JACKSON, Tenn.—The Truman Volleyball team opened its season at the Union University Tournament, splitting the first match day of the 2021 season. The Bulldogs defeated Lane College in the opener 3-1 (25-12, 21-25, 25-11, 25-12) but fell to the University of Montevallo 3-0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-16). Against Lane, Rachel DeFries set a new Truman record with eight service aces in a 25 point set. The team finished with 22 aces, which also set a new team record.
Match One
The Bulldogs opened with Lane University, winning 3-1. Morgan Smith led with 12 kills, and Ellie Kaat reached double digits with ten. DeFries led with 20 assists and eight aces. Molly McGurn, playing her first game at libero, set a new career high with 21 digs.
With the first set tied at three early on, Katy Motz entered the game and served 11 straight points for the Bulldogs, recording five aces in that stretch—including three straight. She would finish with six aces in the match. With a double digit lead, Truman cruised to a 25-12 win in the set.
The Truman attack that hit .269 in the first set cooled off in the second, as Lane took the set 25-21 to even the match at one.
Early on in the third set, Truman trailed 5-2 as Lane continued their roll from the second set. But the Bulldogs turned the tables with a 9-1 run that put them up 11-6. Smith picked up a couple of kills, as did Monica Brown. Lane drew back to within two at 12-10, but Truman went on an 11-0 run with DeFries picking up four aces in the run.
The fourth set began close as Truman led 10-7, but a 7-0 run for the Bulldogs set the tone for the rest of the set. DeFries picked up three aces in this stretch. Later, kills from Kate Benzing and an ace from Hanna Berry, who finished with six aces, were part of a 5-0 run that put Truman up 22-9. The Bulldogs saw out the rest of the set for a 25-12 win.
Match Two
The first set was tight early on, but a run from Montevallo pushed them ahead for the rest of the set. Down 23-13, Truman went on a 7-0 run, which included two kills from Berry and an ace from DeFries. But Montevallo took the next two points and the set.
Most of the second set was neck and neck, but with Montevallo up 15-13 they went on a 5-0 run to go up by seven and then after Truman got a point to make it 20-14 another 5-0 run from the Falcons gave them the set.
In the third set, much like the first two, the teams were close early on. An 11-1 run by Montevallo sealed the set and the match.
Smith led the team in kills with eight, Kaat recorded four blocks and DeFries had 11 assists. McGurn and Smith tied for the team lead with ten digs.
The Bulldogs will be back in action tomorrow at 11 a.m. as they take on Florida Tech and then cap off the tournament with a match against Union, the hosts, at 7 p.m.
