Can't
get to the game? Don't worry, we've got ya covered.
No.6 Bulldogs back up ranking with 3-0 shutout of Fort Hays
10/13/2007
By WILL MANLY
Hays Daily News
The Truman State volleyball team is boring.
"Being too good is apt to be uninteresting," Harry S. Truman is credited with saying.
By that logic, the Truman volleyball team, which bears his name and a 24-4 record has been uninteresting for most of the season.
Such was Truman's match against Fort Hays State University on Saturday night at Gross Memorial Coliseum, save the second game. Truman led for just eight of that game's 56 serves -- Fort Hays led most of the way and the teams were tied as late as 26-26 -- before Truman pulled out the win.
There was little other drama and even less suspense for the rest of the match. Truman, ranked No. 6 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association national poll, made short, mostly uninteresting work of Fort Hays in a 3-0 trampling.
"They were just sharp on everything. You didn't see a whole lot of things go down," said Fort Hays setter Whitney Hoffman. "They outplayed us, that's what it boiled down to."
Truman won 30-16, 30-26, 30-24.
Truman improved to 24-4, 7-1 in Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association play. Fort Hays dropped to 15-12, 2-7 in the MIAA. The Tigers are tied with Southwest Baptist -- who they beat Oct. 9 -- for seventh in the conference. The Tigers have four conference matches left. The top eight teams qualify for the postseason conference tournament.
Fort Hays had a balanced offensive attack, with three hitters contributing at least seven kills apiece -- Kellyn Thaut had 10 and Sarah Schinstock and Leanna Roberts each had seven. Fort Hays also had a positive attack percentage and more blocks than Truman (16 to 10). Fort Hays coach Steve Smith had little to complain about after his team's performance but plenty of praise for the other team.
"They're so solid," Smith said. "Anything you send over at them, it's going to be transitioned and its gonna come back at you."
Truman State was just too good.
In the MIAA, that seems to be a fairly regular occurrence, with four teams in the AVCA top 25. That level of competition is tough but Smith isn't complaining.
"We're not gonna build a great program here by trying to schedule patsies and being in a weak conference," he said. "It makes us better."
The Tigers have another imposing week ahead. They play No. 5 Washburn Oct. 18 and have a non-conference match against No. 22 Nebraska-Kearney Oct. 20.
Even in a quick 3-0 loss, Fort Hays hopes to have learned something from Truman.
"We were better athletes, they just a lot better technically than we were," Hoffman said.
| Scoreboard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Date | Opponent | Score |
| BB | 5/11 | Central Missouri | L 4-2 |
| BB | 5/10 | Missouri Western | W 4-3 |
| BB | 5/09 | Emporia State | L 6-5 |
| BB | 5/04 | Pittsburg State | W 17-5 |
| BB | 5/04 | Pittsburg State | L 4-3 |
| BB | 5/03 | Pittsburg State | L 15-7 |
| BB | 5/03 | Pittsburg State | L 5-4 |
| SB | 5/02 | Central Missouri | L 3-1 |
| SB | 5/02 | Missouri Western | W 3-2 |
| SB | 5/01 | Pittsburg State | W 6-0 |
