Nov. 18, 2004 - Three conferences are represented at the NCAA Division II South Central Regional, but on day one of the event, the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) stole the show. All four quarterfinal matches were won by MIAA schools, setting up the exact same matchups as the MIAA postseason tournament semifinals with Washburn and Central Missouri meeting on one side of the bracket and Truman and Pittsburg State meeting on the other. The best match of day one was Pittsburg State defeating the defending national champions, North Alabama, by a 20-18 score in the deciding fifth game.
Truman 3, Albany State 0
The number one seed Truman Bulldogs took just over an hour to send number eight seed Albany State (Ga.) home in the NCAA South Central Region quarterfinals. The Bulldogs join the three other MIAA schools in the semi-finals tomorrow evening. Truman won in straight sets 30-14, 30-15 and 30-24.
Truman his a season-high .407 for the game, including a .512 in game one. Jessica Sears had 15 kills in 28 chances, while Sarah Shearman had nine kills in 15 attacks for a .533 hitting percentage. Christine Wagener had 19 assists, while Rebecca Knefelkamp added 14 more.
The Lady Rams had nine kills by Janel Herring and 15 assists by Carleeza Garrett.
Truman now 33-0 will face Pittsburg State in the regional semi-finals on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. preceded by the other semi-final game between Washburn (Kan.) and Central Missouri. Albany State's season ends with 22-15 record.
Pittsburg State 3, North Alabama 2
It took six tries but the Pittsburg State Gorillas ended the reign of the defending NCAA Division II National Champions in North Alabama. The Gorillas needed six match points before finally prevailing in the deciding game for the 3-2 victory.
North Alabama won game one by a 30-23 score, but Pittsburg rebounded hitting .325 in game two for a 30-17 advantage. Game three saw both teams extend each other past regulation with North Alabama escaping with a 35-33 score.
The Gorillas responded with their backs against the wall in game four with a 30-24 win and followed up in game five with a 20-18 score.
Sarah Wohlgemuth of Pittsburg had 68 assists with half of them going to Carol Cardoso (23) and Lizzy Anyigor-Abitogun (27). North Alabama's leader was Vanessa Ferretti with 29 kills in 68 attempts, while Laura Bellinger had 69 assists.
Pittsburg is the third MIAA school to move to the semi-finals today and will play the winner of the Truman State vs. Albany State (Ga.) match to follow tonight. The Gorillas record is at 23-12, while North Alabama's season ends at 24-7.
Central Missouri State 3, Alabama-Huntsville 0
The Central Missouri State Jennies had little trouble advancing to the NCAA South Central region semi-finals after handing Alabama-Huntsville a 3-0 defeat by scores of 30-26, 30-19 and 30-26.
Central had three players in double-digit kills, with Elyse Mohme leading the way with 15, Becky Haug had 11 and Lindsay Robertson had 10. Kaci Young of the Jennies had 41 assists, while Katie Tarka had 25 digs in the match. As a team, hit .205 for the match, while holding Alabama-Huntsville to .148.
The Chargers were led by Kristian Kleminsky with 11 kills. Samantha Polkowski had 34 assists and Molly Healey had 16 digs.
Central Missouri, now 30-6 will face MIAA opponent, Washburn, the number #3 seed in the tournament in the semi-finals on Friday at 5:00 p.m. Alabama-Huntsville ends their season with a 24-12 record.
Washburn 3, Harding 1
The No. 15 Washburn volleyball team held off
Washburn cruised to victory in game one by hitting .368 compared to Harding's .108 mark. Dani McHenry had three straight kill early to make it 5-2 and WU never looked back.
WU opened the second game in the same fashion and took an 11-4 lead. Harding rallied and took a 26-23.
Katie Brandt brought the Lady Blues back with a block and three kills to give WU a 28-26 lead. McHenry added a kill before a Harding attacking error finished the game. Washburn led 19-15 in game three before a 9-1 Harding run turned the tides. The Lady Bison hit .317, compared to Washburn's .182 mark to win the game.
The two teams switched roles in game four after Harding led 16-12. Emily Foster's pair of kills tied the game at 16. The two teams fought for the lead before Harding tied it at 27. Brandt and Julie Sackman's kills made it 29-27 before McHenry finished the match with her 18th kill.
McHenry and Foster led Washburn with 18 kills, while Brandt added 16 kills. Sackman finished with nine kills and 51 assists. McHenry led the way with 18 digs.
Synda Veitenheimer led Harding with 26 kills, while Kate Kennedy and