Day 1 at Nationals

--Conor Nicholl

Quick Picks for Elite Eight Games

Grand Valley State (29-6) vs. Dowling (33-8)
Grand Valley State wins 3-0

Dowling is the only unranked team in the Elite Eight and started the season on a 3-6 skid after playing then-nationally ranked Barry University and current Elite Eight participant Tampa University. This is their first match against a Top 25 foe in about two months.

Expect a mismatch. Grand Valley State leads the country in blocking and Dowling only has two players hitting above .300. Every time the Golden Lions attack, GVSU will have two blockers in their eyes. Dowling won’t be able to establish a consistent attack and the Lakers will advance to the Final Four against…

Concordia St. Paul (30-4) vs. Tampa (28-3)
Concordia St. Paul wins 3-2

Along with Truman-Kearney, this is THE match of the first day. Tampa has the country’s third-most efficient hitter in Erica Womack (.458), but CSP counters with the nation’s best setter in First Team All-American Cailin Terhaar (14.68 assists/game) and arguably the nation’s top player in junior outside hitter Jessica Lucia.

The Golden Bears average more assists per game and played a more difficult schedule than Tampa. Womack’s terrific, but CSP’s tough regular season and offensive firepower will yield a victory.

Lock Haven (33-5) vs. Cal. St. LA (27-2)
Cal. St.-L.A. wins 3-1

Think No. 1 vs. No. 8 in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Lock Haven’s a strong, nationally ranked team, but Cal. St.-L.A. is among the nation’s elite.

Lock Haven doesn’t play a very difficult conference and regional schedule, but they always win their region and then fall to a stronger opponent in the Elite Eight. That’s going to happen tomorrow afternoon.

Cal. St. LA won the Pacific region, which is similar to climbing Mt. Everest without oxygen. It’s difficult. Six nationally ranked squads made the playoffs and the Golden Eagles captured two 3-2 victories to advance to nationals and move up to No. 2 in the national poll. Playing such a brutal schedule has made this team stronger.

“Beating ranked teams only do one thing: foster confidence,” Cal. St.-L.A. head coach Bill Lawler said. “It’s great to play those teams and come out on top. We’re battle-tested now after beating some of the best teams in the country.”

On the other hand, Lock Haven isn’t battle-tested.

“Will we bring our ‘A’ game or will we falter in certain categories on the court?” Lock Haven head coach Tom Justice said. “That’s the $64,000 question. We know how to win and we’re pretty capable, but we tested our team early in the year because that’s the only tough opponents we’re going to have.”

And that’s going to prove the difference. Lock Haven hasn’t played a team like Cal. St.-L.A. this season. They’ll split the first two sets, but the Golden Eagles’ confidence and tough mentality will keep Lock Haven from delivering the upset.

Truman (32-5) vs. University of Nebraska-Kearney (33-1)
Truman wins 3-1

This could be the biggest thing to happen to Kearney…since, well, since…I don’t know. All I know is Lopers Arena is going to be ridiculously jam-packed tomorrow night.

And the ’Dogs are going to end the Lopers’ 65-match home winning streak.

For more analysis about tomorrow night’s matchup, check out www.trumanindex.com for columns by myself and Ross Houston.

Kearney is the best place to host national tournament

I’ve felt cold. I’ve skied at the top of Vail Mountain in Colorado, where the wind chill is a biting 20 below. I’ve walked to 7:30 a.m. finals in December at Truman.

Kearney, Neb., home of the national tournament, rivals both places for subzero weather.

The wind, like Kirksville, has no place to go, so it whips around and hits us in the face like icicles. Adam Kabins, Tyler Madsen and I walked to Subway – round trip distance about 100 yards – and I had to start running because of the cold.

The warm weather teams, especially California State-Los Angeles and Tampa University, probably haven’t seen weather this cold in their entire lives. Tonight, all eight teams attended a banquet where they announced the National Player of the Year (UNK’s senior outside hitter Erin Gudmundson won for the second straight year – more on this tomorrow), and most players wore jackets or sweaters.

Not the L.A. players. As soon as they walked outside, they started hugging each other and trying to move as fast as possible.

I doubt many of them had seen six inches of snow in their life – much less six inches of snow buried right next to the hotel entrance. In the press conference, L.A. players started laughing when asked about the conditions.

“The snow is great,” said sophomore middle hitter Airess Padda.

Senior setter Tiare Tuitama echoed similar sentiments, saying, “It really puts me in the Christmas spirit.”

Tampa players said they had never seen snow fall from the sky until they arrived at Kearney.

Kearney, though, wasn’t affected at all by the penetrating temperatures. After all, they live here twelve months out of the year. As soon as UNK senior middle hitter Erin Gudmundson ended her media session, she stood and smiled, asking why no one asked her about the weather.

“I’ve never experienced temperatures like this,” she said to the media. “Why didn’t anyone ask about what I thought of the cold?”

Another question that no one raised is the locale itself: why Kearney? Why not St. Paul, Minnesota, home of No. 3 Concordia St. Paul? Why not Los Angeles –home of No. 2 ranked Cal St.-L.A.?

Both cities have warm weather, airports and points of attraction. The answer is two-fold. First, Kearney was the No. 1 team in the country last year and lost the spot to No. 3 Barry University. According to several sources, they weren’t very pleased about losing nationals.

This year, Kearney was again the No. 1 team in the country and the NCAA probably thought they couldn’t spurn the Lopers two years in a row.

Secondly, Kearney – and Nebraska in general – is a volleyball hotbed. They love their volleyball. In Div. I, the University of Nebraska is the only undefeated team in the country. They routinely play in front of 4,000 or more fans and several of their matches – including against nationally-ranked University of Missouri – have been played on Fox Sports Midwest.

For Div. II, Lopers Arena is the best place to watch a volleyball game. The fieldhouse is absolutely incredible, seating close to 6,000 fans. They average over 2,000 per match. For comparison, the Bulldogs hosted 950 for the 2004 South Central Regional final against Central Missouri State University – arguably the biggest match ever hosted at Pershing.

The NCAA and UNK will reap the benefits of gigantic ticket sales. Tomorrow night could easily eclipse the all-time attendance record for a Div. II match – a 1996 showdown between UNK and the University of Nebraska-Omaha at Lopers Arena that drew 3,520 fans.

“Playing in front of a huge crowd is a lot better than playing in front of an empty stadium,” head coach Jason Skoch said at the press conference. “The atmosphere is going to be outstanding and both teams will play better in front of a lot of fans.”

Had any other city hosted, crowds would probably barely reach into the thousands –especially not Los Angeles, as Saturday’s college football matchup between USC and UCLA would have overshadowed the Div. II national title.

Concordia St. Paul averaged nearly 1,400 people (or 600 less than UNK) in their regional tournament. This number wouldn’t have changed much for nationals.

Had nationals been in Florida, crowds would be around 700-1,000. Last year, Barry hosted the ’Dogs for the national championship and only drew 750 fans. That’s ridiculous. That’s not going to happen tomorrow night or anytime this weekend.

The NCAA made the right choice in allowing Kearney to host the national tournament. It’s the best place for fans, media and the players. Today’s front page edition of the Kearney Hub a gigantic Elite Eight headline, two main stories on the sports front page and a 12-page special section devoted entirely to the tournament.

Tomorrow is going to a huge day for Kearney and the greatest day for Div. II volleyball in many years.

And that’s something subzero temperatures and biting cold can’t even diminish.

Happy Thanksgiving

--Tyler Madsen--

As I sit in my basement watching the Broncos and Cowboys on television, I got to thinking about the holiday of Thanksgiving and for what I am really thankful for.

After I got past the family, friends, my faith, opportunties I've been granted and ways I've been able to use my skills and continue to grow, I got to thinking about the Truman sports that we write about and cover on this blog and in the INDEX itself.

*I'm thankful for our coaches. No one could even tally the hours that they put in, not just from August to December, but from December to August. The knowledge that they instill in the players not just how to succeed on the court/field, but how to handle challenges they'll face down the road makes their jobs some of the greatest in the world.

*I'm thankful for our players. After all, who would we write about as the "Athlete of the Week" without the "athletes" themselves? Like the coaches, the amount of hours spent conditioning, practicing and playing sometimes makes some of us forget that they have a 7:30 test the next morning also. I don't think they'll ever know how much joy some of us get from watching them do what they do best, utilizing the gifts they've worked so hard to fine-tune. But after all, it's certainly not about us on the sidelines and in the press box.

*I'm thankful for the parents. The number of hours spent encouraging, assisting and caring for their "little ones" is absolutely something that none of us, as college students, can even begin to comprehend. The satisfaction of watching their baby leave a dent in the floor after a spike or drain a three-pointer from WAY downtown is something that I'm sure many of us hope to experience some day.

*I'm thankful for the officials. Well, some of them...

Let the coaches, athletes, administration and others not be forgotten on this day when we reflect and remember what things put smiles on our face every day. Enjoy your turkey, stuffing and cranberries, and let's get ready for a great week and upcoming winter of Truman State athletics.

REALLY, REALLY HAPPY

-Ross Houston

The title says it all.

For one, Truman won the regional semi-final match against Washburn 3-0. To beat a team of that caliber in straight games is a huge confidence-booster.

For two (get it?), the University of North Alabama lost to Central Missouri State University. We've lost to UNA in our past three matches against it. If you looked at my column earlier in the year, you would see that not facing UNA was on my "wishlist."

I have the song "When you wish upon a star" stuck in my head now. But that's OK ...

... because WE ARE FACING CMSU INSTEAD OF UNA!!!!

Unfortunately, I have no clue how CMSU tamed the Lions. Staff reporter Tyler Madsen informed me the UNA's top gunner, outside hitter Vanessa Ferretti, was in the hole for hitting after the second game ... something like -.070 I think. Considering she is the Lion's offense, shutting her down probably helped the Jennies come out with a win.

Personally, I think Truman is guaranteed to win this region. If you read my column Thursday, you would've noticed that I used the expression, "I'm not pulling a Joe Namath."

Well, now I am. We will win this region.

We beat the Jennies 30-12 in our last game against them. I still think they have that loss stuck in their heads. They know that we're better than them. We just have to not get cocky (like I am right now) and play Truman volleyball: dive for dumps, block aggressively, set good balls and don't committ silly unforced errors.

But that's not until tomorrow. For now though, I'm just REALLY, REALLY HAPPY.

The Calm before the Storm

--Tyler Madsen--

When I opened up the sports section of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch this morning, I saw the small headline that read, “SIUE plays tonight.” The four-sentence brief about tonight’s match between the #4 SIUE Cougars (15-2-2) and the #11 Bulldogs (17-3-1) gave local fans just a quick glimpse into a second-round game that, to quickly summarize the piece, shouldn’t be extremely difficult for the home team because they beat these same Bulldogs 4-0 earlier this season, were ranked #1 or #2 nationally all season and had a first-round bye in the tournament.

It seems as though all season, as Conor, Ross and I discussed last night, that since the loss to SIUE back in early September, every game has been “the biggest game of the year” for the purple and white. Tonight, in front of what could easily be 1,500-2,000 fans, there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that any match so far will compare to the stage that has been set tonight.

For the ’Dogs to pull off the upset (and I use that term only based on rankings), there are a few things they will have to accomplish:

1) Score first
The SIUE crowd will be wild and raucous early, and a Truman goal to jump out 1-0 will take the crowd, tonight’s 12th-man, out of the game and hopefully take away the Cougars’ home-field advantage.

2) Take advantage of the right side defense
If the Bulldogs can effectively utilize their left-side attackers (e.g. senior forward Nate Gaudreault and senior midfielder Marty Clayes if he drifts that way), then they can take advantage of a suddenly not-so-solid senior back Pete Cacciatore, a player who has been the cornerstone of the SIUE defense for three seasons that has just fallen off the face of the earth in the 2005 campaign.

3) Sean Birrell needs to be part of the flow
Arguably the team’s hottest player right now, Birrell, a senior forward, was severely limited in the earlier match against SIUE (only a half-dozen touches all night). Birrell needs to not only be able to get the ball but also be able to face the goal, something the Bulldogs did not let Haggai Leboo, the Rockhurst freshman phenom who scored 19 goals this season, do against them either time the two teams met this season.

4) Avoid history
I know, this isn’t really anything the team can do on the field to win tonight’s game; however, in 2003, a 12th-ranked SIUE came up to Kirksville to face #18 Rockhurst in the first round, winning in penalty kicks to advance. Saturday’s match featured the Cougars and #2 Bulldogs squaring off in the regional championship. Truman won that match 5-2. Sounding a little familiar, just with the home team reversed.

Truman soccer is playing at the top of its game at the absolute right time (as evidenced by the fact that they haven’t lost since Sept. 30) and SIUE, as our anonymous GLVC coach described to me the other day, “is sputtering a bit down the stretch … they might have peaked too early.” The timing is perfect for a Bulldog trip to the Elite Eight for the second time in three seasons.

Men's soccer and volleyball capture important playoff victories

Conor Nicholl

Both volleyball and men’s soccer delivered in the clutch Thursday night.

Both squads needed a win – badly. Men’s soccer had to win to keep their season going, as they played Rockhurst University in the first round of the NCAA postseason tournament.

Volleyball, facing No. 13 ranked Central Missouri State University, needed a victory to reclaim some confidence after losing to University of North Alabama this past weekend.

And both squads delivered.

With soccer, it was a showdown between two nearly identical teams (both squads had a +41 goal differential for the season) who felt they could both win Thursday’s match. Both teams entered the season with expectations of winning the region and advancing to the Elite Eight.

The 10 last matches, including a 1-0 Bulldog victory this season over Rockhurst in Kansas City, the away team had won.

Thursday night posed a different challenge, as SIUE is a neutral site field and is about equal between KC and Kirksville.

“We’re going to finally see who the best team is,” head coach Duke Cochran said Monday afternoon.

The ’Dogs didn’t have their best offensive effort, as the Hawks had more corner kicks (17-3) and more shots (14-5), but the staples that had led the purple and white the enter year kept their season alive.

With junior goalie Nate Gibson and Co. anchoring the back line and senior forward Marty Clayes providing the offensive spark with the only goal of the match – after a dead ball foul that resulted in a penalty kick – the ’Dogs won 1-0.

Entering the match, Cochran said the most important player to contain wasn’t Great Lakes Conference Player of the Year Haggai Leboo. Instead, he said Monday they were more focused on Cody Anderson, a dangerous playmaker for the Hawks.

Anderson only had one shot on goal in Thursday’s contest, while Leboo, a precocious freshman who entered the match with 19 goals and 43 points, had only three shots. None of them were on goal.

And none of them found the back of the net.

Again, as been the case, over the past two months, the ’Dogs have found a way to stop the opposition and score that one critical goal. Lewis, Gannon, and both Rockhurst matches were all must-wins. And the ’Dogs, led by their defense and Clayes, won all four matches 1-0. Now, they advance to the Sweet 16 Saturday night against SIUE.

Volleyball needed a victory against a quality opponent. They hadn’t beaten a quality, playoff-bound team in over a month, as Central Missouri State University, Washburn University, Emporia State University had all beaten the ’Dogs in a recent matches.

Overall, entering last night, the purple and white were 27-5 on the season, but in games against potential South Central Regional playoff foes, the purple and white had a 3-5 record and 0-5 in their last five.

They needed this win for a confidence boost. They needed this win to reassert their dominance as one of – if not the best – team in the country. And they did – winning the two games and then absolutely throttling the Jennies 30-12 in the final set.

Junior outside hitter and MIAA MVP Kelsey Wackerman enjoyed another triple-double, junior outside hitter Sarah Shearman played well and senior middle hitter Tiffany Graham had 12 kills, no errors and hit .600.

Graham, like Micaela Walter last year, could be the difference for the ’Dogs. Every bona fide national contender needs at least three terrific attackers. Strong defenses like Washburn (who leads the country in opponents’ attacking percentage) can’t contain three different attackers – especially one from the middle.

If Graham, a forgotten player for most of the year, continues to step up like she did Thursday, the ’Dogs could enjoy another huge victory against Washburn on Saturday night in the MIAA Conference Tournament Final and gain even more confidence entering the South Central Regional.

Volleyball Dominates Central MO State

-- by Tyler Madsen --

#8 Truman 3, #13 Central Missouri State 0

Pershing Arena just hosted yet another incredible volleyball match. THAT was the Truman volleyball team that has a chance to make some noise in the NCAA Tournament, a vast difference from the team who lost three MIAA matches in a row at one point in the middle of the season, two of which were at home in front of a shell-shocked crowd.

CMSU jumped out early in Game 1, leading 10-2, and it just seemed like nothing was going to go right once again at home for the 2nd-seeded Bulldogs. They finally kept working and working and finally tied the score at 18. From that point on, I think everyone in attendance knew deep in their hearts that this was going to be Truman's night.

Truman won game 1, 30-28, before jumping out to a 22-11 lead in game 2. CMSU made a game of it, but again, the old confidence of 2004 was back on the court tonight as the girls held on for a 30-27 win.

As for Game 3 ... I think CMSU should have just gotten back on their charter bus and headed back to Warrensburg. A 14-2 early Bulldog advantage and a perplexed and somewhat confused Peggy Martin (CMSU's head coach) led to a 30-12 thrashing. Outside of the first 12 points of the entire match, I really think this might rank up there as the worst CMSU has played in a LONG time.

Stats-wise: Kelsey Wackerman (MIAA conference MVP) racked up another triple-double tonight (12 kills, 22 assists, 14 digs). 1st-team all-MIAA junior Sarah Shearman pounded down 20 kills and also tallied 14 digs for a double-double. Give props to senior Tiffany Graham who had 12 kills in just 20 total attacks (no errors). Great night for her.

The 'Dogs are hopping on the bus tomorrow late afternoon to head over to Topeka to take on Washburn, the #7 team overall in the nation. They've only lost once all season. They lost at home. They lost to Truman in 5, and had it not been for a late questionable call in game 3 when the teams played there before, Truman just might have swept them.

Don't put that tournament trophy in the case just yet Washburn.

----------------

On another note, the Truman men's soccer team beat Rockhurst tonight 1-0 in the first round of the NCAA playoffs. A date with SIU-Edwardsville awaits the team on Saturday night at 7:00. Conor Nicholl, Ross Houston and myself will once again be road-tripping it (if you didn't read Ross's column before, check back in the Index archives to the 9/15 issue of the Index and take a look), so be prepared for some more analysis right here on the blog while we're in St. Louis.

Pictures

Sorry about the delay, but here are some pictures:

Day 4: Seeing Truman Volleyball

Before I begin the story of the bus ride home, I would like to apologize for not updating this morning about Wackerman's progress. Right after breakfast, we had to board the bus. Sorry about that.

Anyways, Wackerman said she was doing much better. Apparently, she just had an ear infection. She had a cotton ball in her left ear, but she seemed to be in good spirits. Skoch said she should be ready for Thursday, along with Walter.

The bus ride home was uneventful. No near head-on collisions, no flat tires. It was just 13 hours of driving. Granted, we did watch "10 things I hate about you," though there was no "She's all that."

The 13 hours actually allowed me to talk with several of the players, though. Junior Christine Wagener was the first on my list.

Wagener has been playing regularly as setter since her sophomore year. Next year, the team will look to her, along with Sarah Shearman, Kelsey Wackerman and Alex Baker, to take the reins.

"I think it's going to be a group thing," Wagener said with regards to leadership next season. "I don't see just one of us individually stepping up. In a way, I don't think we need it, as long as we all can get together. That's how it's been in the past."

Wagener, if nothing else, will bring a sense of joy to her leadership position next year.

"I like to smile," she said. "I used to get yelled at for smiling. I couldn't help it."

After a quick stop at McDonald's, senior Megan Remley told me she's going to miss going on trips with the team.

"It's so much fun to be around the girls," she said.

Remley, who wants to teach physical wellness after she graduates, is the silent leader of the seniors.

"I'm pretty quiet," she said. "Most of the time, I like to sit back and take it all in."

This is in sharp contrast to seniors Tiffany Graham and Melanie Jones, who have been playing volleyball with each other since their club days in high school.

"We bring spunk to the team," Graham said.

For the two friends, however, things weren't always so smooth.

"We actually tried not to be friends," Jones said.

Now, they both share the same tattoo. They also hope to form a club team in the future.

The bus ride home was almost over, so I asked Skoch about this weekend.

"The roller coaster is still there as far as focus and intensity" he said. "For every good thing that happened this weekend, there was just something that was not good."

Skoch, however, said he still believes his team has the ability to be the best team in the region.

"If they chose to play volleyball for the whole 30 points, we easily can win conference."

At 9 p.m., we arrived back in Kirksville. About 30 minutes prior, Skoch sat with his team and talked about the weekend. Most of his comments were positive, getting the team psyched up for Thursday's second-round conference championship match.

"Do you guys think you can win?"

All of the team responded, "yes."

This weekend, I got to see every part of Truman volleyball. I got to see the team win a well-played match. I got to see the team deal with injuries. I got to see the team attempt to recover from a sloppy contest. I got to see the team goof around. I got to see the team focused.

I got to see what Truman volleyball really is. I hope the blog served as my eyes, and I hope you got to see most of what I saw.

Day 3: Answers to the Questions

First of all, pictures need to be developed first. As a result, don’t expect them until Monday. Sorry.

Today was the day. All of the questions that wandered through everyone’s minds were going to be answered. Would Micaela Walter be able to play on her ankle? How is the health of Kelsey Wackerman? Will Skoch’s gameplan work? Will the Bulldogs win?

Unfortunately, the responses to many of those questions had a negative connotation. But I’m not going to tell you which response is the positive one. I’m going to keep you in suspense.

We all (except Adam) got up at about 8 a.m. to eat breakfast at the hotel. I had one of their infamous cinnamon rolls … they were just OK. At about 9:30 a.m., we boarded the bus to head to Florence, Ala. to take on the University of North Alabama.

I had the opportunity to talk with sophomore Marti Joyer on the bus. Luckily for me, she answered one of my own burning “need-to-know” questions: who decides what shirt the team practices in?

Turns out it was her.

“Somebody needed to do the job, so I guess I volunteered,” she said.

For those of you who don’t know, the squad has two different practice shirts: a tan one and a gray one. Joyer said that most of the team prefers the gray shirts.

“The tan ones are ugly and comfortable,” she said.

Joyer also mentioned that the gray shirts are smaller, and the girls like the tight clothes … I’m puzzled by this. I’m sorry, but the spandex shorts just don’t look comfortable (and I don’t think they would flatter my figure).

Skoch boarded the bus and told the team they were going to watch a tape of UNA playing Northwest Missouri State University. We watched the first two games of the Lions’ three-game sweep, with Skoch occasionally chiming in with things he wanted the team to take notice of. We didn’t perform this ritual before the UAH match. It was obvious UNA was a big deal, but we already knew that.

At about 11 a.m. we walked into a palace, also known as Flowers Hall, home of the UNA Lions’ volleyball. This place was impressive, It probably held around 6,000 fans, with seating all around the court, chair-style seating taking up an entire side.

Micaela Walter walked past me behind the Truman bench.

“How’s the leg?” I asked.

“Good,” she said, simply put.

“Think you’ll be able to play?” I counter-asked.

A nod of the head clued me in to everything I needed to know.

Sophomore Erin Leavitt, however, knew she wouldn’t be able to play. Leavitt, who transferred from Bryant University in Rhode Island, has been sidelined for the majority of the year with an aggravated extra accessory bone in her foot from landing on Dana Hanselmann wrong.

“It sucks,” she said of not being able to play with the rest of the team. “But I’ll come back, so it’s OK.”

She still is part of the team, though. She helped junior Christine Wagener warm up before the match, she lined up with the rest of the team, she stood on the sidelines and cheered with the rest of her teammates. As far as I’m concerned, she won’t come back – she has been back.

After the team completed its warm ups, Walter wouldn’t be playing. She stayed on the sideline with the rest of the team.

Skoch’s plan was working well in the first game, as the ’Dogs breezed passed the Lions 30-26. In fact, Skoch’s plan worked throughout the entire match.

So why did the ’Dogs lose the next three sets and drop the match to the No. 6 team in the country?

“They out-worked us,” Skoch said. “They went for more balls than us.”

Skoch also said Truman’s lack of consistency and unforced errors put the game in the Lions’ den.

Sarah Shearman agreed with Skoch’s sentiments.

“We lost some consistency overall,” she said. “I think that was a big part of it. And there were more unforced errors.”

Shearman said she was not pleased with the squad’s victory over lowly Lincoln Memorial University (Tenn.). Although it won in straight games, all three were closer then they needed to be.

“I think we could’ve played a lot better,” she said. “We really didn’t focus like we needed to.”

Focus. This is a word that has been thrown around a lot this weekend. Skoch said this small aspect has been especially problematic for Truman volleyball.

“We just lose focus,” he said. “We get happy and the match isn’t over.”


The ladies were happy, however, after they won the LMU match – probably because the long weekend was finally over.

To celebrate, the team, along with some of the player’s parents who made the pilgrimage, ate at Dreamland Bar-B-Que next to our hotel. Finally, the ladies could eat whatever they wanted, including French Fries. The fried, greasy portions of potatoes were one of the most requested denied food items, so most of the team erupted in bliss once they heard the news.

Unfortunately, Wackerman’s health forced her to go to the emergency room with Skoch before eating at the restaurant. Though I don’t know her current condition, I do know that I admire her for playing her heart out today and contributing as much as she did. I wish her the best of health, and I hope she knows that Adam and myself are thinking about her.

We drove back to the hotel, with freshmen Whitney Boehler and Eli Medina singing and dancing to the music on their iPod and myself yelling at them to stop. They didn’t, of course.

But the trip is not over yet. Far from it, actually. Tomorrow, we depart for Kirksville at 8 a.m., and I’ve been informed we will be watching “10 things I hate about you” and “She’s all that.” Not two of my favorite movies, but with the weekend I’ve had, I’m willing to stay up and watch with 19 new friends.

Day 2, Match 1: Jokes, Injuries and Confidence

Just before heading to the arena to play match 1, I stopped by freshman Eli Medina's room. I've been told she's an interesting character by a few sources.

"I love to pull pranks," she told me while lying on the bed in her room. That's not that strange. I like pulling pranks too. Just ask Conor Nicholl.

"I have this doll and he looks like an old man," she started to explain. "[The team] thinks he makes us lose, I don't know why. My friend gave him to me right before we played CMSU and we lost three times during that week, so they don't let Gary - his name's Gary; I treat him like a real person - they don't let him come to the games anymore."

Most people might find this a little weird, but I was loving it ... Gary. Ha.

"We like to prank our football friends in Dobson with him," she continued. "We'll just leave him on random people's doorsteps with notes on him and stuff."

So that's why the football team hasn't won in a while!

I know, that was a low blow. But can you blame me. Making jokes is the best way to accept losing.

Hoever, Sophomore Amanda Holliday doesn't need to lose to make jokes.

I asked her "When someone hears the name 'Amanda Holliday,' what do they think of? What makes you unique?"

"I have really pretty hair" she responded. "I'm really funny. I got 'jokes.'"

Something Holliday does not joke about is family. Even though she is the youngest of her siblings, Holliday's family has three foster kids.

"They come to all of our games and sit with our family," she said. "They're like my real brothers and sisters."

It was not time for jokes at 5 p.m. It was the perfect time to get focused. The mood with the team was serious. No one was goofing off. Each and every member of the squad was focused on the task ahead.

Skoch, even though he was listening to Holliday's iPod, had a stern look of concentration. He, just like his players, was trying to keep a relaxed yet determined state. He didn't really do as much coaching as he did observing during pregame.

The game got underway at about 7:15, and the Bulldogs came out firing. They quickly built a 7-2 lead and didn't look back the entire game, winning 30-24.

The second game started the same way, with Truman jumping out to a 6-2 lead.

Then, a screech erupted over all other noise.

Senior Micaela Walter, Truman's leader in kills at the time, came down funny on her ankle. Skoch lunged off the bench immediately to make sure one of his best hitters was OK.

She kept saying she was, but you could tell she wasn't. She couldn't put any pressure on it and Skoch told Dana Hanselmann to get warmed up.

With Micaela out, the University of Alabama-Huntsville caught up as the teams changed leads 7 times. The Bulldogs were still able to pull away because of a fabulous offensive attack by senior Tiffany Graham Micaela Walter and junior Sarah Shearman. The 'Dogs eventually won the set 30-22.

The third game had a grim beginning. The Chargers charged (excuse the pun) out and inked six of the first seven points. Skoch let the girls play through it. Though it took some time, the decision proved to be a good move. The 'Dogs caught up and, thanks to nine UAH errors, won 30-27, sweeping the match 3-0.

Another jab of bad news hit the 'Dogs in the face though. Junior Kelsey Wackerman, who leads the team with 11 triple-doubles this season, was sick.

It appears as if someone's trying to make tomorrow's game against the University of North Alabama as tough as possible for the Dogs.

Still, Skoch is confident and after talking with him, so am I. He told me about a plan they have to shut down UNA's Vanessa Ferretti, who pretty much IS the Lions' offense. If it works, which in all sense should, and the players cut down on service errors, which plagued them the last meeting against UNA, the 'Dogs should be able to come away with a win.

Where will the 'Dogs be playing come regionals? Tomorrow holds the answer.

Day 2: Getting the "silly stuff" out

We arrived in Huntsville at 1 a.m. Arguably, this was the longest bus ride I have ever been on – 12 hours. However, I thought time went by pretty quickly. We watched The Lion King (where a lot of the girls sang along) as well as Bringing Down the House, Varsity Blues (all the girls were rooting for Billy Bob to score that final touchdown, even though they knew it was going to happen), The Sixth Sense and Zoolander.

About halfway through the trip, we got dinner at Fazoli’s. I sat with Skoch, Briney and Sears and listened to them talk about Div. I volleyball, recruiting and old matches. Sears said she hopes to get an internship with USA Volleyball, AVP or the U.S. Olympic Committee. That’s aiming really high, but as a former all-American, I say good for her. It could be that ambitiousness that garnered Sears her honors.

Sophomore Adam Kabins, my photographer, and I got up at about 8 a.m. to get breakfast with the team. Everyone was really quiet, which was in sharp contrast to yesterday morning. I, however, got to talk with senior Kelly Haley, the team’s trainer, and asked her about sophomore Erin Leavitt, who aggravated an extra bone in her foot.

“The way her progress is going, it’s looking pretty good,” she said “I don’t want to set a time-frame though.”

At 9:50 a.m., we boarded the bus to head to the University of Alabama-Huntsville for the team’s morning practice. I sat next to freshman Dana Hanselmann, who hails from Sleepy Hollow, Ill. This made me wonder: has she ever seen the headless horseman?

“Actually we have one that rides around the town,” she said to my astonishment. “There’s a guy that has a costume and he puts it on and rides around the beach front that we have.”

All I had to say to that was “that’s pretty cool,” because it was.
We also talked about her playing experience and how playing college volleyball compared to high school.

“It’s a lot faster,” she said. My high school wasn’t very strong, and it’s a big step. You got to be ready. You got to keep up.”

We arrived at Spragins Hall, the University of Alabama-Huntsville’s main indoor athletic facility, and began practice. The squad did various focusing mostly on dumps and short balls, an area where the team has been having difficulty the entire year, according to Skoch.

“Expect to do good every time!” Skoch yelled as the players were performing a 6-on-6 drill. “Have some confidence in yourselves!”

Just then, Hanselmann nailed a kill right down the line. Skoch chuckled.

“I guess it worked,” he said to me.

Once practice ended, we climbed aboard the bus and got lunch at Wendy’s. An interesting tidbit about eating is that the older members get to eat first. Juniors Kelsey Wackerman and Sarah Shearman said this was how it’s always been, but the seniors this year are more lax about it.

Freshman Melissa Keck has her arm wrapped in ice as we re-board the bus. Apparently, her shoulder bones rub together too much, thus sidelining her for about two months.
This weekend will be Keck’s first weekend back.

“It’s a great feeling,” she said. “I smile during practices. I’m so excited to be back.”

Fellow freshman Eli Medina, upon hearing Keck say this, chirps in.

“She’s not lying either,” she said. “That’s the sad thing.”

Both players cackled.

Upon arrival at the hotel, I head to Skoch’s room to ask about his impressions.

“Overall, I was very pleased,” he said. “The main thing was just getting them used to the gym. A lot of the silly stuff they did, I just thought I’d get it out of their system now.”

The girls have another practice at 5 p.m. and then the game against UAH at 7 p.m. If the ’Dogs even get a little of their “silly stuff” out of their system at the evening practice, the match might not look too good for the Chargers.

Day 1: Early-Morning Practices are not fun

They're really not. Getting up at 5:45, it's still dark out, being half asleep. In fact, early-morning practices are probably the worst thing I can think of.

Just don't tell the women's volleyball team that.

As I come stumbling in to Pershing Arena, a few of the girls are already there. Sophomore Libero Amanda Holliday looks at me in shock and awe that I actually showed up.

"Go back to bed!" she demanded.

"I'm OK, really," I responded back

But I really wasn't. I really only had two hours of sleep from working at the Index last night. I was tired. I thought the volleyball women would be as well.

I guessed wrong. One minute, I'm dazing in and out of conciousness, the next, I see the entire team playing "knock-out"

True, they all probably had more sleep than myself, but I don't think I've ever had that much energy at 6:30 a.m. Then again, I'm not on a college volleyball team. I don't have to do things like this.

Finally, head coach Jason Skoch and assistant coach Ben Briney arrive, and the team gets down to business.

It performs a series of drills, with Briney and student coach and former Bulldog all-American Jessica Sears particpating, while Skoch takes in everything his team is doing. It's a big weekend for the Truman volleyball team and he knows it. Everyone knows it.

But the situation right now is calm before the storm.