Nov. 2, 2000
Volleyball Squad Hopes to Get Back on Winning Track on Friday, Saturday
THE MATCH: Truman State University Bulldogs (Mid-America Intercollegiate
Athletics Association/NCAA Division II) vs. Southwest Baptist University
Lady Bearcats (Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association/NCAA Division
II)
DATE: Fri., Nov. 3 TIME: 7 p.m.
LOCATION: Kirksville, Mo.
ARENA (CAPACITY): Pershing Arena (3,000)
THE MATCH: Truman State University Bulldogs (Mid-America Intercollegiate
Athletics Association/NCAA Division II) vs. Missouri Western State College
Griffons (Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association/NCAA Division
II)
DATE: Sat., Nov. 4 TIME: 4 p.m.
LOCATION: Kirksville, Mo.
ARENA (CAPACITY): Pershing Arena (3,000)
BROADCASTS: KIRK 99.9 FM, Moberly, Mo. KIRK will next broadcast Saturday's 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 (26-4, 13-0 MIAA): Truman slipped to 21st in this week's AVCA Division II Top 25, after going 0-2 on their weekend trip to Alabama. However, the 'Dogs still clearly control their own destiny. The team currently sits atop the MIAA with a perfect 13-0 record and remained ranked No. 2 in the South Central Region in last week's regional poll. The 'Dogs are currently 16-3 in the South Central Region, which will send the top six from the final poll of the season to the NCAA Division II regional tournament.
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. Truman is riding a 24-match MIAA winning streak, having not lost a conference match since Sept. 18, 1999.
The Bulldogs still have three matches remaining in the regular season, including a pair on Friday and Saturday of this week versus MIAA foes Southwest Baptist and Missouri Western. Saturday's match will be the regular season home finale, as Truman celebrates Senior Day with a 4 p.m. start versus the Griffons of MWSC. Also looming is the regular season finale at Central Missouri, a match which will could have major implications on the conference title.
JUST KILLIN' TIME: The 'Dogs boast five players who average more than 2.20 kills per game, a big reason the team leads the MIAA in kills. 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 3.52 kills per game (third in the MIAA) while hitting a team-best .326. Junior Cassy Felkerson (Salem, Mo.) averages 2.95 kills, is hitting .303 and leads the squad in blocking at 1.04 per game. Junior Jenny Glenn (Granby, Colo./Middle Park), senior Janelle Zehr (Deer Creek, Ill./Mackinaw) and freshman Jenna Buckner (Quincy, Ill.) are all close behind in kills.
TRUMAN VS. ALABAMA-HUNTSVILLE (OCT. 27): Truman had been 4-0 in matches that went five games, but that mark went by the wayside on Friday, as the Bulldogs suffered a 3-2 heartbreaker to the Chargers of Alabama-Huntsville. Truman took two of the first three games of the match, but then saw UAH rally for 16-14 and 17-15 decisions in the final two games.
Truman recorded a season-high 16 service aces in the loss, led by a career-high and team season-high six from Glenn, while Zehr added four. Hoerner finished with 16 kills and a .467 attack percentage, while Felkerson added 13 kills. Glenn and junior Brenda Ippensen (Quincy, Ill.) had 10 kills apiece. Sophomore Monica Marlowe (Aurora, Ill./West Aurora) led the team with 14 digs and 50 assists.
The Chargers, whom Truman had defeated 3-1 earlier in the year, out-hit the 'Dogs, .304 to .216.
TRUMAN VS. NORTH ALABAMA (OCT. 28): The second match of the road swing to Alabama brought the Lions from North Alabama, the region's top-ranked squad. Truman suffered 8-15 and 7-15 losses in the first two games, and then fell by a 14-16 margin in the third and decisive game. It marked the first time this season that Truman was defeated by a 3-0 count.
Brenda Ippensen finished as the team's leader in kills, charting seven to go with three aces. Zehr added 11 digs, as UNA out-hit Truman, .322 to .168.
SOUTHWEST BAPTIST (4-25, 3-11 MIAA): The Lady Bearcats have collected just four wins thus far on the year, three in the MIAA against Pittsburg State (Kan.) and Missouri Southern. In the squad's last four matches, all on the road, it is 2-2 with losses coming at Northwest Missouri (1-3) and Missouri Western (0-3) and a 3-1 victory on Wednesday at Missouri Southern.
SBU ranks second in the conference in digs, averaging 18.30 per game. The team is also fifth in the MIAA in blocking, coming in at 2.27 per contest.
Three SBU individuals rank in the MIAA's top 10 for digs, led by senior Morgan Ruble, who has a mark of 3.63 per outing, good enough for fifth in the league. Junior Leslie Phillips is next at 3.45 per game, while junior Sara Hunter is 10th in the conference with a 3.08 average. Ruble and Hunter are also the team's leaders in kills, with marks of 2.97 and 2.86 per game, respectively. In blocking, the Lady Bearcats are paced by sophomore Keri Cochran, who averages 0.94 per game.
MISSOURI WESTERN (19-9, 11-3, MIAA): Missouri Western trails only Truman and Central Missouri in the conference standings and is maintaining a three-match advantage for third place in the league. In their most recent action, MWSC was a 3-0 winner on Wednesday at Northwest Missouri. The Griffons also went 2-1 at the Drury Invitational last weekend, picking up 3-0 wins over Christian Brothers and Mississippi-Women. Their lone loss at the tournament was a 3-1 decision at the hands of Arkansas Tech. The only other loss in the Griffons' last 11 matches was a 3-1 defeat versus Central Missouri State.
MWSC ranks fourth in the conference in kills (14.35 p/g) and is third in both assists (13.52) and aces (1.83). In digs, MWSC also ranks third at 18.00 per game and the team is fourth in the MIAA in blocking (2.45).
Senior Sarah Ekdahl is one of the Griffons' top hitters, averaging 3.38 kills per game, while sophomore Lindsey Palaia is hitting a team-best .290 and ranks second in the league in blocks (1.42). Ekdahl is also fifth in the MIAA in aces (0.40) and third in digs (3.94). Junior setter Katie Schiesl is third in the conference in assists, averaging 11.18.
SERIES RECORD & RECAP: The Bulldogs lead the all-time series with Southwest Baptist by a 28-6 margin. Truman has won 22 straight over the Lady Bearcats, including a 3-0 win earlier this month ... Versus MWSC, Truman leads 21-19, having captured a match this past September by a 3-2 margin over the Griffons. The 'Dogs have collected three straight wins over MWSC.
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 reach the 100-win plateau. She currently has 92-41 career record for a winning percentage of .692 -- the best among all volleyball coaches in school history.
BULLDOGS IN MIAA STATISTICS (OCT. 30 REPORT): The Bulldogs currently lead the MIAA in kills, averaging 15.42 per game, and service aces, averaging 2.00 per game. The team also ranks second in hitting (.248) and is third in the conference in assists (13.52 p/g), fifth in digs (17.61) and eighth in blocks (2.21).
Individually, Hoerner ranks among the top 10 in two categories. She's second in the league with her .326 hitting percentage and third in kills (3.52). Truman has two of the top three hitters in the conference, as Felkerson's .303 percentage ranks her third. Felkerson also moved up to seventh in blocking, at 1.04 per game. Marlowe ranks fifth in the league in assists (10.73). In service aces, Glenn ranks eighth at 0.36 a game, followed by Buckner, also at 0.36.
MIAA ATHLETES OF THE WEEK: The Bulldogs have had at least one player named MIAA Hitter or Setter of the Week on six different occasions this season. Marlowe has been named MIAA Setter of the Week four times this season. In the hitters' category, Felkerson is the only multiple winner, having captured the honor twice. Hoerner and Glenn also have MIAA Hitter of the Week accolades to their credit this season.
BULLDOGS AMONG SINGLE-SEASON LEADERS: Felkerson's current hitting percentage of .303 is good enough for seventh on the Bulldogs' single-season list. The junior's 89 block assists ranks eighth and her 1.04 blocks average is sixth. Hoerner's .326 hitting percentage ranks sixth on the single-season list, while her blocks average of 0.93 is eighth. Marlowe ranks fifth in assists average (10.73) and her 1,084 assists is 10th.
OTHER BULLDOGS ON CAREER LISTS: Felkerson is currently second on the all-time list in hitting percentage (.259) and is also second in career blocks per game (0.95) and fifth in solo blocks (81), block assists (191) and total blocks (272). She ranks ninth in career kills (730) and 10th in career kills per game (2.54) ... Marlowe has moved up to third in career assists (2,472) and remains the career leader in assists average (11.66). She is also seventh in digs per game (2.77) and 10th in both block assists (94) and blocks average (0.50) ... Glenn is ffith in career hitting percentage (.227) and eighth in assists (260) ... Brenda Ippensen ranks fourth in digs average (3.37), sixth in digs (1,074), seventh in attempts (2,604) and eighth in kills (879) and kills per game (2.76) ... Hoerner's blocks average of 0.93 is fourth on the career list.
REGIONAL POLL (OCT. 25): In the third South Central Regional poll of the season, the Bulldogs remained ranked second behind North Alabama, which had yet to lose in the South Central Region. Here is the complete poll with region records as of Oct. 22 in parenthesis: 1. North Alabama (20-0), 2. Truman (15-1), 3. Central Missouri (15-2), 4T. Arkansas Tech (17-1), 4T. Montevallo (Ala.) (17-3), 6. Missouri Western (13-6), 7. Emporia State (13-10), 8. Alabama-Huntsville (12-10), 9. Henderson State (Ark.) (13-10), 10T. Northwest Missouri (12-10), 10T. Valdosta State (Ga.) (12-7).
ZEHR GOES THE BULLDOGS LONE SENIOR: When Truman's record-breaking season comes to a close, the team will bid a fond farewell to its lone senior, a three-time all-MIAA choice, Janelle Zehr. Currently fourth all-time at Truman in kills with 1,613, Zehr ranks in the top four on 12 Bulldog career lists, including a second-place standing in kills per game (3.61). She is also fourth in career attempts (4,192), digs (1,245), solo blocks (82), block assists (226) and total blocks (308). In 1999, Zehr finished second in the conference in kills (4.02) and tied for fifth in hitting percentage en route to earning first-team all-MIAA honors for the first time. She was also named an all-region performer for the first time in her career. In 1998, Zehr averaged 4.13 kills while playing in every game as a second-team all-conference pick. She was an honorable mention all-league pick as a freshman. Prior to the 2000 campaign, Zehr had 42 career double-doubles and 75 matches with double-digit kills, including 19 matches with 20 or more finishes. She was named to the All-American Farm Team, sponsored by Dodge Trucks and Successful Farming magazine.
NATIONAL POLL: This week's AVCA Division II Top 25.