#21 Volleyball Off to Hoosier State

(#21 AVCA) Truman Volleyball Weekly Notes (Matches 27-28)
Full Notes (PDF)

#21 Truman (18-8, 11-2 GLVC) at Indianapolis (16-9, 10-3 GLVC)

Date: Saturday, November 9 (2:00 PM - Central)
Location: Indianapolis, Ind. (Ruth Lilly Center)
Series Record: Tied, 1-1.
Briney vs. UIndy: 1-1 (-2 set differential)
Last Meeting: September 4, 2010 – Truman won, 3-2, in Indianapolis.

Match 28 (No live stats/video at SJC):
#21 Truman at Saint Joseph's (11-16, 4-9 GLVC)

Date: Sunday, November 10 (1:00 PM)
Location: Rensselaer, Ind. (Scharf Fieldhouse)
Series Record: First meeting.
Briney vs. SJC: First meeting.

Social Media: @TrumanAthletics || @TrumanVB || #TSUGameDay

Opening Serve:
Just two weekends remain in the 2013 volleyball regular season, and a trek to the Hoosier state is next in line for the 21^st-ranked Bulldogs, as Truman visits the University of Indianapolis and Saint Joseph's College this Saturday and Sunday.

The Bulldogs (18-8, 11-2 GLVC) are coming off a 1-1 weekend at home in which the squad fell in four sets to East-division leaders Southern Indiana on Saturday (Nov. 2) before sweeping aside Bellarmine in three sets on Sunday (Nov. 3). After this weekend's results, Truman finds itself tied atop the GLVC West division with Rockhurst at 11-2, with the two squads each clear of third-place Missouri S&T by three full games.

Allie Brak and Meghan Zimmerman were the program's nominees for GLVC Offensive and Defensive players of the week based on their play this past weekend. Brak averaged 4.71 kills and 2.00 digs per set, setting a new GLVC-high in a three-set match this season by putting down 23 kills on Sunday against BU. Zimmerman, meanwhile, averaged 10.14 assists, 4.57 digs, and 0.86 blocks per set and posted back-to-back double-doubles to give her 12 on the season and 37 for her career. She set a new career-high with 19 digs against USI.

On the season, Brak is the team leader in kills per set (3.66), ranking second in the GLVC while also ranking ninth overall in service aces (0.29/set). Ali Patterson continues to piece together a phenomenal sophomore season, as she is the top hitter in the GLVC in conference-only matches – connecting at a .400 mark – while also ranking third in blocking (1.26/set), and fifth in service aces (.33/set) in league-only affairs.

Two other sophomores – Abby Heise and Emilee Walters – have also made their names known on the GLVC top-10 lists, with Heise ranking seventh in hitting percentage in GLVC-only matches (.296) and sixth in service aces (.33/set). Walters, meanwhile, is sixth in the league in blocking during GLVC-only matches, checking in at 1.22 per set.

As the team's primary setter, Zimmerman leads the offense at 10.50 assists per set, which is good for third in the league. She also ranks eighth in GLVC-only matches in dealing service aces at 0.31 per set.

Abby Moser is the squad's lone back line player averaging more than three digs per set, as she sits at 3.85 per frame this season to go alongside 15 service aces.

Ben Briney is in his fifth season as the program's head coach and has a career record of 114-50 (.695).

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:
Indianapolis
The Greyhounds have been one of the nation's top programs throughout the past few seasons, reaching the national semifinals last season. This year, the squad sits third in the GLVC East division at 10-3 in league play and sports a 16-9 overall record. Like Truman, UIndy challenged itself during the nonconference season, falling to three of the nation's top teams in Concordia-St. Paul, Minnesota-Duluth and Wayne (Neb.) State during its first two weekends.

UIndy is just 6-4 in its last 10 contests, having most recently picked up two close road wins at Maryville and UMSL this past weekend. The squad is 5-1 at home this year compared to just 11-8 away from the Ruth Lilly Center.

The 'Hounds are hitting .205 as a team on the season and are holding opponents to a .184 mark. Hailey Brown (3.08 k/s) and Kenzie Bruggeman (2.70 k/s) are the team's top attackers, with Brittany Anglemyer punching in with a 2.48 k/s mark and a .322 hitting line. Meghan Binkerd is the team's setter and is at 10.91 a/s, while Alyssa Garrett has dug her way to 4.34 per frame.

Jason Reed is in his first season at the helm of the UIndy program after spending the last two seasons as an assistant at North Dakota State.

Saint Joseph's
The Pumas come into the weekend at 11-16 overall and 4-9 in the GLVC. SJC will entertain Quincy on Saturday night prior to Truman's arrival on Sunday, as the Pumas have gone just 2-6 at home this season.

SJC is hitting .188 as a team this season, while allowing opponents to connect at a .218 clip. Four different players are averaging more than two kills per set, while both Erin Hyland (2.41, .279%) and Anna Sacco (2.12, .206) pairing that with a plus-.200 hitting line. Megan Sturm is the team's setter and is at 9.20 assists/set, while Alyssa Guarnaccia is the team's top back line player at 4.25 digs/set.

Jill Schopieray is in her seventh season at the helm of the SJC program and has a 84-147 record at the school.

GLVC Tournament Outlook:
The Bulldogs currently hold the top spot in the GLVC West division, as Truman's 3-2 win against Rockhurst on Oct. 11 serves as a tiebreaker between the programs since both hold an 11-2 league mark. The top three teams from each division plus two "wild card" teams will qualify for the conference tournament – to be held at the top seed on Nov. 22-24.

At the start of this week, USI would be the No. 1 seed and would have right to host, followed by Truman as the No. 2 seed due to USI's four-set win in Kirksville on Nov. 2.

The winner of the eight-team, three-day tournament will receive the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Midwest regional, to be held Dec. 5-7 at the top seed.

Bulldogs Advancing Up Career Charts:
Junior OH Allie Brak continues her moves up Truman's career charts, as she currently sits sixth in both kills per set (3.35) and double-doubles (40), ninth in 20+ kill matches (6), and 10^th in both total attempts (3,203) and 10+ kill matches (59). The Texas-native is also just 110 kills away from reaching the program's top-ten in career kills, as Satoko Miyame (1990-93) holds the No. 10 slot at 1,184. Just two weeks ago, the junior became only the 14^th 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.

Junior S Meghan Zimmerman sits fourth all-time in career assists at 2,968 to trail recent graduate Ashley Petak (2007-10) by 493 for third place. The Nebraska-native is also up to an 8.27 assists/set mark and is closing in on Theresa Huff's third place average of 9.02/set.

Junior DS/L Abby Moser moved up one spot this past weekend into sixth all-time on the career digs chart, surpassing the 1,600 mark and Miyame's four-year total of 1,585. The Missouri-native – currently at 1,603 – needs just 22 to move past Jessica Sears (2001-04) into fifth place. The previously all-MIAA libero still holds the top spots in the digs/set (4.57), 20+ dig matches (34), and 30+ dig matches (3) categories. She is also just one behind Sears' career total of 82 for fifth place in the 10+ dig matches category.

Key Number – 150:
When the Bulldogs as a team have hit below .150 in a match this season, they have posted just a 1-5 record. However, when the Bulldogs hold an opponent below the .150 line, the team has gone 10-0.

Life on the Road:
The Bulldogs have played 17 of their 26 matches away from Pershing Arena this season, but in true road matches, the squad has recorded a 5-1 record. Truman ends the regular season with four of its final five away from Kirksville.

First Regional Poll Due:
If you had Wednesday, November 6 in the "When will the first regional poll come out?" pool, then you'd be a winner! The first of three published polls by the Regional Advisory Committee will be unveiled late Wednesday afternoon. The top eight teams combining to come out of the GLVC, GLIAC and GMAC leagues will qualify for the NCAA Div. II tournament, with the GLVC and GLIAC both receiving an automatic bid for their conference champions.

'Dogs Slip One Spot in AVCA Coaches' Poll:
The Nov. 4 version of the AVCA top-25 coaches' poll moved the Bulldogs back one spot to No. 21 after the squad's 1-1 home record last weekend. Truman earned 208 points to sit between Northern (S.D.) State and West Florida.

Truman is one of two GLVC squads in the top-25, as division-mate Rockhurst jumped in at No. 25 in Monday's poll. Grand Valley State (No. 16) and Ferris State (No. 24) also represent the Midwest region in the poll.

Overall, the Bulldogs have 11 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-25 172 total times, tying Northern Colorado's mark for 16^th-place all-time in Division II. Next in line at 174 is Cal State-L.A., who currently holds the No. 15 slot.

Up Next:
The Bulldogs face a three-match week to close out the regular season, beginning with a home date with Quincy on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 7:00 pm. Truman then hits the road to visit St. Louis on Nov. 15-16, as the squad takes on Maryville at 7:00 pm on Friday before closing the year with Missouri-St. Louis at 1:00 pm on Saturday.

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