Nov. 7, 2000
Bulldog Volleyball Looks to Win Conference Title Outright at Central Missouri
THE MATCH: Truman State University Bulldogs (Mid-America Intercollegiate
Athletics Association/NCAA Division II) vs. Central Missouri State University
Jennies (Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association/NCAA Division
II)
Date: Wed., Nov. 8
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Warrensburg, Mo.
Arena (Capacity): Multipurpose Building (8,500)
BROADCASTS: KTRM, 88.7 FM, will broadcast the match at Central Missouri
State. Luke Willman delivers the play-by-play.
ON THE WEB: Information on Bulldog Athletics, including daily scores,
can be found at www2.truman.edu/athletics.
Truman (28-4, 15-0 MIAA): The Bulldogs have already secured at least a share of their first-ever MIAA championship in volleyball and will be looking to become the outright conference champion when they take on Central Missouri on Wednesday. The Bulldogs slipped to 21st in last week's AVCA Division II Top 25, but have won back-to-back matches including a 3-2 thriller on Saturday over Missouri Western, a victory that guaranteed the 'Dogs a share of the 2000 MIAA title. The win also extended the Bulldogs' school record MIAA winning streak to 26 consecutive matches. The team is also five wins shy of the school record for single-season victories. The Bulldogs are closing in on their first postseason berth since 1994, currently ranked No. 2 in the South Central Region, with a new poll due to be released on Wednesday. Selections for the 2000 NCAA Division II Regional tournaments will be made Sunday (Nov. 12), and the 'Dogs figure to be in the hunt for one of the six spots for the South Central Regional.
TRUMAN VS. SOUTHWEST BAPTIST & MISSOURI WESTERN (NOV. 3 & 4): Following a 3-0 win on Friday over Southwest Baptist, the Bulldogs guaranteed themselves at least a share of their first ever conference championship with a 3-2 come-from-behind win over Missouri Western on Saturday.
On Senior Day versus Missouri Western, the Bulldogs dropped the first two games to the Griffons by scores of 16-14 and 15-8. Thanks to a spark off the bench from sophomore Jackie Knight (Chesterfield, Mo./Lafayette), Truman came back to take the final three games by scores of 15-7, 15-11 and 15-11. Knight, who played only the final three games, ended with 13 kills and 13 digs while hitting .345.
Juniors Eliza Hoerner (Augusta, Mo./Univ. of Colorado-Colorado Springs) and Brenda Ippensen (Quincy, Ill.) had 15 kills each, while Cassy Felkerson (Salem, Mo.) finished with 10. Sophomore Monica Marlowe (Aurora, Ill./West Aurora) handed out 51 assists and led the team with 16 digs.
On Friday night, Truman picked up a 3-0 win over Southwest Baptist as senior Janelle Zehr (Deer Creek, Ill./Mackinaw) set a team season-high for kills in a three-game match, logging 16. Zehr hit .483 for the match and added a team-high 13 digs. Marlowe recorded 40 asissts, also a team season best for a three-game match.
CENTRAL MISSOURI (25-7, 14-1 MIAA): The Jennies are 5-2 since they fell 3-0 to the Bulldogs on Oct. 18 at Pershing Arena. CMSU has defeated Alabama-Huntsville as well as conference opponents Northwest Missouri, Missouri Western, Emporia State (Kan.) and Washburn (Kan.) in its last seven matches. The Jennies' two most recent losses came at the hands of No. 12 North Alabama and No. 20 Rockhurst.
CMSU is led by junior Janell Mohme, whose 1.59 blocks per game leads the conference and ranks fourth in NCAA Division II. Mohme is fifth in the league with her .296 hitting percentage.
CMSU leads the MIAA, and ranks sixth in the nation, in blocking and has three players, including Mohme, ranked in the conference's top 10. Senior Mandy Feldmann is sixth in blocks (1.13 p/g), while freshman Trudy Carter (0.97) is 10th. Carter is also sixth in the league in kills (3.42), while Feldmann is ninth in hitting with a mark of .278.
Led by junior Robyn Griffin (12.21 assists per game), the Jennies are the league leader in assists, at 14.18 per game. They ranked 19th in NCAA DII in assists.
CMSU, ranked 23rd in the nation and third in the South Central Region, has won 18 straight MIAA championships.
Series Record & recap: Central Missouri leads 8-49-3 ... The Bulldogs have won the last two matches with the Jennies, both by 3-0 sweep. Truman defeated CMSU 15-7, 19-17, 15-4 last month at Pershing Arena to take over sole possession of first place in the MIAA race. Truman's last win at Central Missouri came on Sept. 16, 1983, when the 'Dogs emerged with a 15-7, 15-10 victory.
COACH BECKY EGGERING: Becky Eggering is in her fourth year at the helm of the Bulldogs and needs just six more wins to become just the second coach in Truman volleyball history to reach the 100-win plateau. She currently has 94-41 career record for a winning percentage of .696 -- the best among all volleyball coaches in school history.
BULLDOGS IN MIAA STATISTICS (NOV. 6 REPORT): The Bulldogs currently lead the MIAA in kills, averaging 15.46 per game. Truman is second in hitting (.244) and service aces (1.91 p/g). The 'Dogs are third in assists (13.53), fifth in digs (17.70) and eighth in blocking (2.19).
Individually, Hoerner ranks second in the conference in hitting with a mark of .323, just two percentage points out of the lead. She's also third in kills per game, at 3.50.
Truman has two of the top six hitters in the conference, as Felkerson is sixth with her .289 percentage. She's currently seventh in blocks (1.04), as well.
Marlowe ranks fourth in assists (10.78), while freshman Jenna Buckner (Quincy, Ill.) and junior Jenny Glenn (Granby, Colo./Middle Park) are seventh and eighth, respectively, in service aces. Both average 0.34 per game.
BULLDOGS IN NCAA STATISTICS (Through matches of Oct. 29): Truman ranked 18th in NCAA Division II in winning percentage in the latest statistics report. At the time, the 'Dogs were 26-4 for a mark of .867.
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.
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 1635, Zehr ranks in the top four on 12 Bulldog career lists, including a second-place standing in kills per game (3.60). She is also fourth in career attempts (4,246), digs (1,268), solo blocks (82), block assists (230) and total blocks (312). 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. Zehr has 81 career matches with double-figure kills, 62 with double-digit digs and 45 double-doubles in kills and digs. Prior to this season, she was named to the All-American Farm Team, sponsored by Dodge Trucks and Successful Farming magazine and was selected to the Nebraska-Omaha all-tournament team in the first tourney of the year.
BULLDOGS AMONG SINGLE-SEASON LEADERS: Hoerner's current hitting percentage of .323 is sixth on the single season list, while Felkerson is eighth at .289. In assists categories, Marlowe ranks fifth in single-season assist average (10.78) after setting the season record last year. She's 10th on the single-season list this year in assists (1,175). In block assists, Felkerson is tied for seventh with 96 and is ninth in total blocks (116). In blocks average, Felkerson is sixth (1.04) with Hoerner (0.90) tied for 10th. Hoerner is also tied for ninth in matches with 20 or more kills (5).
OTHER BULLDOGS ON CAREER LISTS: Marlowe has moved into third on the Bulldogs career assists list with 2,563 and she remains the program's career leader in assists per game (11.65). Marlowe is also tied for sixth in career digs average (2.79) and 10th in block assists (98) ... Felkerson is now tied for fourth in solo blocks (82), fifth in total blocks (280) and in block assists (198). In blocks per game, Felkerson ranks second with a mark of 0.95. She is also second in career hitting percentage (.255), and ninth in both kills (749) and kills per game (2.54) ... Brenda Ippensen ranks eighth in kills (898), seventh in kills per game (2.76) and attempts (2,657). She's also fifth in digs (1,089), fourth in digs average (3.34) ... After collecting her 1,000th career attempt (the minimum to rank among career hitting leaders), Knight has moved into fourth place in career hitting (.235), followed by Glenn in seventh (.224) ... Glenn also ranks eighth in assists (262) and 10th in assists average (0.96) ... A pair of freshmen have also broken into the career top 10s. Rachael Shedd (Omaha, Neb./Westside) is ninth in assists (224) and eighth in assists average (3.80). Buckner is 10th in career blocks average (0.53).
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).
NATIONAL POLL: This week's AVCA Division II Top 25.