KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - "We're finally the experienced team." Truman's head volleyball coach, Ben Briney, knows that his 10th season at the helm for the Bulldogs has the chance to be a very special one. The Purple and White lost just one regular starter in All-GLVC outside hitter, Jasmine Brown, so the future is bright in Kirksville with the season just four days away.

Outside Hitter
Sam Yancy - Sophomore; Ellie Kaat - Sophomore; Morgan Smith - Freshman

Briney: "I think it's a position that has really progressed at a fast rate from the spring. Morgan has come in as a freshman and really jumped right in. She has picked up a lot of what we've been working on fast and it's like we don't even have a freshman there. That's a position that really has a chance to be a strength of ours this year. Between Sam, Ellie and Morgan, all three of them have shown the ability to be terminal this fall. Going into the season, it's a position that we can get consistent production out of. Morgan really came in and did the work in the offseason with learning our system and learning our play calls. Because of that, it has been a seamless transition."

Yancy stepped in as a freshman in 2017 and played 30 of the team's 32 matches with starts in 23 of those 30. The sophomore from Howards Grove, Wis. will look to take over as the team's primary outside hitter with the departure of Brown. As a rookie, Yancy was second on the team in kills per set behind Brown and third in total kills behind Brown and Brimeyer. Kaat will look for a bigger role as a sophomore after 20 appearances in 2017, two of which were as a starter. Last, but not least, Smith, a state champ in high school, will add some depth for the outside hitter position.

Middle Blocker
Natalie Brimeyer - Senior; Holly Hildebrand - Redshirt Senior; Ambria Whitlock - Redshirt Junior

Briney: "Natalie really established herself last year from a blocking standpoint and became one of the best middle blockers in the country. She also did a really good job in bringing her offense along as she hit above .300. This group and the defensive specialists are the two most experienced groups we have. Holly has really put in a lot of work and it has translated to this fall, Ambria has come back on a mission, is pushing the other two and is becoming someone we can rely on. I really see a lot of big things coming out of the middle blocker position this year."

Starting with Brimeyer, it was quite a season for the North Liberty, Iowa native in 2017. Nationally, she was eighth in total blocks (153) and 12th in blocks per set (1.31). In the program's single-season record book, her 139 block assists are second, 1.31 blocks per set are fifth and 153 total blocks are tied for ninth. Now comes Brimeyer's senior campaign in which she will be relied upon heavily for production in the middle. Hildebrand, along with Wandrey, is one of the team's fifth-year players and does a great job of leading the Bulldogs. The St. Louis native played in 31 of the team's 32 matches last year with 29 starts and 110 of a possible 118 sets played. Whitlock will also provide depth for this position group.

Opposite
Jocelynn Livingston - Junior; Emma Berthold - Junior

Briney: "Last year, these two battled back and forth. If one was struggling, the other would step in. It's going to be another battle for them this season. Both of them got a chance to start last year and got to experience what that was like. Again, it's another position that we could get a high amount of production out of."

Livingston played in 21 matches with 10 starts while Berthold saw time in 29 matches, also with 10 starts. As you can see from coach Briney's comments, this group will be highly competitive with just two student-athletes, both of which came in at the same time. Berthold played 17 more sets than Livingston (77-60) in 2017, but expect those two numbers to to be even closer in 2018.

Defensive Specialist/Libero
Lauren Wacker - Junior; Meghan Gasper - Junior; Claire Wandrey - Redshirt Senior; Elle Renault - Redshirt Junior

Briney: "This is an important group for us and each one of them will have a role. It's something that they've embraced as a group and they know they have to push each other. Whatever the role is, all of them can do it, and it's a steady position that we know we're going to get consistency out of, which is huge for that position."

In 2017, Wacker emerged as Truman's primary libero as she played 111 of the 118 possible sets and 30 of the team's 32 matches with 30 starts. In the process, she became the program's first ever first-team all-conference libero and surpassed one of the program's all-time greats in Abby Moser for digs per set where she currently ranks first with a mark of 4.77. Wandrey, along with Hildebrand, is back for her fifth season as a member of the program while Renault came back from injury to appear in all 32 matches last season and Gasper was right behind her with 30 matches played.

Setter
Savvy Hughes - Senior; Elise Hardesty - Redshirt Freshman

Briney: "It's been fun to watch the dynamic of that group in the preseason. Elise came in this spring and really started to feel more and more comfortable before the fall when she was ready to go. Savvy makes our offense go and runs things from that standpoint. She's ready to have a great senior year and her experience this summer in Brazil was important as well. The setters have really worked to get the hitters in the best position possible to score and be effective."

When Hughes goes, Truman goes. Hughes was the only Bulldog to appear in all 118 of Truman's sets in 2017 and did so with 31 starts. In the program's career record book, she moved up to third in assists per set with 9.11 and ninth in total assists with 2,242. She'll be the heart and soul of the Purple and White once again in 2018 while Hardesty will get to play and push Hughes along after a redshirt campaign in 2017.

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