March 26, 2002
2002 Volleyball Schedule Announced
Looking for a return trip to the NCAA Division II postseason, the Truman State University volleyball team will have its work cut out in 2002. The Bulldogs are slated to face 11 postseason qualifiers from 2001, including the reigning NAIA national champion and eight Division II teams that were ranked in the top 25 of the final American Volleyball Coaches Association poll.
Truman, seeking its 13th consecutive 20-win season, will face 15 teams that posted 20-win campaigns of their own in 2001. Last year, the Bulldogs went 37-2, claimed their second straight Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association championship with a perfect 16-0 league record and advanced to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight for the first time in school history.
Head coach Qi Wang's second season at the helm begins on Aug. 30, when the 'Dogs play the first of four matches at the Nebraska-Omaha Tournament. Highlighting the schedule at UNO, is a pair of battles with perennial Division II forces Regis (Colo.) and New Haven (Conn.). On Day 2 of the tourney, Truman meets two teams coming off of down years, Southern Colorado and Nebraska-Omaha. However, UNO, the '96 national champ, is another traditional D-II power that saw its nine-year run of 20-win seasons halted last year.
Four Division II postseason qualifiers await the 'Dogs in Florida as the team opens September at the University of Tampa Classic. Truman will face Cal State-San Bernardino and Northern Kentucky in the opening day of the tournament and will return to battle North Florida and the host, Tampa, to close the tourney. All four of the foes were ranked in the top 20 of the final AVCA poll and two made it to last year's regional championship round before being ousted.
Truman begins its defense of its MIAA championship on Sept. 13 with a home date against Missouri Southern. In all, six of the Bulldogs' first nine MIAA dates will be played at Pershing Arena, a venue where the 'Dogs have won 22 straight matches and 21 consecutive over MIAA opponents.
Central Missouri State is likely once again Truman's chief challenger for the conference title. The Jennies, who last year failed to claim even a piece of the MIAA hardware for the first time in league history, will visit Kirksville on Oct. 4 and host the Bulldogs on Nov. 13. CMSU finished with a 25-7 ledger last year.
At their third tournament of the year, the Henderson State Lady Reddie Classic, the Bulldogs will play four crucial matches against South Central Region foes. Truman's only regular season meetings with North Alabama, Alabama-Huntsville, HSU and Montevallo (Ala.), will come at the tournament. Last year, UNA went 32-4 and finished with a No. 8 national ranking, but suffered three of its losses at the hands of Truman. UAH was ranked 25th in the nation and posted a 28-9 mark. HSU was a postseason team and finished 28-11, while Montevallo was 30-9 but missed the big dance.
Before playing five of its last seven on the road, Truman hosts Columbia College to close out a three-match homestand. The Cougars will begin the 2002 season having won three NAIA national crowns in the last four years, a span in which the team has rolled to an amazing 167-2 record. However, one of their two losses since 1998 came courtesy of the Bulldogs at Pershing Arena.
Truman wraps up regular season play on Nov. 16 against Southwest Baptist. Postseason play can begin on Nov. 21.