’Dogs drop match to rival

The No. 10 Truman volleyball team went 4-1 during the week. The Bulldogs were swept by No. 8 Central Missouri State University after going 4-0 in the Washburn Lady Blues Fall Classic.

Head coach Ben Briney said the team was really focused on blocking and serving going into the Central match.

In the first set, Truman (16-3, 5-2 MIAA) struggled with their blocking, managing only one team block. The poor blocking also allowed Central to hit .400 and win the set 25-15.

"There were runs in the game when we kind of went off of our blocking aspects," Briney said. "We missed some assignments. So, parts were good and parts were bad."

Truman started slow in the second set, falling behind 6-0. Although the Bulldogs had a few rallies, the Jennies led throughout the match and won 25-16.

In the third set, the Bulldogs once again faced an early deficit, trailing 11-4. Truman could not mount a comeback and lost 25-17 to finish the sweep.

"We didn't do a very good job of passing," Briney said. "Central was keeping us out of system. Whenever you become one-dimensional, it kind of hurts your hitting."

Central had a hitting percentage of .322 for the match and held the Bulldogs to a .073 hitting percentage. Truman had one more block than the Jennies with eight. However, the last time the Bulldogs had a lead in the match was at 6-5 in the first set.    

"We weren't on the same page," senior outside hitter Allison Barker said. "We don't know the answer. We just played bad. We have to come back from it starting in practice [Thursday]."

Truman played four games in the Washburn Lady Blues Fall Classic during the weekend and came away with four wins. The Bulldogs began play Friday against Angelo State University. The teams split the first two sets. The third set was tied 7-7, but Truman went on a three-point run and went on to win the set 25-19.

The Bulldogs had control throughout the fourth set and led late 21-18. But the Rams scored eight of the next 12 points to come back and win 26-24.

In the final set, Truman lost the first four points but won the next four. The Bulldogs trailed most of the set. However, back-to-back kills by sophomore middle blocker Megan Sharpe and outside hitter Heather Hargadine gave Truman a 15-12 win.

"Our girls did an incredible job of continuing to fight and letting it go and forgetting about it and moving on," Briney said. "So I was very proud of them for that."

The win against Angelo State was against former Truman head coach Qi Wang, who is now an assistant for the Rams. Wang led the Bulldogs to four NCAA tournament appearances as head coach.

The Bulldogs played Tarleton State University in the second tournament match. Truman swept the Texans 3-0 to record their seventh sweep of the season. The Bulldogs had a .385 hitting percentage compared to Tarleton State's .044. Sharpe led Truman with 10 kills and hit .667.

Truman faced St. Edward's University on Saturday. The Bulldogs won the first set 25-20 but dropped the next two. A rally in the fourth set led Truman to a 25-22 win.

The fifth set had seven ties and four lead changes. The Bulldogs scored the final four points to win 15-10 and take the match 3-2.

"The teams we played came in literally fighting for their national tournament lives," Briney said. "So we knew they were going to give us a tough battle. They did a good job of taking advantage when we let off a little bit."

The 'Dogs played Abilene Christian University in their final match of the tournament. The Wildcats had just beaten No. 11 Emporia State University earlier that day. The first four sets for Truman were exact opposites from the St. Edward's match. The Bulldogs dropped the first, won the next two, then lost the fourth.

The Bulldogs once again faced a decisive fifth set. And again, Truman rallied to win the fifth set 15-9. Barker led Truman with 16 kills, while three other Bulldogs had double-digit kills.

The weekend sweep helped the Bulldogs pull ahead of teams in the Lone Star Conference, one of three conferences in Truman's region.

Briney said the seniors are doing a good job of leading the team on the court.

"I think [Barker] and all the seniors have stepped up and realized that this is it," Briney said. "We're going to do something this year. We have the talent. You look at [Barker]. You look at Casey Bruno, [who] has just been incredibly consistent with passing. Ashley [Petak] is setting better than she probably has the last three years."

Truman will host the University of Nebraska-Omaha at 4 p.m. Saturday. Junior setter Kylie Easlon said the team will be ready to go for the game.

"We're going to come out firing," Easlon said. "This was not our team [against Central]. We're going for blood [Saturday]. We're going to show everyone what we're really made of."