Post-match Press Conference

BIG RAPIDS, Mich. - Making its 16th NCAA Tournament appearance in school history on Thursday night, the eight-seeded Truman volleyball team was matched up against the No. 15 team in the nation and top-seeded Ferris State in the round of 64. Ferris State ended the Purple and White's season in straight sets to advance to the semifinal round of the Midwest Regional.

With the win, Ferris State improved to 29-5 and pushed its winning streak to 25 matches while the 2016 Great Lakes Valley Conference Champion, Truman, fell to 18-17. The Purple and White were led by Kayla Bastian (10 kills and 18 digs), Savvy Hughes (30 assists), Meghan Gasper (three service aces), and Bailey O'Drobinak (four blocks). That double-double gave Bastian 16 for the year and 46 for her illustrious career. Also playing the final match of her career alongside Bastian and O'Drobinak was Lacey Hill who finished with seven kills, one block assist and one dig. Bastian was one of 12 named to the all-tournament team as well.

In the first set, the home team stormed out to a 6-1 advantage, which forced Truman head coach, Ben Briney, to call a timeout. From there, the Purple and White began to battle back and cut the deficit to one on three different occasions (13-12, 14-13 and 15-14). After that 29th point, though, Ferris State used a 6-0 run to go up by seven, 21-14. From there, it was never closer than five and the hosts won the set by six, 25-19.

The second set was by far the tightest one of the night. That period saw a total of 13 ties and eight lead changes while sets one and two combined for three and two in those categories, respectively. The home team was once again ahead early, this time 3-1, before Truman rattled off four-straight points to go up by two, 5-3. Gasper sent home two of her three aces during that stretch alone. After that, neither team had a lead of more than two points until the home team was on top 14-11. The visitors didn't go away quite that easily, though, and scored six of the next seven points to pull ahead by two, 17-15. After the hosts went back ahead 19-18, the Purple and White scored four of the next five and were up two, 22-20. However, Ferris State ended the set with a 5-0 burst to win the period and go up 2-0 in the match.

In the third set, Truman's only lead came three points in at 2-1. However, a 7-1 Ferris State spurt put it up by five, 8-3. From that score until the end of the set, the margin was never slimmer than three points (9-6, 10-7 and 12-9) and the home team led by as many as seven (20-13 and 23-16) before the final six-point difference.

As mentioned above, Truman finishes the season at 18-17, but with the program's second GLVC title sitting at home. In a season that started with just three wins in the first 14 matches, the Purple and White played some of their best volleyball when league play came around and when the regular season was winding down. This program now says goodbye to three seniors who had stellar careers in Bastian, O'Drobinak and Hill, but the future is bright with plenty of talent returning along with an excellent recruiting class.

NCAA Midwest Region All-Tournament Team
Nickyla Garverick (MB) - Findlay
Sophi Cudowrth (MB) - Ashland
Morgan Rietzke (OH) - Rockhurst
Kayla Bastian (OH) - Truman
Gabby Olson (MH) - Cedarville
Kaylee Schmitt (MH) - Saginaw Valley State
Abby Becker (S) - Lewis
Maddie Seliga (RS) - Lewis
Elizabeth Hyland (OH) - Lewis
Stephanie Sikorski (S) - Ferris State
Ayanna Buckley (OH) - Ferris State
Allyson Cappel (OH) - Ferris State

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