It’s not too often that a head coach deems a recruiting class successful when only one player signs a letter of intent to join his or her team.
But in the mind of Truman volleyball head coach Ben Briney, his 2010 class couldn’t have gone any better.
“We only needed to fill one spot, and we were able to go out and sign a junior college all-American that has also experienced a national championship
”Briney said after the Bulldogs landed Katie Thomason, an outside hitter who helped guide Illinois Central College to the 2009 NJCAA Div. II national title.
As a result, the Bulldogs have been able to streamline their early season practices, avoiding the typical slowdown of having to teach new drills and help true freshmen get acclimated to the speed of the college game.
That, Briney believes, will be a big key to helping the team be ready for its opening weekend at the University of Indianapolis Classic on Sept. 3-4.
And a fast start will be critical, with the Bulldogs once again earning national recognition – coming in 25th in the preseason AVCA top-25 coaches’ poll,
The No. 25 ranking equals the same spot as the 2009 squad finished and marks the 141st straight week in the top-25 poll, dating back to 2000.
“We’re able to get more done in a much shorter timeframe,” Briney said. “We’ll be tested early, so hopefully we’ll pick right up where we left off after a great spring and just build right away.”
The now second-year head coach, Briney returns five starters and his libero for 2010 after a 24-13 season in 2009 that resulted in a first-round NCAA tournament loss to eventual national runner-up West Texas A&M.
Included in that batch of starters is the Bulldog program’s second National Freshman of the Year, Megan Sharpe, who burst onto the scene last season by leading the ’Dogs in kills, hitting percentage, blocks and points.
She, along with junior Johanna Ruff and sophomore Emily Briseno, comprise a middle blocker position that will look to remain a strong spot for the Bulldog program.
“Johanna and Emily made really big strides in the spring, and Megan has only continued to improve as an all-around athlete,” Briney said.
Other areas that won’t see much shake-up are the specialty spots of setter and libero.
Seniors Ashley Petak and Casey Bruno picked up all-MIAA honors following their junior seasons, while junior setter Kylie Easlon played in 80 sets as the second half of Truman’s 6-2 setting system in 2009.
Sophomore Tassia Hegyi will also see time at libero after competing in 79 sets last year.
Both Petak and Bruno will look to leave their names in the Bulldog record books as well, with Petak ranking fifth currently in all-time assists, just 110 back of third.
Meanwhile, Bruno became the first Bulldog since 2001 to post 40 or more digs in a match last October and will try to maintain her grasp on the program’s top spot in digs per set after entering the year with a 4.40 average.
“The setter and libero spots are positions that I won’t have to stress about,” Briney said.
“Both Ashley and Kylie have become more consistent and worked really hard in the spring, and Casey and Tassia both made adjustments also and got much better with another full year in the system.”
Thomason enters to add even more depth to an outside hitter position that returns senior Allison Barker, junior Molly Sinclair, and sophomores Heather Hargadine and Deanna Schaefer. Barker, Sinclair and Hargadine combined to put away nearly 550 kills and dig nearly 800 attacks in 2009.
“I’m most excited about the [outside hitter] position coming into preseason, since all four of the returners gained a ton of confidence and improved immensely last fall and this spring,”
Briney said. “None of them had much experience entering last season, so now they all know what to expect and what they need to do every night.
Katie brings a lot to the table, because she understands what it means to be a winner, and that’s what we stress every day with the Bulldog tradition.”
One of the best battles in preseason could come from the right-side hitter position, which saw two all-MIAA honorees, Lauren Graybeal and Erin Hattey, graduate from last year’s squad.
“We’ve got three girls that have worked extremely hard and put in a lot of time behind two all-conference right sides last year,” Briney said. “They know that this is their chance to shine.”
Getting that opportunity this season will be another young bunch in terms of experience, with junior Erin Burmester and sophomores Allyson Stellmach and Lauren Radix in competition for starting spots.
“Erin, Allyson and Lauren got great practice in spring ball on the right side,” Briney said. “Like the outsides, they’ve got another year under their belt in terms of knowing the college game, so it should be a fun position to follow this year.”
Armed with a smaller roster (16) than has been seen in recent years, the Bulldogs will be tested throughout the season, starting with two challenging non-conference tournaments at Indianapolis (Ind.) and Missouri-St. Louis before jumping into MIAA play with matches at preseason-No. 12 Emporia (Kan.) State and the home opener on Friday, Sept. 17 against No. 6 Washburn (Kan.).
Other notable home dates include a homecoming evening match against Missouri Western on Oct. 16, the annual “Dig Pink” night against Emporia on Oct. 20, and senior night against No. 19 Pittsburg (Kan.) State on Oct. 30.
“The MIAA continues to get better and better every year, which is really tough to think about considering we have earned every possible at-large bid to the tournament each of the past two seasons,” Briney said. “But we’re ready to get going, start playing and find out what we’re capable of doing.”
Five MIAA programs were ranked in the top-25, led by defending conference champion Central Missouri (No. 5) and followed by Washburn, Emporia, Pittsburg (Kan.) State (No. 19) and Truman.
Courtesy Truman State Athletics
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