Sept. 8, 2007 - The No. 6 Bulldog volleyball team couldn't complete the four-match sweep at the Best Western Invitational in Lawton, Okla., Saturday afternoon, dropping the session's final match to Central Oklahoma, 3-1 (28-30, 22-30, -27, 24-30). Truman defeated St. Mary's (Texas) 3-1 (-24, -23, 22-30, -09) in the day's first match before falling to UCO in the Invite finale. Truman (9-3) will open up its MIAA season Wednesday night in the friendly confines of Pershing Arena against Missouri Western. The first serve is set for 7:00 p.m.
Central Oklahoma Recap
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Sept. 8, 2007 - Truman volleyball couldn't complete its quest of a four-match sweep at the Best Western Invitational in Lawton, Okla., Saturday afternoon, as the purple and white fell 3-1 (28-30, 22-30, -27, 24-30) to the University of Central Oklahoma.
The Bulldogs and UCO played a tight game one, with neither team able to grab a lead larger than three at any time. An Eli Medina (Kansas City, Mo.; St. Teresa's Academy) kill staved off game point and brought the 'Dogs within one at 29-28, but Truman couldn't capitalize, as UCO's Mari Araujo capped off the back-and-forth first game with a kill and a two-point win.
Game two started out like the first frame; however, an 8-1 run late in the game helped UCO take a 2-0 lead in the match with a 30-22 victory.
Truman looked to be headed towards a sweep in game three, falling behind 22-18, when the 'Dogs pulled off a run of its own, taking eight of the next 10 points to knot the score at 25. A Truman kill by junior middle hitter Allie Cherven (St. Charles, Mo.; Francis Howell Central (Pittsburgh)) put the Bulldogs on top, where they would stay for a 30-27 game three win.
However, UCO jumped out early in game four, putting the Bulldogs in a 14-4 hole that was too steep to climb out of, ending the match with a 30-24 decision.
Cherven finished the match with 19 kills and a .342 hitting percentage, while both junior right side hitter Melissa Keck (Belleville, Ill.; Belleville Township West) and sophomore outside hitter Susie Lesher (Carrollton, Texas; Hebron) added 14 and 11 kills respectively. Senior setter Amanda Holliday (Papillion, Neb.; Papillion-LaVista) and freshman setter Ashley Petak (Omaha, Neb.; Bellevue West) were each above the 25 assist mark, and Holliday's 15 digs led four Bulldogs in double-figure digs.
St. Mary's (Texas) Recap
Sept. 8, 2007 - The No. 6 Bulldog volleyball team saw nine players tally at least two kills in a 3-1 (-24, -23, 22-30, -09) victory against Heartland-conference opponent St. Mary's (Texas) on Saturday morning at the Best Western Invitational in Lawton, Oklahoma. Junior outside hitter Eli Medina (Kansas City, Mo.; St. Teresa's Academy) led the way with 16 kills.
The early wake-up call for the 9:00 a.m. match didn't faze the Bulldogs out of the gate, as the team hit .333 in the first game en route to a 30-24 game one win.
Emulating its game one performance, Truman jumped ahead early in game two and traded points to a 30-23 win. However, the tables turned in game three, as the purple and white hit only .098 in the 30-22 game three loss.
Any momentum St. Mary's was able to pick up from that game three win was thwarted quickly by Truman, as the Bulldogs held an opponent to single-digits in a game for the second time this season, allowing the Rattlers to only tally nine points in the 30-9 game four victory.
In addition to Medina's 16 kills, junior middle hitter Allie Cherven (
Cameron (Okla.) Recap - FRIDAY
Sept. 7, 2007 - A 12-kill, 16-dig performance by junior outside hitter Eli Medina (Kansas City, Mo.; St. Teresa's Academy) propelled the Bulldog volleyball team to a 3-1 (-21, -19, 28-30, -15) victory Friday night against the Aggies of Cameron (Okla.) University.
After struggling offensively in Friday's opener, the Bulldogs bounced back with flair, hitting .284 as a team. Sophomore outside hitter Lauren Graybeal (Olathe, Kan.; Olathe South) led the team with 13 kills, while both junior middle hitter Allie Cherven (
Freshman setter Ashley Petak (Omaha, Neb.; Bellevue West) led the way with 13 assists, with Medina, Graybeal and junior libero Whitney Boehler (Olathe, Kan.; Olathe East) combining for 40 of the team's 55 total digs.
St. Edward's (Texas) Recap - FRIDAY
Sept. 7, 2007 - On an afternoon when the offense struggled, it was its defense that carried the No. 6 Bulldog volleyball squad to a 3-0 (-19, -19, -22) victory against St. Edward’s (
Truman mustered only a .085 (36k-26e-117ta) hitting percentage on the afternoon, but kept the Hilltoppers below the zero line at -.176 (12k-31e-108ta). SEU never hit better than -.111 in a single game during the match.
Junior middle hitter Allie Cherven (