MATCH 25: SBU BEARCATS (8-16, 3-9 MIAA)
vs #11 TRUMAN BULLDOGS (10-3, 21-4 MIAA)
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 26 • 7:00 PM
MEYER SPORTS CENTER • BOLIVAR, MO

M26: at MISSOURI WESTERN
GRIFFONS (10-12, 6-7 MIAA)
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29 • 7:00 PM
LOONEY COMPLEX •ST. JOSEPH, MO

M27: at NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE
BEARCATS (11-10, 7-6 MIAA)
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 30 • 2:00 PM
BEARCAT ARENA • MARYVILLE, MO

Live Stats: TSU | MWSU | NWMSU

Game Notes

BOLIVAR, Mo. -- The Bearcats will look to end a two game slide against the 11th-ranked Truman Bulldogs this week, then the 'Cats will kick off the next-to-last road trip of the year, by heading to Missouri Western and Northwest Missouri over the weekend.

Earlier this month, junior Ashley Jurgensmeyer broke SBU's all-time kills record last week, against Pittsburg State; Jurgensmeyer tied and broke the record in the fourth game of a thrilling, come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Gorillas. Jurgensmeyer now has 284 kills on the season, a team-high and second-most in the MIAA.

Setter Brianna Wallace has a chance by season's end to also set a new career record. Wallace currently has 809 assists on the season (9.09/game), and 3,665 over her career, just 241 behind Chelsea Kenney's school record of 3,906 assists. Wallace needs to average just over 30 assists per match to reach Kenney.

Defensively, the Bearcats are led by seniors Marcy Greenwade and Joanna Granzow. Greenwade leads the team with 4.17 digs per set, 8th-best in the MIAA. Up front, Granzow has a total of 56 blocks, the second-highest total for the Bearcats, behind Jurgensmeyer's 77 blocks. Alyx Glover (2.38), Britni Reed (2.17), and Wallace (2.11) are all averaging above two digs per game as well.

THE COACHES AND THE ALL-TIME SERIES
Bearcat head coach Kelly Richardson enters her fourth season, and looks to further improve a program that has won more games over the past two seasons than from 2002-2007 combined. Over her first three years, Richardson has seen six players earn All-MIAA honors, and has recorded a career mark of 41-81.

Former Bearcat Ben Briney is in his second season at Truman, after posting a 24-13 record in his first year as a head coach.

Cory Frederick enters his second season as the Griffon head coach. Under Frederick's tenure, Missouri Western improved from a 4-win campaign in 2008, to an 11-22 record last season.

Jessica Rinehart was named Northwest Missouri head coach last spring, after five seasons as head coach at Augsburg College (Minn.).
The Bearcats have struggled against all three of their upcoming opponents, holding a combined record of 18-126.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Truman has lost just four matches so far this season, and all four have been to ranked opponents. The Bulldogs have taken 14 of their last 16, and are led by sophomore hitter Megan Sharpe. Sharpe ranks 43rd in Division II and seventh in the confernce with a .350 hitting percentage. On the defensive side of the ball, Sharpe is just one of three players in the MIAA to average over 1 block per set, and has a conference high 83 total blocks.

The Missouri Western Griffons come into this week having gone 2-4 over their last six matches. The combination of Kelli Sicner and Tahler Johnston lead the Griffon attack, each averaging nearly 2.5 kills per set. Sicner and Johnston are also two out of the four Griffons who are averaging over two digs per game, along with Meghan Voelz (2.54/game) and Stephanie Hattey (2.17/game).

Northwest Missouri was riding a three-game winning streak, including a five-set win over #2 Washburn, before falling in straight sets to Emporia State last week. Sophomore Laira Akin ranks third in the conference with 9.88 assists per set, and 50th in the nation. Alex Hanna and Sara Falcone have each reached the 200-kill mark for the season, with Hanna leading the team, averaging 3.12 kills per set. Libero Paige Spangenberg has a team high 359 digs, 4.6 per game on average.