Oct. 19, 2000
No. 18 Volleyball Bulldogs Head to Missouri Southern, Pittsburg State
THE MATCH: Truman State University Bulldogs (Mid-America Intercollegiate
Athletics Association/NCAA Division II) vs. Missouri Southern State College
Lions (Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association/NCAA Division II)
DATE: Fri., Oct. 20
TIME: 7 p.m.
LOCATION: Joplin, Mo.
ARENA (CAPACITY): Robert Ellis Young Gymnasium (1,700)
THE MATCH: Truman State University Bulldogs (Mid-America Intercollegiate
Athletics Association/NCAA Division II) vs. Pittsburg State University Gorillas
(Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association/NCAA Division II)
DATE: Sat., Oct. 21
TIME: 11 a.m.
LOCATION: Pittsburg, Kan.
ARENA (CAPACITY): John Lance Arena (5,600)
BROADCASTS: KIRK 99.9 FM, Moberly, Mo. KIRK will next broadcast the Oct. 25 date with Northwest Missouri and the Nov. 4 meeting with Missouri Western. Chad Speakar handles the play-by-play.
ON THE WEB: Information on Bulldog Athletics, including daily scores, can be found at www2.truman.edu/athletics.
TRUMAN'S RECORD: 23-2, 10-0 MIAA
MISSOURI SOUTHERN'S RECORD: 5-15, 2-9 MIAA
PITTSBURG STATE'S RECORD: 5-25, 1-10 MIAA
TRUMAN: On Wednesday night, the Bulldogs took a major step toward their first ever conference volleyball title by sweeping 18-time defending champion Central Missouri, 3-0, in a matchup of two teams with perfect marks in the conference. The 'Dogs come away with an unblemished 10-0 league ledger and are currently riding a school-record 21-match MIAA winning streak.
Truman is ranked 18th in this week's AVCA Division II Top 25 and were No. 2 in last week's South Central Region poll. The top six teams in the region at the end of the season will advance to the postseason.
This weekend, the 'Dogs will hope to remain in the conference's driver's seat when they take on Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State (Kan.). Truman already has defeated both squads this season in 3-0 sweep fashion.
The Bulldogs are getting balanced play from their hitters, where juniors Eliza Hoerner (Augusta, Mo./Washington-Univ. of Colorado-Colorado Springs) and Cassy Felkerson (Salem, Mo.) are both hitting over .300 (.321 and .314, respectively), averaging over three kills per game (3.65 and 3.02, respectively) and one block per game (0.99 and 1.02, respectively).
Junior Jenny Glenn (Granby, Colo./Middle Park), averaging 2.64 kills, leads a pack of three players at over two kills per game. Glenn has a team-high six double-doubles in kills and digs. Felkerson has a team-leading 16 matches with double-digit kills.
TRUMAN VS. CENTRAL MISSOURI, Oct. 18: Truman took over sole possession of the MIAA lead on Wednesday night by virtue of its 3-0 sweep over Central Missouri State University. Senior Janelle Zehr (Deer Creek, Ill./Mackinaw) and freshman Jenna Buckner (Quincy, Ill.) each posted 15 kills in leading the Bulldogs to the 15-7, 19-17, 15-4 victory. It was Buckner's fifth double-double of the season as she ended with a career-high 15 digs to go with a team season-high .565 attack percentage (with a minimum of 12 kills). Felkerson added 10 kills and four blocks as Truman won before a crowd of more than 500.
Truman rallied from behind to win game 1 of the match and had a dogfight with the Jennies in a 19-17 sideout affair in game 2. In the final game of the night, the Bulldogs left little doubt in cruising to a 15-4 triumph.
MISSOURI SOUTHERN: Missouri Southern has dropped six in a row and nine of their last 10, including a 3-0 loss on Sept. 29 to Truman. In Wednesday night's action, the Lions stepped out of conference play and took a 3-0 loss at Drury.
MSSC ranks sixth in the MIAA in service aces (1.47 p/g) and blocking (2.39 p/g). Individually, senior Stephanie Bunger leads the team in kills, averaging 2.98 per game with senior Amber Collins second at 2.39 per game. Collins also ranks 10th in the MIAA and leads the team in service aces (0.33 p/g). Senior Angie Shockley is the team leader in digs (3.01 p/g).
In blocking, the Lions have two players ranked among the league's top 10. Freshman Lindsey Mason is sixth in the conference at 1.17 blocks a game, while junior Rachel Miller is eighth, at 1.03 per game.
PITTSBURG STATE: The Gorillas field one of the younger teams in the conference, lead by a trio of freshmen. Freshman Dina Wathan ranks first in the MIAA in kills (3.90 per game) and digs (4.71 p/g, third in NCAA Division II) and fourth in service aces (0.38 p/g). Freshman Gloria Ilariogun is seventh in the conference in blocking (1.13 p/g) and averages 2.03 kills. Freshman Katie Smith, who averages 2.57 kills, is 10th in the league in digs, at 3.17 per game.
Pittsburg State is struggling this season, having collected just five wins in 30 matches. The team has just one win, a 3-0 decision over Northwest Missouri, in its last 18 contests.
On Wednesday, PSU fell by a 3-1 count to Southwest Baptist despite 20 kills and nine blocks from Ilariogun. Smith added 15 kills and 19 digs, while Wathan posted 14 kills and 18 digs. Megan Barth added four service aces as the Gorillas fell 15-11, 15-17, 4-15, 15--17 to the Lady Bearcats.
SERIES RECORD WITH MSSC: Truman leads 15-13 ... The Bulldogs won both meetings last year (3-2 at MSSC, 3-0 at home) and have taken the last five matches with the Lions, including a 3-0 sweep at Pershing Arena this season.
SERIES RECORD WITH PSU: Truman leads 21-2 ... The 'Dogs have won 16 consecutive matches over PSU as the Gorillas have not managed a win in the series since 1992. The last four matches with PSU have been decided by 3-0 sweep.
COACH BECKY EGGERING: Becky Eggering is in her fourth year at the helm of the Bulldogs and has an 89-39 career record for a winning percentage of .695 -- the best among all volleyball coaches in school history. She also ranks second in school history for career wins.
BULLDOGS IN MIAA STATISTICS (OCT. 16 REPORT): Truman ranked in the top two in three of the six MIAA statistical categories, including in kills, where the Bulldogs were leading the league with an average of 15.49 kills per game. The 'Dogs were also second in the conference in hitting (.252) and service aces (1.87 p/g). Truman was third in the league with 13.54 assists per game.
Individually, Hoerner was ranked third in the conference in kills (3.73 p/g) and second in hitting percentage (.325). She also ranked seventh in service aces (0.36 p/g).
Felkerson was third in the conference in hitting (.318) and ninth in the league in blocking (1.01 p/g).
Sophomore setter Monica Marlowe (Aurora, Ill./West Aurora) ranked third in the conference in assists (10.95 p/g), and Buckner stood ninth in the league in service aces (0.35 p/g).
BULLDOGS IN NCAA STATISTICS (THROUGH MATCHES OF OCT. 15): Truman ranks 18th in the latest NCAA Division II statistics report in kills and is tied for ninth in winning percentage.
MIAA ATHLETES OF THE WEEK: Felkerson became the first Bulldog hitter to repeat as MIAA Hitter of the Week on Oct. 10. Meanwhile, Marlowe was named MIAA Setter of the Week for the third time this season.
Felkerson hit .344 with 52 kills and 10 errors in 122 attempts. She averaged 3.71 kills and 1.14 blocks and recorded her 15th match with double-figure kills this season as Truman went 3-1.
Marlowe averaged 11.14 assists and 2.64 digs over 14 games last week. She had 48 assists in the Bulldogs' win over Washburn (Kan.) and 44 in the loss to North Alabama.
Bulldog MIAA Athletes of the Week: Marlowe (Sept. 5, Sept. 19, Oct. 10), Felkerson (Sept. 12, Oct. 10), Hoerner (Sept. 19), Glenn (Sept. 26).
REGIONAL POLL: In the second South Central Regional poll of the season, the Bulldogs slipped a spot into second after being ranked in a No. 1 tie in the first poll. North Alabama took over the top spot in the poll. Central Missouri, Montevallo (Ala.) and Arkansas Tech were tied for third, followed by Missouri Western in sixth. Emporia State (Kan.) was seventh, Northwest Missouri eighth, Valdosta State (Ala.) ninth and Henderson State (Ark.) 10th. The next poll is due out on Oct. 25.
NATIONAL POLL: The Bulldogs remained No. 18 in this week's AVCA Division II Top 25.