Volleyball Edges Hawks in Five-Set Thriller

FINAL: #17 Truman 3, at Rockhurst 2 || 25-27, 32-30, 25-20, 21-25, 15-13 || Box Score
2013 Schedule || 2013 Season Stats || Career Stats (active players)

KANSAS CITY - - The top two teams in the GLVC West Division met on Friday night, and it was the 17^th-ranked Truman volleyball squad that emerged victorious – earning a 3-2 win at Rockhurst in the Mason-Halpin Fieldhouse.

The Bulldogs (13-5, 7-1 GLVC) got career-highs out of a handful of players, including 27 kills from junior outside hitter Allie Brak, 72 assists from junior setter Meghan Zimmerman, 16 kills by freshman outside hitter Jessye Maurer, and seven blocks by sophomore Ali Patterson.

Truman jumped out to a fast start, building a 19-13 lead in the opening set before the host Hawks (11-4, 6-2 GLVC) recovered to score eight of the next 11 and knot the set at 22-all. The squads battled all the way to 25-25, before back-to-back attack errors by Truman sent the first set Rockhurst's way.

The second set was nearly a direct reversal of the first, with Rockhurst appearing in control after taking an 18-15 lead. The Hawks would assemble a four-point lead on three different occasions – the latest at 23-19 – before the Bulldogs stormed back to tie the set at 24-24. Both teams again traded side-outs, with each team getting multiple chances at set point all the way to 30-30, but two straight Brak attacks quieted the home crowd and evened the match at 1-1.

Truman controlled the third set from start to finish, jumping out to a 10-2 lead and never relinquishing the lead en route to a 25-20 set win. The fourth set was tight throughout, however, with the squads fighting to 20-20 before the Hawks won five of the final six points to win 25-21 and force a deciding fifth frame.

In the fifth set, Rockhurst again took control early – taking a 7-4 lead before Truman again clawed back by going on a 6-1 run to take a 10-8 advantage. RU would tie the match twice more at 10-10 and 11-11, but an Emilee Walters kill, two Brak kills and a Hawk attack error would be the final notes on the night, as Truman closed out the match 15-13.

Brak's 27 kills were the most by a Bulldog since Sarah Shearman recorded 26 against Central Missouri on Sept. 15, 2004. She hit .308 on the night, adding 16 digs for a double-double to go along with six blocks for a match-high 30 points. The Bulldogs' other outside hitter – Maurer – was dominant also, setting a new career-high with 16 kills without recording a single error for a .356 hitting line.

Patterson hit .375 with 15 kills to go along with her new career-best mark of seven blocks, while fellow sophomore Walters hit .308 with 13 kills and six blocks.

Zimmerman recorded a new career-best with 72 assists, marking not only the program's new high-mark in the rally-scoring era, but also was good for the fourth-highest total in program history. She also joined Patterson and Walters as the only Bulldogs to record a solo block as three of Truman's 14 total in that category on the night.

Junior Abby Moser set a new season-high with 29 digs, while senior Heather Hargadine reached the 20-dig mark as well. Both Hargadine and sophomore Abby Heise led the Bulldogs with two aces apiece.

For the night, Truman hit .280 with 86 kills – setting a new program-best in a five-set match since the 25-point era went into effect in 2008. The Bulldogs also sided-out at a 60% clip and held the Hawks to a 56% mark.

The Bulldogs face a short turnaround, visiting William Jewell at 5:00 pm on Saturday evening in Liberty, Missouri.

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