Nov. 19, 2004 - Truman and Central Missouri will face off for the fourth time tomorrow in the NCAA Division II South Central Regional championship match with the winner advancing to the Elite Eight. The two rivals went five-games in both contests during the regular season with the Bulldogs winning the fifth game each time. In the MIAA championship match, Truman swept the Jennies by a 3-0 score.
Truman 3, Pittsburg State 1
The third-ranked Truman volleyball team (33-0) moved one step closer to a NCAA regional championship on Friday evening in Pershing Arena with a 30-24, 29-31, 30-22, 30-25 win over Pittsburg State (Kan.) (23-13).
The Gorillas put a scare into the Bulldogs early, but Truman’s balanced offensive attack proved to be too much for Pittsburg State in the end. For the match, Truman hit .293, including a .369 mark in the three games it won. Pittsburg State, meanwhile, hit .224 on the night and had 22 less kills than the Bulldogs.
Truman came out hot in game one, winning the first four points of the match. Pittsburg State fought back to tie the game midway through, but the Bulldogs slowly pulled away after that to win by six. Micaela Walter had seven kills for Truman and she hit .636 in the game. Pittsburg State had four attack errors and two service errors in the game, compared to only two attack errors and one service error by Truman.
In game two, Pittsburg State led throughout but the Bulldogs still nearly stole the game at the end. The Gorillas had game point at 29-26, but Truman scored three straight to tie the second game. The Gorillas’ Ashley Rigby and Carol Cardoso each recorded a kill though to tie the match at one game apiece.
As has been the case all season, Truman responded well to losing a game, jumping out to a 7-1 advantage in the third game, a lead which it would never give up. After the middle hitters had led the team’s offense in games one and two, Truman’s outside hitters took over in game three with the team’s outside hitters accounting for 17 of Truman’s 21 kills in the third game. Jessica Sears had six of those kills and a .750 hitting percentage in the third game.
In what would turn out to be the final game, Truman went on a 17-5 run midway through to turn an 8-5 deficit into a nine-point lead. The Gorillas cut the lead down to three at 27-24, but the Bulldogs scored three of the final four points for the win.
Sears ended with a team-high 23 kills and a .500 hitting percentage. She completed her double-double with 11 digs. Sarah Shearman added 22 kills and Walter had 17 in the match. Christine Wagener was the quarterback of the offense most of the night and finished with 51 assists.
Defensively, Shearman had 17 digs, Lauren Dickbernd had 16 and Wagener collected 15 digs. Walter had a team-high four blocks.
Pittsburg State was led by Cardoso with 20 kills and a .436 hitting percentage. Elizabeth Anyigor-Abitogun added 18 kills but Truman’s defense held the MIAA MVP to just a .239 hitting percentage. Sarah Wohlgemuth had a game-high 57 assists and Pam Radell led the team with 24 digs.
Central Missouri 3, Washburn 0
No. 10 Central Missouri advanced to the NCAA regional finals on Friday with a 30-23, 30-27, 30-24 victory over No. 15 Washburn in Pershing Arena in Kirksville.
The Jennies defense led the way, recording 93 digs and nine blocks in the three-game sweep. Three Central Missouri athletes had 20 or more digs, led by libero Katie Tarka with 27. Washburn hit just .140, compared to a .219 mark for the Jennies.
The Lady Blues fell behind early 8-3 in game one and couldn't respond after finishing the game with a .130 hitting percentage. Mandi Cox had her game-high fifth kill for Washburn to make it 22-18 but the Lady Blues got no closer in a 30-23 loss.
Washburn opened game two with a 6-0 lead on Emily Foster's serving. Katie Brandt's block capped the rally. Brandt had another block later to make it 14-10 before CMSU took off.
The Jennies reeled off eight straight points to make it 18-14 before Washburn tried to rally back. Dani McHenry's kill cut CMSU's lead to 27-26 before the 30-27 loss.
Washburn opened with a 6-3 lead in game three on Brandt's kill and led most of the game until CMSU rallied again after a 23-19 defecit.
The Jennies scored seven straight to make it 26-23 and put the match away with Elyse Mohme's kill.
Offensively, Central Missouri was led by the trio of Elyse Mohme, Becky Haug and Audrey Jensen. Mohme had 13 kills and a .429 hitting percentage, Haug also had a team-high 13 kills and Jensen was in double-figures with 11 kills. Kaci Young had 44 assists for the Jennies.
Brandt was the lone Lady Blue in double figures with 14 kills and Julie Sackman led the team with 35 assists.
Washburn ends the season with a 29-7 record while Central Missouri improved to 31-6.