KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - Led by Ellie Kaat's (pictured) 24 kills, the most by a Bulldog since former All-American, Allie Brak, racked up 25 of them on November 14, 2014, the Truman State University volleyball team earned a hard-fought victory over Missouri Western State. The Purple and White defeated the Griffons with set scores of 26-24, 21-25, 25-18, and 25-23.

With the win, Truman improved to 12-3 overall and won its fifth-straight match for the second time this season. On the other side, Missouri Western State is now 9-8, has dropped two in a row and three of its last four.

As mentioned above, the sophomore outside hitter, Kaat, turned in the best performance of her young career. The Cedar Grove, Wis. native had just six errors on 60 swings for a ridiculous hitting percentage of .300. Sam Yancy (13) and Emma Berthold (10) each registered at least 10 kills as well. Savvy Hughes (53 assists) broke the 40-assist mark for the seventh time this season, but Tuesday was her second time with at least 50 in 2018. The Bulldogs other leaders included Lauren Wacker (two service aces and 25 digs) and Natalie Brimeyer (four block assists).

The first set was just as close as the score suggests as Truman hit .138 to Missouri Western's .137. Aside from the Griffons scoring the first three points, neither team held a lead that big again until the Bulldogs were up 17-14 and the visitors called a timeout. Out of the breather, Missouri Western fought back with six of the next nine points and tied it up at 20-20. Following four more deadlocks, the home team scored the final two points to win the set and go up 1-0 in the match.

Five of the second set's eight ties came in the first 12 points scored. Truman then rattled off two points in a row to take the lead, but Missouri Western wasn't going away quietly. Three more deadlocks came at 11-11, 12-12 and 13-13 before the Griffons went ahead and didn't look back. The away team scored five-straight points for an 18-13 advantage and its hosts were never closer than two from there until the end of the period.

The third set was the most lopsided of the night as it featured just three ties and two lead changes. The three deadlocks came at 1-1, 2-2 and 3-3 while Missouri Western's only lead came at 2-1. Throughout the set, Truman never scored more than three points in a row and did that just once, but was able to grind it out and take a 2-1 match advantage setting up for an exciting fourth.

The fourth set represented everything the crowd wanted and more with 16 (!!!) ties and seven lead changes. The first time either team had a lead of at least three points was when Missouri Western used a 5-1 run to go up 11-8 and force a Truman timeout. The Bulldogs proceeded to score seven of the next nine points and led by two, 15-13, before a Griffon timeout. Following seven more ties, the final one being 21-21, the Purple and White ended the set/match on a 4-2 spurt to seal the victory.

Next up, Truman will resume GLVC play by hosting Missouri-St. Louis on Friday beginning at 7 p.m.

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