by just nine (1990-1993) for sixth all-time. The St. Louis area-native is 48 back of Jessica Sears (2001-04) for fifth all-time on that chart.
 
The previously-all-MIAA libero still holds the top spots in the digs/set (4.58), 20+ dig matches (34), and 30+ dig matches (3) categories. She is just one behind Marlowe's career total of 80 for sixth place in the 10+ dig matches category.
 
'Dogs Slide Backwards in AVCA Coaches' Poll:
The Oct. 28 version of the AVCA top-25 coaches' poll moved the Bulldogs back five spots to No. 20 after the squad's 1-2 record at the GLVC/GLIAC Crossover last week. Truman earned 313 points to sit between Armstrong (Ga.) Atlantic and West Florida.
 
Truman continues to be the only GLVC squad in the top-25 and is the coaches' second choice out of the Midwest region. Grand Valley State (No. 16) and Ferris State (No. 24) also represent the Midwest region in the poll.
 
Overall, the Bulldogs have 10 opponents on their 2013 schedule who are listed either in the top-25 or are receiving votes in this week's poll.
 
As a program, Truman has now been in the top-25 171 total times, good for 17th-most all-time in NCAA Division II history. The Bulldogs need just one more week in the top-25 to match Northern Colorado's mark of 172 for 16th place.
 
Up Next:
The Bulldogs make one final long road trip in the 2013 regular season next weekend, visiting Indianapolis (14-9, 8-3 GLVC) and Saint Joseph's (9-15, 3-8 GLVC) on Saturday (Nov. 9) and Sunday (Nov. 10). UIndy received votes in this week's AVCA top-25 coaches' poll and is ranked third in the GLVC East division.
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