MATCH 29: SBU BEARCATS (10-18, 3-9 MIAA) at #18 TRUMAN (20-9, 8-5 MIAA)
PERSHING ARENA • KIRKSVILLE, MO
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2009 • 7:00 PM
MATCH 30: SBU vs MISSOURI WESTERN GRIFFONS (8-18, 1-12 MIAA)
MEYER SPORTS CENTER • BOLIVAR, MO
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2009 • 7:00 PM
MATCH 31: SBU vs NORTHWEST MISSOURI (12-17, 3-10 MIAA)
MEYER SPORTS CENTER • BOLIVAR, MO
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2009 • 2:00 PM
NOTES: SBU | TRUMAN | MWSU | NWMSU
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. -- SBU Bearcat volleyball has a busy schedule this week, beginning with a trip to Kirksville to face the 18th-ranked Truman Bulldogs, followed by a pair of weekend home matches against Missouri Western on Friday, and Northwest Missouri on Saturday. (Friday's match with Missouri Western will also see a costume contest between sets.) The match against Truman is a rematch from earlier this season, where SBU was narrowly defeated by a score of 3-2. The Bearcats also faced off against Missouri Western and Northwest Missouri once this year, defeating both squads by identical 3-1 scores. Sophomore Ashley Jurgensmeyer became the first Bearcat to record 300 kills this season, in last week's match against Nebraska-Omaha. Alex Smith (295), and Kelsey Stewart (249) should also hit the 300 mark before season's end. Smith, along with junior Marcy Greenwade also surpassed 300 digs last week; Greenwade has collected 310 digs, while Smith has 306.
COACHES AND THE ALL-TIME SERIES
Bearcat head coach Kelly Richardson is in her third season guiding the Bearcats. She's improved SBU's win total from eight her first year to 13 a year ago, and is on pace to raise the bar even higher this season. Truman is led by Ben Briney, who is in his first season as head coach, after serving as the Bulldog assistant since 2005. Briney received both his Bachelor of Science (2001) and Master of Education (2004) from Southwest Baptist. Missouri Western is led by Cory Frederick who's also in his first season after five successful seasons at Park University. Anna Tool is in her fourth season guiding the Northwest Missouri Bearcats.Truman leads the all-time series with SBU 42-2, as do Missouri Western (41-9) and Northwest Missouri (36-8).
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
The Bulldogs are led by Megan Sharpe, with 328 kills (3.22/game), ranking her eighth in the MIAA. Sharpe is also fourth in the league with a .364 hitting percentage. Junior Kelli Sicner is the Griffons' leading attacker, averaging 3.27 kills per set, while senior setter Madison Benton has averaged 9.1 assists per set. Sara Falcone leads the green Bearcats with a .302 hitting percentage. Amber Ryan leads Northwest with 94 total blocks and junior Paige Spangenberg is second in the MIAA with 5.03 digs per set.
