Dec. 5, 2002

Truman Knocks Off No. 1 Team In The Country;
Advances to NCAA Semifinals For First Time

The 10th ranked Truman volleyball team faced a huge challenge in its NCAA Quarterfinal match. taking on the top-ranked team in the country, West Texas A&M, in front of almost 3,000 fans, most of whom were cheering for the hometown Lady Buffs.

The Bulldogs were up to the challenge however with a 3-1 win to advance to the NCAA semifinals for the first time in school history.

As they have done all season long, the Bulldogs used a balanced offensive attack and strong defense to gain the victory. Truman held West Texas A&M to just .206 hitting and had 66 digs. The Bulldog offense had six players with at least six kills.

Jessica Sears paced the Bulldogs with 19 kills and 13 digs. Tiffany Graham and Shelby Ortwerth also had double-doubles as well with Graham having 11 kills and 12 digs and Ortwerth recording 10 kills and 13 digs.

Monica Marlowe had 35 assists, six kills and 11 digs. Jennifer Hunter had 14 kills as well for Truman and Rebecca Knefelkamp added 11 digs.

West Texas A&M was led by Shannon Stroud with 19 kills and Jenny Donohoo with 17. Kacie Hyatt had 17 digs and Stroud also had 16. Jess Fernandes had 15 kills and 10 blocks.

Truman took game one as all six starters had two or more kills in the contest led by Sears with five. The Bulldogs hit .255 compared to .137 for the Lady Buffs as Truman had 17 digs and three blocks in the game. The score was tied at 17 when the Bulldogs scored on a sideout and then Micaela Walter had an ace and scored on two more points giving the team a four point lead that they would not surrender.

West Texas A&M jumped out to an early lead in the second game but a 10-4 Truman run gave the Lady Buffs a 15-11 advantage in the middle of the game. The lead was as large as five at 22-17 but the Lady Buffs cut it down to two several times and then to one at 29-28. In a long rally, Marlowe ended the game with a kill giving the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead.

Nothing went Truman's way in the third game as West Texas A&M fought to get back into the match. The Bulldogs scored just four points off their serves and were out-hit .333 to -.023 in the game. The Lady Buffs had 10 blocks in that game alone.

The Bulldogs showed right away in the fourth game that they put the previous game behind them as they jumped out to an early 10-5 lead. The margin grew as large as 26-17 before West Texas A&M ran off five straight to get within four. Sears ended the bleeding with a kill and Truman scored four of the final five points for the win.

Truman will face fourth-ranked Grand Valley State tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. The game can be heard for free through Teamline. The other semifinals will see third-ranked BYU-Hawaii take on seventh-ranked Tampa.