Women's Volleyball | 9/2/2015 2:46:00 PM
Truman Volleyball Weekend Notes (September 4-5, 2015)
Match #1: Truman (0-0, 0-0 GLVC) vs. Mary (N.D.) (0-0, 0-0 NSIC)
When: Friday, September 4, 2015 || 2 p.m. (CT)
Where: Warrensburg, Mo. || UCM Multipurpose Building
Live Stream: None Available
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/ucmo/wvball2/
Stats: Truman (not available yet) | GLVC (not available yet)
Twitter: @TrumanAthletics || @TrumanGameday || @TrumanVB || #BewareofDog
Match #2: Truman at #13 Central Missouri (0-0, 0-0 MIAA)
When: Sunday, September 6, 2015 || 6 p.m. (CT)
Where: Warrensburg, Mo. || UCM Multipurpose Building
Live Stream: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/ucmo/
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/ucmo/wvball/
Match #3: Truman vs. Western (Colo.) State (0-0, 0-0 RMAC)
When: Saturday, September 5, 2015 || 10 a.m. (CT)
Where: Warrensburg, Mo. || UCM Multipurpose Building
Live Stream: None Available
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/ucmo/wvball2/
Match #4: Truman vs. St. Cloud (Minn.) State (0-0, 0-0 NSIC)
When: Saturday, September 5, 2015 || 3 p.m. (CT)
Where: Warrensburg, Mo. || UCM Multipurpose Building
Live Stream: None Available
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/ucmo/wvball2/
A First Look:
Season No. 42 of Truman State University volleyball kicks off this Friday and Saturday, as the defending-Great Lakes Valley Conference champion Bulldogs visit a former conference-rival for a four-game weekend tournament in Warrensburg, Mo.
The Bulldogs – who finished with a 29-4 overall (17-1 GLVC) record in 2014 – take to the court for two matches on both Friday and Saturday at the Peggy Martin Classic at the University of Central Missouri. Truman will battle the University of Mary and the host UCM Jennies on Friday afternoon/evening before bouncing back with matches against Western State and St. Cloud State on Saturday morning/afternoon.
While this weekend will mark just the second (Mary, Western State) and fourth (St. Cloud) meetings between the Bulldogs and that trio, the longest-standing Truman rivalry will pick back up after a one-year sabbatical in 2014. The Bulldogs and 13th-ranked Jennies will meet for the 93rd time in program history and just for the second time since Truman left the MIAA prior to the 2013 season. Truman jumped all over UCM to a 2-0 lead, but the Jennies fought back and took a five-set victory by a 20-18 score in the final frame.
The 2015 Bulldogs – while looking to replace a three-member senior class that included last season's GLVC Player (Allie Brak) and Libero (Abby Moser) of the Year – still return a deep wealth of talent, including four starters and 10 active players from a strong 2014 season. A two-time AVCA all-American and GLVC Volleyball Scholar-Athlete, senior Ali Patterson, leads a strong middle hitter contingent, while former MIAA Freshman of the Year Abby Heise and all-GLVC outside hitter Kayla Bastian headline the rest of the hitters.
Head coach Ben Briney is back for his seventh season at the helm, as the former Truman assistant-turned-head coach ranks No. 2 on the program's victories chart with a 148-58 overall record.
Bulldog Tweet-ables (140 characters or less):- #VBHistory: This weekend starts the 42nd season of VB at Truman. The all-time record is 918-488-14 (.651).
- #GLVCStrong: After posting a .712 win% in 30 yrs of MIAA play, the 'Dogs are 31-5 (.861) in two seasons of GLVC action.
- #WaitItOut: 16 of Truman's 33 matches went four or five sets last year. Truman's record in those matches? 15-1.
- #HeptaDecagons: The Bulldogs' 17-player roster features five SRs, four JRs, one SO, three redshirt-FRs, and four true FRs.
- #LandOfLincoln: Of Truman's 17 players on the opening day roster, six hail from the state of Illinois. IA, MO, OR, TX, WI also repped.
- #AlphabetSoup: Nine players return as previous letterwinners for the Bulldogs in 2015.
Bulldogs Picked Second in GLVC West Preseason Poll:
The reigning Great Lakes Valley Conference champion Truman volleyball squad will start the 2015 season as hunters once again following a second-place prediction in the West division by league coaches in the annual preseason poll.
The Bulldogs garnered six first-place votes and 110 total points to come in five points back of West division preseason-favorite Rockhurst. The Hawks received 10 first-place votes and 115 total points to lead all 16 schools in both categories.
Missouri S&T (89), Missouri-St. Louis (77), Drury (60), Quincy (55), Maryville (38), and William Jewell (25) rounded out the West division, while three teams split the 16 possible first-place votes in the East. Indianapolis picked up seven first-place votes and 110 total points to narrowly edge Lewis' five first-place votes and 109 total points for the top spot. Truman's opponent in the GLVC championship match and first-round NCAA tournament foe McKendree picked up the remaining four first-place votes and sat third in the East with 97 total points.
Southern Indiana (78), UW-Parkside (64), Bellarmine (50), Saint Joseph's (32), and Illinois Springfield (28) closed out the East division.
The top eight teams will qualify for the 2015 post-season tournament, to be held Nov. 20-22 at the East Side Centre in Peoria, Ill.
Scouting the Opponents:
The Bulldogs will have three countable regional contests this weekend, despite none of the four opponents competing in the Midwest region with Truman. Due to the NCAA's "contiguous states" policy, the purple and white's matches against Mary, UCM, and SCSU each will go towards the Bulldogs' regional record in addition to the overall mark.
The highlight match of the weekend comes against No. 13 Central Missouri, but surrounding that contest, the Bulldogs will face a trio of programs that went a combined 13-66 a year ago. However, two of those three (Mary, SCSU) have new coaches at the helm.
UCM, meanwhile, went 22-9 last season and qualified for the NCAA tournament. The squad was picked to repeat as MIAA champions in 2015 and are led by returning all-Americans Annie Reilly (SR libero), Carly Sojka (SR outside hitter), and Haley Thompson (JR middle hitter). Flip Piontek is in his seventh season at the helm of the UCM program – taking over for the namesake of this weekend's tournament, Peggy Martin.
Up Next:
The Bulldogs will hop on a flight to the Steel City (Pittsburgh, Pa.) for four matches next Friday and Saturday at the California (Pa.) Invitational.
