Thursday: #1 Truman State vs. #8 Albany State
*Tyler Madsen*
Freshman outside/middle hitter Lauren Graybeal got a great opportunity, and she took advantage in a big way.
Graybeal led all players with 12 kills, a new career high, as the top-ranked Bulldogs rolled to a 3-0 (-14, -14, -22) victory in its first-round playoff match against outmatched 8th seed Albany State.
"I got the incredible chance to play in the NCAA postseason as a freshman, and everything just went really well for me," Graybeal said.
In a match which the Bulldogs hit .364 collectively as a bunch, four players hit over .450, including senior outside hitter/setter Kelsey Wackerman. Wackerman set a school record tonight with her 1,000th career dig - making her the first player to ever don the purple and white to register 1,000 career kills, assists and digs.
"It's a good feeling to see my hard work over the past four years pay off, but to be honest, I wasn't even aware of that coming into the night," Wackerman said with a laugh. "I'm just focused on winning a national championship."
Truman never let the SIAC champion Golden Rams feel comfortable, jumping ahead 9-3 in the game one before Albany State burned a timeout. The 'Dogs set a season-high with 11 service aces - nine of which came in the first two games.
In game two, the ’Dogs hit .542 with primarily Graybeal and fellow freshman outside hitter Susie Lesher doing the damage. Their lines were identical – six kills, no errors, seven total attempts – in the game, something Bulldog head coach Skoch was extremely pleased to see.
“I really expected us to play defense better than we did, but offensively we clicked pretty well tonight,” Skoch said. “The freshmen got a chance to play tonight for more than just a few points at the end of the match, and they showed us a lot of great things.”
Game three was a little closer, as the Golden Rams picked up their blocking, but it was more strong serving by the purple and white that made the difference, as the squad pulled away for an eight point win.
“I knew that they had so many weapons so I just wanted my girls to play relaxed,” Robert Skinner, Albany State head coach said. “I know Coach Skoch substituted out some of his players in game three, but getting those points and hanging with them meant so much to our squad.”
The Bulldogs now advance, rested and relaxed, to the NCAA South Central regional semifinals tomorrow night at 6:30 pm against rival University of North Alabama. The Lions advanced earlier in the day with a 3-1 victory over MIAA foe Pittsburg State.
The Bulldogs knocked off the Lions 3-1 back in early September.
“Tonight was good for our squad because we got to get everyone that dressed into the match, but the girls know they’ll see a very different style of volleyball tomorrow,” Skoch said. “UNA plays a very similar style as us, and they’re very dynamic, so we’ll have our hands full with a very good squad.”
Freshman outside/middle hitter Lauren Graybeal got a great opportunity, and she took advantage in a big way.
Graybeal led all players with 12 kills, a new career high, as the top-ranked Bulldogs rolled to a 3-0 (-14, -14, -22) victory in its first-round playoff match against outmatched 8th seed Albany State.
"I got the incredible chance to play in the NCAA postseason as a freshman, and everything just went really well for me," Graybeal said.
In a match which the Bulldogs hit .364 collectively as a bunch, four players hit over .450, including senior outside hitter/setter Kelsey Wackerman. Wackerman set a school record tonight with her 1,000th career dig - making her the first player to ever don the purple and white to register 1,000 career kills, assists and digs.
"It's a good feeling to see my hard work over the past four years pay off, but to be honest, I wasn't even aware of that coming into the night," Wackerman said with a laugh. "I'm just focused on winning a national championship."
Truman never let the SIAC champion Golden Rams feel comfortable, jumping ahead 9-3 in the game one before Albany State burned a timeout. The 'Dogs set a season-high with 11 service aces - nine of which came in the first two games.
In game two, the ’Dogs hit .542 with primarily Graybeal and fellow freshman outside hitter Susie Lesher doing the damage. Their lines were identical – six kills, no errors, seven total attempts – in the game, something Bulldog head coach Skoch was extremely pleased to see.
“I really expected us to play defense better than we did, but offensively we clicked pretty well tonight,” Skoch said. “The freshmen got a chance to play tonight for more than just a few points at the end of the match, and they showed us a lot of great things.”
Game three was a little closer, as the Golden Rams picked up their blocking, but it was more strong serving by the purple and white that made the difference, as the squad pulled away for an eight point win.
“I knew that they had so many weapons so I just wanted my girls to play relaxed,” Robert Skinner, Albany State head coach said. “I know Coach Skoch substituted out some of his players in game three, but getting those points and hanging with them meant so much to our squad.”
The Bulldogs now advance, rested and relaxed, to the NCAA South Central regional semifinals tomorrow night at 6:30 pm against rival University of North Alabama. The Lions advanced earlier in the day with a 3-1 victory over MIAA foe Pittsburg State.
The Bulldogs knocked off the Lions 3-1 back in early September.
“Tonight was good for our squad because we got to get everyone that dressed into the match, but the girls know they’ll see a very different style of volleyball tomorrow,” Skoch said. “UNA plays a very similar style as us, and they’re very dynamic, so we’ll have our hands full with a very good squad.”
posted by Tyler Madsen at Thursday, November 09, 2006
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