Oct. 26, 2000
No. 17 Volleyball Squad Heads to Alabama For Two Key Contests in Region
THE MATCH: Truman State University Bulldogs (Mid-America Intercollegiate
Athletics Association/NCAA Division II) vs. University of Alabama-Huntsville
Chargers (Gulf South Conference/NCAA Division II)
DATE: Fri., Oct. 27
TIME: 4 p.m.
LOCATION: Florence, Ala.
ARENA (CAPACITY): Flowers Hall (3,800)
THE MATCH: Truman State University Bulldogs (Mid-America Intercollegiate
Athletics Association/NCAA Division II) vs. University of North Alabama
Lions (Gulf South Conference/NCAA Division II)
DATE: Sat., Oct. 28
TIME: 12 p.m.
LOCATION: Florence, Ala.
ARENA (CAPACITY): Flowers Hall (3,800)
BROADCASTS: KIRK 99.9 FM, Moberly, Mo. KIRK will next broadcast the Nov. 4 meeting with Missouri Western. Chad Speakar delivers the play-by-play, while Kevin White handles the color commentary.
TEAM LINE: Live broadcast over the phone for those outside the KRES listening area by calling 1-800-846-4700. Bulldog Access Code: 6350. Charges must be billed to a credit card.
ON THE WEB: Information on Bulldog Athletics, including daily scores, can be found at www2.truman.edu/athletics.
TRUMAN'S RECORD: 26-2, 13-0 MIAA
ALABAMA-HUNTSVILLE'S RECORD: 16-11, 7-4 GSC
NORTH ALABAMA'S RECORD: 28-2, 12-0 GSC
TRUMAN: Truman moved up to 17th in this week's AVCA Division II Top 25 and currently sits atop the MIAA with a perfect 13-0 record. In one of the finest seasons in their history, the Bulldogs are closing in on their first-ever conference title and are hoping for their first postseason appearance since 1994. The 'Dogs are 16-1 in the South Central Region and were ranked second in the region in the last poll (Oct. 11). The top six teams from the region will advance to the NCAA Division II regional round.
The Bulldogs still have five matches remaining in the regular season, including a pair this weekend against both Alabama-Huntsville and the South Central Region's No. 1 team, North Alabama. Also looming is the regular season finale at Central Missouri.
Truman has won five straight matches and, in the MIAA, is riding a 24-match winning streak, having not lost a conference match since Sept. 18, 1999.
JUST KILLIN' TIME: The 'Dogs boast four players who average more than 2.50 kills per game, big reason Truman ranks 18th in NCAA Division II in kills. The conference leader in that category, the Bulldogs have just one player ranked among the top 10 individuals, junior Eliza Hoerner (Augusta, Mo./Washington-Univ. of Colorado-Colorado Springs), who is averaging 3.59 kills per game (third in the MIAA) while hitting a team-best .325. Junior Cassy Felkerson (Salem, Mo.) averages 3.00 kills, is hitting .314 and leads the squad in blocking at 1.02 per game. Junior Jenny Glenn (Granby, Colo./Middle Park) averages 2.56 kills and senior Janelle Zehr (Deer Creek, Ill./Mackinaw) has a mark of 2.50 kills an outing. Not far back is true freshman Jenna Buckner (Quincy, Ill.) at 2.25 finishes per game.
TRUMAN VS. NORTHWEST MISSOURI (Oct. 25): The Bulldogs won their 24th straight MIAA match on Wednesday night with a 15-1, 12-15, 15-5, 15-6 win over Northwest Missouri State. The 'Dogs, facing the MIAA's top hitting team, posted a .241 hitting percentage compared to a .040 mark posted by the Bearcats. Felkerson led the Bulldogs with 12 kills and six blocks.
Truman tied its season-high with 13 service aces and Glenn accounted for five of them. She added nine kills and 10 digs, while Buckner tallied 10 finishes. Sophomore Monica Marlowe (Aurora, Ill./West Aurora) handed out 34 assists and had a team-best 12 digs to go with four blocks. Hoerner also had four blocks and hit .368 (9 kills, 2 errors, 19 attempts).
The 'Dogs hit just .053 in the second game of the match and saw NWMSU rally to tie the match at one game each. But in game 3, Truman came out firing on all cylinders, knocking down 19 kills with a .382 hitting percentage.
ALABAMA-HUNTSVILLE: After a 6-8 start to the season, the Chargers have posted a 10-3 mark over their last 13 matches, and come into Friday's meeting with a 6-1 ledger in their last seven. Included in UAH's latest hot streak are victories over several of the top teams in the South Central Region, such as Montevallo (Ala.), Henderson State (Ark.), Valdosta State (Ga.) and Central Missouri.
The Chargers' latest win was a 3-0 triumph over West Georgia on Tuesday, a match in which UAH hit .398. Juniors Ellen LaFiore and Lindsey Dunham had 12 and 10 kills, respectively. LaFiore posted a .556 hitting percentage for the match, while Dunham hit .625.
Individually, LaFiore, an all-region performer last year, ranks eighth in the nation in kills, averaging 5.23 per game. She stands 10th in NCAA Division II in hitting (.408) and also averages a team-best 1.02 blocks and 0.42 service aces. Junior setter Jane Baumgartner averages 12.43 assists, while freshman Melissa Feldman averages 2.30 kills and a team-high 2.99 digs.
NORTH ALABAMA: When North Alabama visited Truman earlier this month, the Lions hadn't lost since Aug. 27. They still haven't. UNA has won 27 matches in a row including a 3-1 win on Tuesday over Montevallo (Ala.). Prior to dropping a game in their latest win, the Lions had won 32 consecutive games, dating back to their match with the Bulldogs on Oct. 8.
Junior Nesrin Seckin paces the Lions' offense, averaging 4.47 kills per game to go with a team-high 2.69 digs. Freshman Jana Ninova is second on the team in kills, averaging 3.88. Sophomore Saundra Alexander ranks second in the nation in hitting (.455) and averages 2.83 kills. Junior Yolanda Hagar is the squad's leader in blocking (1.08). Freshman setter Ashley Moffit is third in NCAA Division II in assists (13.36) and senior Gretchen Midkiff ranks 16th in the nation in service aces (0.73).
UNA ranks in the top 10 nationally in four categories, including hitting (6th, .319), kills (10th, 16.07), service aces (10th, 2.53) and winning percentage (8th, .933). The team is also 11th in assists (14.40).
SERIES RECORD & RECAP: The series with Alabama-Huntsville is deadlocked with each team having two wins apiece. Truman evened the series with UAH earlier this year by handing the Chargers a 3-1 loss at the Emporia State (Kan.) Invitational. Versus North Alabama, Truman is 1-5 all-time, including a 3-1 loss to the Lions earlier this season at Pershing Arena.
COACH BECKY EGGERING: Becky Eggering is in her fourth year at the helm of the Bulldogs and needs just eight more wins to become just the second coach in Truman volleyball history to eclipse the 100-win plateau. She currently has 92-39 career record for a winning percentage of .702 -- the best among all volleyball coaches in school history.
BULLDOGS IN MIAA STATISTICS (OCT. 23 REPORT): The Bulldogs currently lead the MIAA in kills, averaging 15.73 per game and also rank second in hitting (.252) and service aces (1.90 p/g). Truman is third in the conference in assists (13.84 p/g), fourth in digs (18.05 p/g) and eighth in blocks (2.21 p/g).
Individually, Hoerner ranks among the top 10 in three categories. She's second in the league with her .324 hitting percentage, third in kills (3.65 p/g) and eighth in service aces (0.35 p/g).
Truman has two of the top three hitters in the conference, as Felkerson's .315 percentage ranks her third. Felkerson is also 10th in blocking, at 1.00 per game.
Marlowe ranks fourth in the league in assists (11.02 p/g) and Buckner is seventh in service aces (0.36).
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.
MARLOWE NAMED MIAA SETTER OF THE WEEK: For the fourth time this season, Marlowe was named MIAA Setter of the Week after she averaged 11.67 assists and 2.89 digs in three wins last week.
Marlowe had 39 assists with 15 digs and a .571 hitting percentage in a 3-0 sweep of Central Missouri State. With her quarterbacking the offense, Truman hit .409 in the clinching third game and .281 for the match, as the Bulldogs took over sole possession of first place in the MIAA. She had 37 assists vs. Missouri Southern on Friday and 29 at Pittsburg State (Kan.) on Saturday.
This marks the eighth time in Marlowe's career at Truman that she has been named MIAA Setter of the Week. She won the honor four times last year as a freshman.
2000 Bulldog MIAA Athletes of the Week: Marlowe (Sept. 5, Sept. 19, Oct. 10, Oct. 24), Felkerson (Sept. 12, Oct. 10), Hoerner (Sept. 19), Glenn (Sept. 26).
BULLDOGS AMONG SINGLE-SEASON LEADERS: Marlowe's current assist average of 10.91 per game is fourth on the single-season list, but she remains the career leader in assists average (11.78). Marlowe needs just 67 assists to move into third place on the career list. Felkerson would be seventh on the single-season hitting percentage list, with her .314 mark. She's also seventh on the single-season blocks average list, at 1.02 per game. Hoerner is up to sixth in hitting percentage, eighth in kills average and ninth in matches with 20 or more kills (5) and blocks per game.
ZEHR CLOSING IN ON THIRD PLACE: Zehr needs just 68 kills to take over third place on the career kills list. She now has 1,606 career finishes, while Jennifer Sigman (1994-97) had 1,674 for the current third-place mark. Zehr slipped back into second in career kills average (3.66).
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 held 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 (Ga.) ninth and Henderson State (Ark.) 10th. The next poll was due out on Wednesday but has yet to be released.
NATIONAL POLL: The Bulldogs moved up a spot to 17th in this week's AVCA Division II Top 25 poll.