Photo: Seniors Melissa Keck and Allie Cherven combine for one of Truman’s 17 blocks in the match, while fellow senior Dana Hanselmann looks on. Photo provided by TrumanPhotos.com.
Oct. 8, 2008 – The 12th-ranked Truman volleyball squad was nearly flawless offensively Wednesday night in a top-15 showdown at Central Missouri, as the Bulldogs improved to 18-5 on the season following a 3-1 (-20, -20, 23-25, -14) victory against the No. 14 Jennies. Truman committed just nine attack errors in the four-set match and hit .311 as a team.
The Bulldogs (18-5, 5-2 MIAA) were led offensively by a trio of players – senior Allie Cherven (St. Charles, Mo.; Francis Howell Central), senior Melissa Keck (Belleville, Ill.; Belleville), and junior Lauren Graybeal (Olathe, Kan.; Olathe South) – who combined to hit .427 (32-3-75) for the match. Cherven added seven blocks, as Truman moved to 19-1 in the last 20 meetings between the two programs dating back to 2000.
Truman was also solid defensively, holding the host Jennies (18-6, 6-2 MIAA) to just a .099 mark and recording 17 blocks. Senior Lisa Weber (St. Louis, Mo.; Westminster Christian) tallied eight total blocks (four solo), while four other players effectively cleaned up what wasn’t blocked by finishing with double-figure digs – led by senior Eli Medina’s (Kansas City, Mo.; St. Teresa’s Academy) match-high 23.
Wednesday’s match marked the first time all season that Truman came away victorious in a four-set match (now 1-4) and extended the squad’s current winning streak to five – matching a season-best. The Bulldogs hit better than .250 in each set, including a .452 mark in the final frame to seal the program’s fourth win against a top-25 opponent in 2008.
Truman will be back in action on Saturday night at Pershing Arena against conference-newcomer Nebraska-Omaha at 6:00 p.m. The Mavericks will stop in Kirksville following a Friday night match at Missouri Western and are currently 8-9 overall (4-3 MIAA).