Sept. 18, 2004
Truman Volleyball Wins The Battle Of The MIAA Unbeatens
Both Truman and Washburn entered Saturday's MIAA contests with perfect records on the 2004 season. The Bulldogs were the team to keep their record unblemished as they handed the Lady Blues a 30-19, 30-17, 17-30, 30-20 loss on Saturday at Pershing Arena.
Truman has now opened the season up with 12 straight wins, the best start in school history, and the team is 3-0 in MIAA play. Washburn fell to 14-1 overall and 2-1 in conference.
The Bulldogs dominated the first, second and fourth games. In those three games, Truman hit .390 while holding the Lady Blues to a .047 mark. In the third game, the two teams switched roles, as Truman hit -.047 and Washburn hit .316.
In game one, Truman led 13-10 before pulling away with a 7-1 run. Tiffany Graham had two kills and two blocks during that stretch. In the second game, it was an ace by Kelsey Wackerman that broke a 15-15 tie and sparked a 15-2 finishing run by the Bulldogs. Micaela Walter was the server during a 9-0 spurt by the Bulldogs which also included good front play by Graham and Jessica Sears.
Washburn tried to get back into the match in the third game as the team jumped out to a 20-9 lead that Truman could never cut into. The final game was filled with runs by both teams. Truman jumped out to an 11-2 lead, but Washburn fought back to get within one at 15-14. The Bulldogs led 20-17 when Sears made a great dig and Lauren Dickbernd followed with an amazing play to keep the ball alive. Truman would go on to win the point and it would have the momentum the rest of the match as the Lady Blues would only score three more points the rest of the game.
Truman had a balanced offensive attack all match long with four players in double-figure kills. Sarah Shearman led the team with a double-double of 17 kills and 14 digs. Jessica Sears added 15 kills and 20 digs, Kelsey Wackerman had 12 kills and Tiffany Graham had 10 kills and a .563 hitting percentage. Rebecca Knefelkamp was the main setter for the first two and a half games and finished with 38 assists and 10 digs. Dickbernd was in double-figures with 14 digs and Graham recorded a team-high five blocks.
Washburn was led by Emily Foster with 13 kills and Dani McHenry with 12 putaways. Julie Sackman had 33 assists, McHenry had a team-high 13 digs and Anna Byers had five blocks.
Truman now starts a five-game MIAA road trip, starting next weekend with games at Northwest Missouri and Missouri Western.