KIRKSVILLE, Mo.--The Truman Volleyball team took on fifth ranked and national semifinalist from 2019 Rockhurst on Friday night and came up just short in a five set thriller 3-2 (25-27, 25-20, 25-13, 23-25, 15-11). Emma Berthold set a career high with 17 kills and the team hit .201, but came up just short.

The Bulldogs took the first four points in the first set, starting with a kill from Allison Beaton and ending with a kill from Ellie Kaat. Rockhurst battled back, and Truman took seven straight later in the set while up 7-6. Berthold had three kills in this run, and Ainsley Heise picked up an ace. Rockhurst battled back and took a 16-15 lead, and back and forth the team went for the rest of the set. The Hawks had set point at 24-23, but a kill from Kaat kept the Bulldogs in it. With the score tied at 25, Lindsay Woltering picked up an ace and Kaat finished on setpoint to give Truman the first set.

Set number two was tightly contested throughout, with neither team being able to pull away from the other. Toward the end, a kill from Beaton made it 20-19 Hawks. Rockhurst picked up the next two to go up 22-19, Beaton picked up another kill to make it 22-20 but Rockhurst ripped off the last three to take the set. Rockhurst used the momentum from the second set to jump out to a quick 7-2 lead in the third set and Truman just never got their footing as Rockhurst took the set by 12.

Down 4-3 in the fourth set, Heise tied the set with a kill and Hanna Berry got two in a row to give Truman a two point edge. Each time it looked like Truman was about to pull away in the set, Rockhurst would answer. Finally, with the score 23-21 Bulldogs, Sam Yancy picked up a kill to give Truman setpoint. The Hawks picked up the next two points, but with it still being setpoint for the Bulldogs, Berthold finished the set.

Truman picked up three of the first four points in the fifth set, but later on with the set tied at seven Rockhurst reeled off four points in a row and didn't trail again.  

Beaton led the team with five blocks while Katy Motz led the team with 25 assists. Woltering led with 20 digs.

The Bulldogs will be back in action on the 20th in Springfield as they compete in the first of their double match days against Missouri S&T and Illinois Springfield at UIS.