KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – The Truman Volleyball team will begin their 2019 regular season at the Nova Southeastern Tournament in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. On Friday they play a double header against #15 Palm Beach Atlantic at 11:30 a.m. followed by Puerto Rico-Mayaguez at 2:00 p.m. Saturday they face Shaw University (N.C.) at 9:30 a.m. and then Nova Southeastern at noon. All times Central.
Truman was picked seventh in the 2019 GLVC preseason poll after finishing 21-11 and 10-8 in conference a season ago. Head Coach
Ben Briney enters his 11
th season and has compiled a 221-114 (.659) coaching mark thus far. Under Briney the team has been in the NCAA Tournament six of his ten seasons. He is second all-time in wins in program history, and the team has 29 straight winning seasons. Last year the team had signature wins over #4 Florida Southern 3-1 and #14 Arkansas Tech 3-0 in the Peggy Martin Challenge. Also,
Jennifer McBeth is his new assistant coach, going from a volunteer assistant as season ago to being full-time this season.
Last season outside hitter
Ellie Kaat led the team with 381 kills, 3.74 per set. Her stellar sophomore campaign earned her second team All-GLVC honors. She was one of two Bulldogs to earn all-conference honors, as did setter
Savvy Hughes. She was also third on the team with 54 blocks, with 15 solo blocks.
Senior libero
Lauren Wacker returns, and led the team with 567 digs. She was named player of the week last season for the week of September 10th, 2018, when she had 39 combined digs in two matches against William Jewell and Quincy. Her career mark of 4.81 digs per set is currently the highest mark in program history.
Other notable returners include outside hitter
Sam Yancy and defensive specialist
Meghan Gasper, who both played in over 100 sets last season. Yancy made 30 starts in 31 games and Gasper 24 in 31. Yancy was second on the team in digs with 363 and Gasper fourth with 277. In addition Yancy was tied for third in kills per set with 2.04.
Truman Against The Opponents:
Truman will play both Palm Beach Atlantic and Mayaguez for the first time on Friday. On Saturday Shaw will be a first time opponent and Truman is 4-0 all-time against Nova Southeastern. The most recent meeting was in 2011 and Truman won 25-19, 25-19, 22-25, 25-15. The two also met in the 2008 NCAA Quarterfinals in which they defeated Nova 25-21, 25-20, 25-20.
About the Opposition:
Palm Beach Atlantic is coming off a 29-5 season in which they made the NCAA South Regional Tournament. They defeated Spring Hill and Florida Southern before bowing out to #11 Tampa. They return several key players including middle hitter Jennie Anderson and outside hitter Amber Rowoldt. Anderson was named AVCA honorable mention with 248 kills and 155 blocks. Rowoldt led the team in kills with 416 and points with 472.5 to earn Sunshine State Conference and NCAA South Region Freshman of the year honors.
Mayaguez competes as a Division II Independent and is based in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.
Shaw has won the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association two of the past four years and was picked to finish third in the league this season. They are led by senior middle hitter Karla Sosa and senior outside hitter Tyler Hunter. Sosa was named second team all-conference a season ago with a balanced season that included 149 kills and 147 digs. Hunter recorded 105 kills in her first season with Shaw after transferring from Pasco-Hernandez CC.
Nova Southeastern, the tournament's hosts, are looking to rebound from a 6-24 mark a season ago. Their roster has turned over considerably from last year with an influx of six true freshmen and a graduate transfer. A key returnee is setter Caylee Cox who was second on the team with 360 sets in 2018 in her first year with the program.
Up Next:
The Bulldogs will play in the Drury Tournament next weekend with games on September 13&14. On the 13th they will play Colorado Mesa at 9 a.m. and Missouri Western at 3 p.m. On the 14th they will play Northern St. (S.D.) at 11 a.m. and Northwest Missouri at 5 p.m.
