Sept. 18, 2000
No. 21 Volleyball Squad Puts 12-Match Winning Streak on the Line Wednesday
THE MATCH: Truman State University Bulldogs (Mid-America Intercollegiate
Athletics Association/NCAA Division II) at Missouri Western State College
Griffons (Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association/NCAA Division
II)
DATE: Wed., Sept. 20
TIME: 7 p.m.
LOCATION: St. Joseph, Mo.
ARENA: MWSC Fieldhouse (3,650)
TRUMAN'S RECORD: 13-1, 3-0 MIAA
MISSOURI WESTERN'S RECORD: 8-4, 4-0 MIAA
TRUMAN: The Bulldogs, who are off to the best start in program history, have tied the school record of 14 consecutive MIAA wins and will look to break that mark on Wednesday night. The team is also looking its 13th straight victory, a mark that would tie the second-best winning streak in program history and put the team within another win of tying the school record.
In addition, Wednesday night's winner between MWSC and Truman will wake up on Thursday with at least a share of the top spot in the MIAA.
On the national scene, Truman was ranked 21st in last week's AVCA Top 25, down a spot from the prior week's poll. The new poll will be released on Tuesday afternoon.
The Bulldogs' depth has paid off early this season, as juniors Eliza Hoerner (Augusta, Mo./Washington-University of Colorado-Colorado Springs) and Cassy Felkerson (Salem, Mo.) picked up the slack while senior middle hitter Janelle Zehr (Deer Creek, Ill./Mackinaw) worked her way back from an ankle injury. Hoerner is leading the team in kills (3.74 per game) and blocks (1.13 p/g) and Felkerson has the top hitting percentage (.351). Zehr has since returned from the injury and remains second on the team in kills (3.17 p/g), while leading the squad in digs average (3.63 p/g). Felkerson has a team-high nine matches with double-digit kills, and Hoerner has eight, three of which have been for 20 or more kills.
TRUMAN AT EMPORIA INVITATIONAL: The Bulldogs won three straight matches at the Emporia State (Kan.) Invitational over the weekend, running their winning streak to 12 consecutive matches.
On Friday the Bulldogs picked up a 3-1 win over South Central Region foe Alabama-Huntsville. Hoerner charted 13 kills, while Felkerson added 12 and posted a .385 hitting percentage. Marlowe contributed 42 assists and a .714 percentage with six kills. Zehr had nine kills and a team-high 23 digs.
Later on Friday, the 'Dogs earned a 3-0 win over Henderson State (Ark.), behind 13 kills from freshman Jenna Buckner (Quincy, Ill.), who also had two aces, 12 digs and three blocks. Felkerson finished with 10 kills and a .450 hitting percentage to go with five blocks.
In Saturday's action, junior Jenny Glenn (Granby, Colo./Middle Park) tallied 11 kills and Buckner 10 as the Bulldogs improved to 13-1 by downing Southern Arkansas 3-0. Marlowe had 25 assists and 13 digs, and head coach Becky Eggering took over second place on Truman's career wins list.
To cap off the weekend, Marlowe and Felkerson were named to the all-tournament team. It was the second time in three tournaments this season that the two received the honor.
MISSOURI WESTERN: Missouri Western has won four straight, all in the MIAA, and is currently tied with Truman and Central Missouri for first place in the conference.
Among MIAA team statistics, the Griffons lead the league in service aces, averaging 2.20 per game. Four individuals rank among the conference top 10 in that category; senior Sarah Ekdahl is second at 0.46 per game, junior Airon Scofield ranks fifth (0.40), junior Katie Schiesl is ninth (0.37) and senior Beth Grady is 10th (0.34). Ekdahl and sophomore Lindsay Palaia are tied for the team lead in kills (2.89 per game). Palaia is also tops on the team in hitting (.316, fifth in the MIAA) and blocks (1.27 p/g, sixth in the MIAA), and Ekdahl is the leader in digs (3.85 p/g, fourth in the MIAA). Schiesl ranks fifth in the conference in assists at 9.57 per game.
The Griffons have wins over Mississippi Women (3-1), West Florida (3-0), Central Arkansas (3-0), Alabama-Huntsville (3-2), Washburn (3-2), Missouri Southern (3-2), Pittsburg STate (3-0) and Emporia state (3-2). Their losses were against South Dakota State (3-0), Valdosta State (3-0), Montevallo (3-1) and North Alabama (3-0).
SERIES RECORD: Truman leads 20-19 ... the Bulldogs won both meetings last year over the Griffons, snapping MWSC's four-match winning streak. In 1999, Truman won 3-1 at Missouri Western and 3-0 over the Griffons in Pershing Arena.
COACH BECKY EGGERING: Becky Eggering is in her fourth year at the helm of the Bulldogs and has a 79-38 career record for a winning percentage of .675 -- the best among all volleyball coaches in school history. She also ranks second in career wins among all Truman volleyball coaches.
BULLDOGS IN MIAA STATISTICS (SEPT. 18 REPORT): The Bulldogs lead the MIAA in hitting (.264) and kills (15.49 per game), while ranking second in service aces (2.10) and digs (18.20). In assists, Truman is third in the league at 13.43.
Individually, Hoerner ranks second in the league in kills (3.74), fourth in hitting (.327), sixth in service aces (0.39) and eighth in blocks (1.13). Felkerson is third in the MIAA in hitting (.351) and eighth in kills (3.15). Glenn ranks ninth in the MIAA in hitting (.273) and eighth in service aces (0.38). Marlowe ranks third in the conference in assists (11.36) and 10th in digs (3.20).
FELKERSON NAMED MIAA ATHLETE OF THE WEEK on Sept. 12: For the second week in a row, Truman has an MIAA Volleyball Athlete of the Week. On Sept. 12, Felkerson was named the MIAA's top hitter for the week of Sept. 4-10. For the week, she hit .400 (30 kills, 4 errors, 65 attempts) and averaged 3.75 kills and 0.75 blocks per game.
Other Bulldog MIAA Athletes of the Week: Marlowe (Sept. 5).
BULLDOGS CLIMBING CAREER LISTS: Felkerson has boosted her career hitting percentage to .258, which now ranks her second on the Bulldogs' career list. She is also closing in on the top 10 for career kills, as she now has 574, just 14 back of 10th-place Anne Moe. Felkerson has jumped two spots to sixth place in career blocks, while junior Brenda Ippensen (Quincy, Ill.) is up to eighth in career kills. While remaining Truman's career leader in assists per game (12.18), Marlowe has also moved among the career leaders for digs average (2.80, sixth place). Zehr is still the Bulldogs' career leader in kills per game (3.87) and is up to fourth in career digs, with 1,117.
NATIONAL POLL: The Bulldogs slipped slightly in this week's AVCA Top 25, dropping from 20th to 21st. Here is the complete poll
UP NEXT: Truman will begin the home portion of its schedule, by playing nine of its next 10 in Pershing Arena. That schedule begins on Friday, when Truman hosts the top ranked team in NAIA, Columbia College (Mo.), a team which is 13-0 on the year and riding an unbelievable 100-match winning streak.