KIRKSVILLE, Mo.—The Truman Volleyball team has the first of five tri-matches this coming weekend as they play Missouri S&T and Illinois Springfield on the campus of UIS. The Bulldogs will take on S&T at 2:00 p.m. and then UIS at 6:00 p.m.
Last week the Bulldogs fell in a five set heart breaker to Rockhurst 3-2 (25-27, 25-20, 25-13, 23-25, 15-11). Emma Berthold set a career high with 17 kills, which led the team, and Ainsley Heise reached double digit kills for the first time in her career with ten.
Truman is among the leaders in the GLVC in blocks per set with 2.18, with Heise and Berthold ranked second and fourth in blocks per set with 1.38 and 1.18, respectively. With 4.76 digs per set, Lindsay Woltering is top ten in that category as well. Berthold leads the team with 45 points while Ellie Kaat leads with 41 kills and 2.41 kills per set.
Heise and Berthold are nearly neck and neck in points per set, with Heise leading just slightly at 2.66 to Berthold's 2.65. Heise leads the team with four aces and Rachel DeFries leads with 79 assists. Newcomer Katy Motz is just behind with 72 assists. As a team Truman is hitting .169 on the season and averaging 11.0 kills per set.
Scouting Reports
Missouri S&T is ranked T-25 in this week's AVCA poll, coming in with a record of 3-1. After dropping their opening match to Drury, the Miners have won three straight and lead the GLVC in aces with 33, and 2.2 per set. Payton Gannaway leads the team with 17 aces and 56 kills--fourth in the conference in kills per set. The Miners are averaging 11.7 kills per set and holding their opponents to under ten. As a team they are hitting .226 while limiting their opponents to .178.
Illinois Springfield has opened the season 1-3, defeating McKendree but falling to current #2 Lewis, current #17 Southern Indiana and current T-25 Indianapolis. Thus far they are hitting .189 as a team, the same mark they are allowing to their opponents. Briana Bush leads the team with 2.84 points per set, and is hitting .341 on the season; seventh in the conference. She is also third in the conference in kills with 1.31 per set.
Coming Up
On the 28th, the Bulldogs will host their first tri-match as Lewis and Drury come to Kirksville. First serve will be 10 a.m. against Lewis, then 6 p.m. against Drury.
