The Jennies finish the regular season with a No. 8 rank in the AVCA Division II Coaches poll, after finishing the year with a loss on the road to No. 2 Nebraska-Kearney, and a regular season finale win at Fort Hays State. The rank matches UCM's lowest of the season, as they were ranked eighth through a three-week stretch during the month of September.

Five-time defending national champion Concordia-St. Paul took over the top spot in the poll, receiving 28 of a possible 32 first place votes. The previous No. 1, Southwest Minnesota State, slipped into a tie for second with Nebraska-Kearney; both the Mustangs and Lopers received one first place vote. Behind Washburn at No. 4, BYU-Hawaii made it's debut into the top five of the poll, tying Minnesota-Duluth for the fifth spot.

The NCAA Central Region holds the top four spots in the poll, as well as ten teams in the top 25 overall. Outside of the top four, the Central Region is represented by No. 8 Central Missouri, No. 13 Truman, No. 16 Wayne State, and No. 23 Arkansas-Fort Smith, and No. 24 Minnesota State. As an 11th team from the Central, Great American Conference member Harding recieved four votes but did not make the top 25. With ten regional teams in the AVCA top 25, the Central region had two teams finish the regular season nationally ranked that will miss out entirely on the NCAA Tournament, in Arkansas-Fort Smith and Minnesota State.

National Rankings

As a team, the Jennies boast one of the most efficient offensive attacks in Division II. Nationally, Central Missouri ranks 16th in kills per set, with a 13.97 average. Led by junior All-American Julia Bates, the team averages 12.75 assists per set, ranking 22nd in the nation. Their .228 hitting percentage ranks 43rd in Division II, while they boast an .813 winning percentage, good for the 29th-best record in the country.

Individually, senior hitter Bradye Peniston is in the top 100 in the nation in a number of statistical categories. The Valley Center, Kan. native has the 82nd-best hitting percentage this year, at .315. She also ranks 90th in points per set, with a 3.85 average, and 120th in kills per set, at 3.20. Finally, her blocks per set average of 0.93 ranks 113th in Division II.

Junior Julia Bates is again among the nation's best setters, averaging 10.58 assists per set, good for 27th on the national leaderboard. As a freshman, Annie Reilly has made an immeiate impact, ranking 44th in the country in digs per set, with a 4.98 average. Among first-year players, Reilly ranks 2nd in the nation in digs per set.

All-MIAA Team

Central Missouri saw five players earn All-MIAA honors after a successful 2012 season. Senior hitter Bradye Peniston was named to the All-MIAA First Team, while junior Julia Bates picked up Second Team honors, and junior Taylor Goodness along with freshmen Annie Reilly and Carly Sojka earned a spot on the All-MIAA Third Team.

Peniston has led the team with 3.20 kills per set and a .315 hitting percentage. She becomes the 43rd player in Jennies volleyball history to be named to the All-MIAA First Team. 

The Jennies have now collected 25 All-MIAA awards in the four years since Flip Piontek took over the head coaching role in 2009.

Players of the Week

The Jennies tallied seven MIAA Player of the Week awards this season between three different players, including two sweeps of the Hitter and Specialist of the Week awards. Junior setter Julia Bates has earned three MIAA Specialist of the Week honors this season, and seven in her career. Senior hitter Bradye Peniston has been honored as the MIAA Hitter of the Week twice this year, and three times in her career, including the award she won in as a sophomore in 2010. Annie Reilly won her first career MIAA Specialist of the Week award last month, leading the UCM defense to wins over Missouri Western and Truman, then earned her second against the same opponents plus Northwest Missouri earlier this month.

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 10.9 digs per set, 90 of the team's 160 service aces, and 3.07 kills per set.

Sojka is one of two Jennies averaging over three kills per set, with a 3.05 average and a .207 hitting percentage. She also has collected 3.47 digs per set, the second-highest average on the team. Along with Central Oklahoma's Morgan Roy, Sojka is one of two players in the MIAA to have over three kills and three digs per set on the season. During the MIAA Tournament, Sojka averaged an even four kills per set, with a high of 18 kills in the first round win over Northwest Missouri. She also extended her streak of double-digit dig performances to ten straight matches.

Reilly is the team leader in digs, with 4.98 per set, and is second in the nation among freshman in Division II. She ranks 44th nationally, and fifth in the MIAA. Reilly has reached double-figures in digs in 30 of the team' 32 matches so far this year, and has put together 21 straight matches with ten or more digs. Earlier this season, she nearly put ner name in the record books, dealing out six service aces against Missouri Southern. Reilly set a career high and came up just two aces shy of the school record of eight, set by Corrie Paul and Mona Davis, in 1991 and 1993, respectively. She averaged 5.83 digs per set in the three matches during the MIAA Tournament.

Not to be outdone, defensive specialist Mikalee Monachino posted her own six-ace performance two matches later, against Lindenwood. Monachino leads the team in aces with 42, and ranks fifth in the MIAA. She finished the regular season with at least one ace in eight of her last ten matches, and has recorded an ace in 22 of the team's 32 matches so far this season. The Jacksonville, Fla. native has strengthened the back line play this year, averaging 2.45 digs per set. Monachino has reached double-digits in digs 12 times this year, and set a career-high with 18 digs in the win over Lindenwood.

Opponent Preview

#5 Minnesota-Duluth

The Bulldogs finished the regular season with a 28-4 overall record, and placed second in the NSIC standings with an 18-2 mark in conference play. After a win over Winona State in the conference quarterfinals, Minnesota-Duluth fell to #2 Southwest Minnesota State in the NSIC semis.

Minnesota-Duluth boasts one of the highest rated offenses in Division II; the Bulldogs rank fifth in the nation in kills per set, with a 14.64 average, and seventh nationally in hitting percentage, at .270.

Northern Sun player of the year Kate Lange leads the team with 5.60 points per set, and 4.93 kills per set. Both averages rank second in Division II. Setter Ashley Hinsch ranks seventh in the nation with an assist per set average of 11.71.

The Jennies hold an 11-3 advantage in the all-time series over the Bulldogs, but dropped their only previous postseason matchup. Minnesota-Duluth defeated the Jens 15-6, 15-12, in pool play of the AIAW regional tournament in 1980.

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.

Records & Milestones

Senior hitter Bradye Peniston moved into third place on UCM's all-time points list, with her 9.5-point performance in the regular season finale at Fort Hays State. Peniston has totaled 1,546 points during her career at UCM, and joins her former teammates Allie Huffman and Paula Harris at the top of the list. In the win over the Tigers, Peniston became just the fourth Jennie in program history to reach the 1,500-point mark. Peniston also currently ranks eighth on the Jennies all-time points per set list, with a 3.14 career average.

Freshman libero Annie Reilly has shown potential to break into the record books after a strong start to her first season. Reilly has totaled 602 digs on the year, just 10 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 4.98 ranks tenth on the single-season list, and will rank second on the career list after she passes the minumum of 750 career digs.

Junior All-American Julia Bates moved up UCM's all-time assists leaderboard in the match with #4 Washburn in the MIAA Tournament semifinals. Bates has tallied 3,958 assists in her three seasons with the Jennies, surpassing Rachel Gatewood (1992-95) for eighth on the list. The Leavenworth, Kan. native also ranks second on the Jennies assists per set list, with an 11.11 career average.

Jennies on the Air

The NCAA Central Region tournament will be webcast in its entirety, courtesy of host Concordia-St. Paul. The broadcast will be available before each match at CUGoldenBears.com. 

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.

Regular Season Awards

UCM was awarded with five All-MIAA honors, including senior hitter Bradye Peniston's inclusion on the All-MIAA First Team, as well as setter Julia Bates' All-MIAA Second Team honors, and Third Team selections for junior Taylor Goodness, and freshmen Annie Reilly and Carly Sojka. Peniston earned her first All-MIAA first team honor, after being named to the second team in 2010 and 2011, and the third team as a freshman in 2009. The Valley Center, Kan. native becomes the 43rd player in Jennies history to earn an All-MIAA first team award. Peniston was also named an AVCA All-Central Region Honorable Mention selection, her third career All-Region award.