Volleyball Recap: Truman 3, Lewis 2

FINAL: Truman 3, Lewis 2 || (-23, -16, 23-25, 21-25, 15-13) || Box Score
2014 Schedule || 2014 Season Stats

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - - The match started with a 5-0 run. The match ended with a 5-0 run. At the final whistle, it was the home team that made it count when it mattered, as the Truman volleyball team earned a key conference and regional 3-2 victory against GLVC East division rival Lewis (Ill.) in Pershing Arena on Sunday afternoon.

The highly-touted contest lived up to its full billing, as both teams swung for the fences throughout the afternoon, providing multiple lengthy rallies, floor-rattling kills, and sprawling digs in an early-season test for both the Bulldogs (5-2, 2-0 GLVC) and Flyers (5-2, 1-1 GLVC). Truman went ahead 2-0 (25-23 and 25-16) and was poised to send everyone home in three; however, Lewis battled back to pick up third (25-23) and fourth (25-21) set wins before putting the Bulldogs on the ropes in the fifth at 13-10.

But just as the Flyers opened the match with a 5-0 burst to momentarily stun the home crowd, the purple and white rebounded with a flourish in the end – sandwiching a pair of kills between three LU attack errors to rattle off a 5-0 outburst of its own and pick up the 15-13 fifth-set victory.

Both teams hit better than .285 on the afternoon, with the Bulldogs turning in a .286 line behind 68 kills to just 15 errors on 185 total swings. Allie Brak's 17 kills led four Truman players in double-figures, as Kayla Bastian added 14, and both Abby Heise and Ali Patterson chipped in 13 kills apiece. All four hit better than .270 on the day, with another Truman middle – Emilee Walters – finishing with eight kills and a .368 attack line.

Meghan Zimmerman posted a double-double with 55 assists and a dozen digs, while Abby Moser's 22 digs led all Bulldogs. Both Bastian (21 digs) and Brak (13) completed double-doubles as well.

The Bulldogs finished with a +14 in the serving category, as Truman's seven aces and four service errors played a key role in comparison to Lewis' two aces and 13 errors. The Flyers put away 78 kills and finished with five more digs and 2.5 more blocks; however, the Bulldogs side-out percentage of 59% finished four points higher than the Flyers' 55 percent.

"Any time you can go 3-0 at home, it is a great week," head coach Ben Briney said following the match. "Our girls showed composure in the fifth set and just kept fighting against a very well-coached Lewis team. We are ready to get back into the gym on Tuesday to prepare for next weekend."

Alexis Davito led LU with 21 kills, while Amy Choi paced all players with 31 digs along the back line.

Truman returns to action next Saturday with two matches on the McKendree University campus in Lebanon, Ill. The Bulldogs will face the Bearcats at 11 a.m. before battling West Texas A&M in a non-conference tilt at 3 p.m.

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