As a team, the Jennies boast one of the most efficient offensive attacks in Division II. Nationally, Central Missouri ranks in the top 30 in kills per set, with a 13.52 average, 27th-best in the nation. Their .240 hitting percentage ranks 28th nationally, while they boast a .813 winning percentage, good for 30th in Division II. The team also averages 12.4 assists per set, ranking 35th in the nation.
Individually, senior hitter
Bradye Peniston is in the top 100 in the nation, in a number of statistical categories. The Wichita, Kan. native has the 37th-best hitting percentage this year, at .360. She also ranks 64th in points per set, with a 3.98 average, and 68th in blocks per set, at 1.03. Bradye is one of only 85 players in the country to average a full block per set. Finally, her kills per set average of 3.29 ranks 98th in Division II. Junior
Julia Bates is again among the nation's best setters, averaging 9.9 assists per set, good for 43rd on the national leaderboard. As a freshman,
Annie Reilly has made an immeiate impact, ranking 57th in the country in digs per set, with a 4.68 average. Among first-year players, Reilly ranks 6th in the country in digs per set.
Jennies in the Polls
Following a 3-0 week that saw the Central Missouri Jennies keep their perfect MIAA record intact, The Jens were awarded with a #7 ranking in this week's AVCA Division II Coaches Top 25 Poll. The Jennies moved up one spot from last week, and have earned their highest rank since the first week of the season.
The Jennies received 586 points in the poll, tying for seventh with West Texas A&M. MIAA newcomers Nebraska-Kearney earned the #1 spot in this week's poll, as the Lopers stand as the last unbeaten team in NCAA Division II. Southwest Minnesota State remained at #2, while Minnesota Duluth took the #3 spot. The Washburn Lady Blues slipped one spot from last week, to #4, after their defeat to Nebraska-Kearney this week. Defending national champions Concordia-St. Paul received one first-place vote and are ranked sixth in the poll, one spot below Tampa, in fifth.
Six of the top seven teams in the poll, including the Jennies, are located in the Central region, with the Tampa Spartans being the lone representative from outside the Central region. A total of eight Central teams are ranked in the poll, with Minnesota State at #10, and Wayne State (Neb.) ranked #18.
A Win for the Jennies...
vs. Arkansas Tech
• would be the 3rd victory in as many meetings with the Golden Suns ... would be the 17th consecutive win at home ... would improve the Jennies all-time record in the Peggy Martin Challenge to 10-2 ... would be the 42nd different opponent the Jennies have defeated in the
Flip Piontek era.
vs Pittsburg State
• would improve the Jens' record to 49-5-1 all-time against the Gorillas ... would be the second win over Pittsburg State in less than a week ... would be the 22nd home victory over the Gorillas ... be the third straight win over Pittsburg State in the Peggy Martin Challenge.
A Loss for the Jennies...
vs. Arkansas Tech
• would be the first loss in school history against the Golden Suns ... would improve be the first loss in the Peggy Martin Challenge since last season's 2-3 loss to Tampa ... would join Arkansas Tech with Nebraska-Kearney and Tampa as the only opponents to stand unbeaten against the Jennies in the
Flip Piontek era.
vs Pittsburg State
• would be the first loss to the Gorillas since the 2009 Peggy Martin Challenge ... would be just the 4th home loss to Pittsburg State in school history ... be the sixth win for the Gorillas over UCM during the Ibraheem Suberu era, the second-most wins against the Jennies by any active MIAA head coach.
Players of the Week
For just the second time this season, no Jennie claimed an MIAA Volleyball Student-Athlete of the Week award. Fort Hays State's Jenna Ulrich and #1 Nebraska-Kearney's Kaleigh Anderson claimed the honors this week, the first of the season for both players.
The Jennies have tallied five MIAA Player of the Week awards so far this season, including a sweep of the past two weeks. Senior hitter
Bradye Peniston has been honored as the MIAA Hitter of the Week twice this season, and three times in her career. Junior setter
Julia Bates has earned a pair of MIAA Specialist of the Week honors, after her performance at the Hemmingway's Island Grill Classic at West Florida, and during the opening week of conference play, where the Jennies defeated Lindenwood and Southwest Baptist, as well as a non-conference win against Missouri S&T. Freshman
Annie Reilly won her first career MIAA Specialist of the Week award last week, leading the UCM defense to wins over Missouri Western and Truman.
Freshman Phenoms
Three freshmen have proven to be key components to the Jennies success this season, in outside hitter
Carly Sojka, libero
Annie Reilly, and defensive specialist
Mikalee Monachino. The three first-year players have combined for 9.72 digs per set, 49 of the team's 77 service aces, and 2.45 kills per set.
Sojka missed the first week of the season due to injury, but since then has worked her way into the starting lineup, starting the last eight matches for the Jennies. She put together a five-match streak of ten or more kills earlier this year, which included the best performance of her young career against #17 Lewis, where she set career highs in kills (16), digs (19) and points (16.5).
Reilly has reached double-figures in digs in her last five matches, after putting together nine straight earlier this year. The Overland Park, Kan. native is averaging 4.68 digs per set, ranking her sixth in the MIAA. She recorded a career-high with 30 digs against #17 Lewis, and has reached 27 digs in two other matches this year. Among freshmen, Reilly ranks sixth in digs per set in Division II this season.
Monachino has strengthened the back line play this year, averaging 1.97 digs per set. The Jacksonville, Fla. native is second on the team in service aces, with 20, just two behind Reilly for the team lead. Monachino has reached double-digits in digs four times this year, with a career-high 15 digs coming against #17 Lewis.
Opponent Preview
Arkansas Tech
The Golden Suns are the defending champions of the Great American Conference, and have started the defense of their title with a 5-1 start to league play. Arkansas Tech enters the Peggy Martin Challenge on a six-match winning streak, including a double-header win on Monday night over Philander Smith and Williams Baptist.
As a team, the Golden Suns are one of the most potent offenses in Division II. Arkansas Tech ranks 20th in the nation in kills per set, averaging 13.61, and 18th in assists per set, with 12.71. Individually, Carly Florian averages a team-high 3.3 kills per set, while Sara Motsinger is close behind with a 3.23 kills per set average. Defensively, Brittany Ryan is averaging 1.1 blocks per set on the front line, ranking 2nd in the Great American Conference.
This week will mark just the third ever meeting between the Jennies and Golden Suns; The Jennies claimed wins at non-conference tournaments in 1998 and 2000.
Pittsburg State
The Gorillas claimed their first MIAA victory of the season after defeating Southwest Baptist last week, but have dropped three of their last four, including Sunday's loss at the hands of Central Missouri. Pittsburg State started the year strong, going 7-0 through the early portion of the schedule, only picked up two victories since the start of league play.
One of the better statistical teams in the MIAA this year, the Gorillas rank fifth in hitting percentage (.204), and fourth in assists (12.53 per set), and have the third-best kills per set average, at 13.53, which additionally ranks 26th nationally.
Pittsburg State uses a balanced attack on offense, with four players averaging more than 2.2 kills per set. Defensively, Nicole Rockhold is averaging a team-high 3.02 digs per set.
The Jennies lead the all-time series over the Gorillas, 48-5-1, and have won the past six meetings. The last win for the Gorillas in the series came at the inaugural Peggy Martin Challenge, in 2009.
Academic Honors
For the 2011-12 school year, 16 of the 19 Jennies volleyball players were placed on the MIAA Academic Honor Roll, accounting for 84% of the total roster. Five Jennies, including returners
Julia Bates and
Bradye Peniston, were honored as MIAA Scholar-Athletes. The award is given to all student-athletes who are named to their respective All-MIAA Teams while maintaining at least a 3.3 cumulative GPA. Additionally, senior hitter
Hillary McCormick earned the MIAA Academic Excellence Award, given to student-athletes who maintain a 4.0 cumulative GPA.
To top it all off, the Central Missouri volleyball program was awarded the AVCA Team Academic Award for their work in the classroom. The Jennies are one of only 69 programs in Division II to earn the award, making up less than 13% of Division II programs nationwide. It marks the ninth consecutive year the Jens have claimed the honor, which is earned by maintaining a 3.3 cumulative GPA throughout the entire team.
Jennies on the Air
Central Missouri volleyball can be caught online at www.AmericaOne.com. All home matches as well as select road contests, including matches this weekend, will be availiable.
Fans can catch highlights each week on Central Missouri Sportspage, Thursday nights at 7 p.m., and Saturdays at 5 p.m. on KMOS-TV. Shawn Jones will sit down with Coach Piontek throughout the season to discuss the latest match, as various Jennies will be featured throughout the year.
Jennies fans can also tune in to 98.5 “The Bar” and 1450 KOKO each Tuesday morning at 9:30 a.m. for Central Missouri Sports Talk, with Greg Hassler and Bill Turnage. The pair will talk UCM athletics, as well as other hot topics in the sports world. Jennies coaches and players will drop in throughout the season as well.
Records & Milestones
With her 20-point performance in the win over Truman two weeks ago, senior hitter Brayde Peniston moved into fifth place on UCM's all-time points list. Peniston has totaled 1,331 points during her career at UCM, and is currently on pace to potentially move into the top three on the list. If she does, she would join her former teammates
Allie Huffman and
Paula Harris at the top of the points list. In the win over Missouri Southern last week, Peniston became just the fifth Jennie in program history to reach the 1,300-point mark.
Freshman libero
Annie Reilly has shown potential to break into the record books after a strong start to her first season. Reilly has totaled 295 digs on the year, just 317 shy of besting Katie Tarka's 2005 season, where she recorded 612 digs, the tenth-highest total in a single season in Jennies history. Reilly's dig per set average of 4.68 ranks tenth on the single-season list, and will rank third on the career list after she passes the minumum of 750 career digs.
