Volleyball tops SBU 3-2
Joe Bell
Issue date: 9/24/09 Section: Sports
The volleyball team waited until the 11th hour to pull out a win against Southwest Baptist University on Tuesday night.
Truman won the close match 3-2.
The Bulldogs came out dominant in the first set, as they won 25-18. Truman allowed SBU right back into the match, however, as SBU won the next two sets 25-20 and 25-19.
Truman snatched the lead from SBU in the next two sets. A late run in the fifth set helped the Bulldogs quell SBU and win the set 15-13.
"I'm glad that we won again, but we definitely shouldn't have dropped any games," senior right side hitter Lauren Graybeal said. "It's all mental game again. We just let them in. When we play, we play so good and we kill them. Then, we are down, it seems like they just go on runs. That's what we need to stop."
The match featured solid performances from many of the Bulldogs' mainstays. Freshman middle blocker Megan Sharpe continued her early season excellence with a .417 hitting percentage and 12 kills. Graybeal and junior outside hitter Allison Barker recorded kill-dig double-doubles with 14-10 and 16-18, respectively.
Junior setter Ashley Petak also set a career-high with 56 assists.
The match also featured some inconsistency from the Bulldogs. Truman took a commanding lead at one point in the second set, only to see SBU overtake the 'Dogs and win by a significant margin. In the third set, the Bulldogs never led.
The Bulldogs' statistical performances tell part of the story as well. In the first set, the Bulldogs hit .371, and in the next two they hit .237 and .233. In the close fourth set, the 'Dogs hit only .143, and they improved to .450 in set five.
Assistant coach Megan Wargo felt said the match would serve as a good learning tool for the Bulldogs in their upcoming homestand.
"I think we've learned that we can't let teams get runs on us, and I think we've learned that our blocking needs to become a lot stronger than it was," Wargo said. "One thing we certainly learned is playing in a tough environment. SBU's fans did a great job of heckling and being involved, screaming at our kids. That's good, because it's going to make us stronger mentally."
Truman won the close match 3-2.
The Bulldogs came out dominant in the first set, as they won 25-18. Truman allowed SBU right back into the match, however, as SBU won the next two sets 25-20 and 25-19.
Truman snatched the lead from SBU in the next two sets. A late run in the fifth set helped the Bulldogs quell SBU and win the set 15-13.
"I'm glad that we won again, but we definitely shouldn't have dropped any games," senior right side hitter Lauren Graybeal said. "It's all mental game again. We just let them in. When we play, we play so good and we kill them. Then, we are down, it seems like they just go on runs. That's what we need to stop."
The match featured solid performances from many of the Bulldogs' mainstays. Freshman middle blocker Megan Sharpe continued her early season excellence with a .417 hitting percentage and 12 kills. Graybeal and junior outside hitter Allison Barker recorded kill-dig double-doubles with 14-10 and 16-18, respectively.
Junior setter Ashley Petak also set a career-high with 56 assists.
The match also featured some inconsistency from the Bulldogs. Truman took a commanding lead at one point in the second set, only to see SBU overtake the 'Dogs and win by a significant margin. In the third set, the Bulldogs never led.
The Bulldogs' statistical performances tell part of the story as well. In the first set, the Bulldogs hit .371, and in the next two they hit .237 and .233. In the close fourth set, the 'Dogs hit only .143, and they improved to .450 in set five.
Assistant coach Megan Wargo felt said the match would serve as a good learning tool for the Bulldogs in their upcoming homestand.
"I think we've learned that we can't let teams get runs on us, and I think we've learned that our blocking needs to become a lot stronger than it was," Wargo said. "One thing we certainly learned is playing in a tough environment. SBU's fans did a great job of heckling and being involved, screaming at our kids. That's good, because it's going to make us stronger mentally."
Be the first to comment on this story