Central Missouri held on to their No. 6 rank from last week, after going 3-0 with wins over Northwest Missouri, Missouri Western, and #15 Truman. The Jens are the MIAA's third-highest ranked team, with #3 Washburn and #4 Nebraska-Kearney each holding steady from their rank a week ago. The top nine spots in the poll remain unchanged with only #15 Indianapolis falling out of the top ten.

Southwest Minnesota State collected 29 of a possible 32 first place votes, as they hold the top spot. Five-time defending national champions Concordia-St. Paul come in second with two first place votes. MIAA foes Washburn and Nebraska-Kearney are raned Nos. 3 and 4, with Minnesota-Duluth rounding out the top five. Below UCM is Tampa at No. 7, BYU-Hawaii at No. 8, with Angelo State and West Texas A&M rounding out the top ten.

The NCAA Central Region holds the top six spots in this week's poll, as well as ten teams in the top 25 overall. Outside of the top six, the Central Region is represented by No. 13 Truman, No. 16 Wayne State, No. 22 Minnesota State, and No. 24 Arkansas-Fort Smith, who debuts in the poll this week for the first time in school history. With ten regional teams in the AVCA top 25, there remains a distinct possibility that one or more teams that finish the regular season nationally ranked will miss out entirely on the NCAA Tournament.

The Jennies also debuted at No. 2 in the season's first set of NCAA Regional Rankings, released last Wednesday. The Jens are ranked just behind defending champs Concordia-St. Paul, and are the first of four MIAA teams in the poll. The Regional Rankings are used to determine the field for the NCAA Tournament.

National Rankings

As a team, the Jennies boast one of the most efficient offensive attacks in Division II. Nationally, Central Missouri ranks 15th in kills per set, with a 14.09 average. Led by junior All-American Julia Bates, the team averages 12.86 assists per set, ranking 18th in the nation. Their .236 hitting percentage ranks 39th in Division II, while they boast an .852 winning percentage, good for the 16th-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 Wichita, Kan. native has the 36th-best hitting percentage this year, at .346. She also ranks 63rd in points per set, with a 4.00 average, and 94th in kills per set, at 3.34. Finally, her blocks per set average of 0.93 ranks 104th in Division II.

Junior Julia Bates is again among the nation's best setters, averaging 10.63 assists per set, good for 27th on the national leaderboard. As a freshman, Annie Reilly has made an immeiate impact, ranking 42nd in the country in digs per set, with a 4.93 average. Among first-year players, Reilly leads the nation in digs per set.

Defensive specialist Mikalee Monachino made her first appearance on the NCAA leaderboards this week, as she increased her service ace average to 0.39 per set. Monachino ranks 120th in Division II, and is 28th in the nation among freshmen.

Players of the Week

Freshman libero Annie Reilly was named the MIAA's Specialist of the Week for the second time this year, after her performance in the three wins over Northwest Missouri, Missouri Western, and #15 Truman. Reilly averaged 5.18 digs per set over the week, with a high of 30 digs coming in the Senior Night win over the Griffons, just one shy of her career-high mark of 31. 

The Jennies have tallied seven MIAA Player of the Week awards so far 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. Reilly won her first career MIAA Specialist of the Week award last month, 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 10.57 digs per set, 83 of the team's 146 service aces, and 2.91 kills per set.

Sojka is one of three Jennies averaging over two kills per set, with a 2.89 average and a .211 hitting percentage. She also has collected 3.29 digs per set, the second-highest average on the team. Sojka is the only Jennie to have over two kills and two digs per set on the season. Last week, Sojka set a career high with 20 kills against #15 Truman. The Blue Springs native also picked up her eighth and ninth double-doubles of the year, against Missouri Western and Truman. Sojka has hit for ten or more kills in eight of her last nine matches, and has double-digit digs in her last five matches, matching her career high of 19 digs for the fourth time this year, against Missouri Western.

Reilly is the team leader in digs, with 4.93 per set, and the national leader among freshman in Division II. She ranks 42nd nationally, and fourth in the MIAA. Reilly has reached double-figures in digs in 25 of the team' 27 matches so far this year, and has put together 16 straight matches with ten or more digs. Against Missouri Western, Reilly recorded 30 digs, reaching the 30+ mark for the third time this season. She nearly put ner name in the record books against Missouri Southern two weeks ago, dealing out six service aces, setting a career high and coming up just two aces shy of the school record of eight, set by Corrie Paul and Mona Davis, in 1991 and 1993, respectively.

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 40, and ranks second in the MIAA. She has at least one ace in the last seven matches, and has recorded an ace in 20 of the team's 27 matches so far this season. The Jacksonville, Fla. native has strengthened the back line play this year, averaging 2.35 digs per set. Monachino has reached double-digits in digs eight times this year, and set a career-high with 18 digs in the win over Lindenwood.

Opponent Preview

Nebraska-Kearney

The Lopers join the MIAA as immediate contenders for the MIAA regular season crown, boasting a 14-1 conference record, and a 28-2 mark overall. UNK will take a 10-match win streak into the matchup with the Jennies, with their last loss coming on Oct. 12, when the Truman Bulldogs upset the then-No. 1 ranked Lopers on their home court. 

Nebraska-Kearney is among the nation's leaders in a number of categories; the Lopers rank fourth in Division II with 20.72 digs per set, eighth in kills per set, with 14.51, and tenth in hitting percentage, at .265. Individually, sophomore hitter Katie Sokolowski is hitting .397 on the year, good for 11th in the nation. Junior setter Jenna Rouzee ranks 18th in the nation, averaging 10.93 assists per set. Ariel Krolikowski leads the team with 3.53 kills per set, good for third in the MIAA.

Friday's match will mark the first between the Lopers and Jennies as conference foes, and the first home match for the Lopers in the series history; overall, Central Missouri holds a 5-3 advantage in the series. The two sides last met in the 2010 season opener, a straight-set Loper win at the Tampa Invitational in Tampa, Fla.

Fort Hays State

Having clinched a spot in the upcoming MIAA Tournament, the Fort Hays State Tigers will look to pull off the upset on their Senior Day match. The Tigers will head to Emporia State before hosting the Jennies, and will look to rebound from their four-set loss at #3 Washburn last week. Fort Hays are 3-3 in their last six matches, with two losses coming against teams ranked in the top four of this week's AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll.

Junior hitter Jenna Ulrich leads the Tigers offense, averaging 2.71 kills per set and ranking 12th in the MIAA. On defense, Ulrich is one of the nation's top blockers, with 1.31 blocks per set; she leads the MIAA and ranks 17th in Division II in blocks. Ulrich also boasts a .328 hitting percentage, ranking seventh in the MIAA. Senior Kayla Zoglman is averaging 9.92 assists per set, good for the fourth highest average in the league. Sophomore Makenzie Weinman is averaging a team-high 4.5 digs per set on the back line.

Central Missouri has a commanding lead in the relatively young series with Fort Hays State. UCM holds a 16-1 record against the Tigers, winning the last 10 meetings. The Jens last trip to Hays resulted in a five-set win, as the Tigers put up their best fight against UCM since joining the MIAA in 2006.

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 fourth place on UCM's all-time points list, with her 11-point performance against #4 Washburn earlier this season. Peniston has totaled 1,488 points during her career at UCM, and is currently on pace to move into the top three in points all-time. If she does, she would join her former teammates Allie Huffman and Paula Harris at the top of the list. In the win over Emporia State, Peniston became just the fourth Jennie in program history to reach the 1,400-point mark. The Wichita, Kan. native is only 17 points behind Becky Haug (2002-05) for third place on the list. Peniston also currently ranks eighth on the Jennies all-time points per set list, with a 3.14 career average, and tenth on the Jennies' all-time hitting percentage list, with a .333 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 503 digs on the year, just 109 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 4.93 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 with her final assist of the night at Lindenwood. Bates has tallied 3,762 assists in her three seasons with the Jennies, surpassing Kelly Lincoln (1990-93) for ninth on the list. The Leavenworth, Kan. native also ranks second on the Jennies assists per set list, with an 11.10 career average.