Jennies in the Polls

After a 2-2 weekend at the Colorado Premier Challenge, the Central Missouri Jennies slide to No. 8 in the AVCA Division II Coaches' Top 25 Poll, released Monday. The Jennies are the only program in Division II to earn a spot in the poll every week since it's debut in 1986, a record 332 consecutive weeks.

The Jennies collected 533 of a possible 800 votes in the poll, down from the 668 they recieved a week ago after their 3-1 start to the season. MIAA newcomers Nebraska-Kearney claimed the top spot in the poll, earning 20 of 32 first place votes. Last week's No. 1, Concordia-St. Paul, suffered their first loss of the season and fell to No. 3.

Conference rivals Washburn improved from No. 7 to No. 5 as they remained unbeaten throughout their early season schedule. Truman was the fourth MIAA school featured in the poll, coming just short of the Top 25 and receiving six votes.

In the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll, UCM was ranked second, collecting 131 points and four first-place votes. The Lady Blues took the top spot, earning seven first-place votes, while MIAA newcomers Nebraska-Kearney came in third, also picking up a  pair of first-place votes.

Super Setter

Junior setter Julia Bates has continued to help run the Jennies' high-powered offense, dealing out an average of 9.69 assists per set. Of Bates' 750 sets this season, 349 (46.5%) have gone down for a kill.

Against #21 Colorado Mines, Bates set a new season-high with 56 assists in the five-set victory. Over her last two matches, the junior is averaging a .913 assist percentage. She has also recorded three assist/dig double-doubles on the year, helping out on defense with 13 digs against #2 Tampa, 10 digs against #14 West Texas A&M, and 11 digs against #17 Lewis.

The Leavenworth, Kan. native was named MIAA Volleyball Specialist of the Week after leading the Jennies to three wins in the season-opening tournament at West Florida. That week, Bates averaged 9.44 assists per set, third-most in the MIAA after the first week of play.

Double Trouble

Sophomore Aubri Renshaw has fit in perfectly with the Jennies attack after the first two weeks of the season. The outside hitter in her first season at UCM is averaging 3.03 kills per set with a .182 hitting percentage. Renshaw has helped out on the back line as well, averaging 2.64 digs per set.

The Raymore native posted the season-high kills mark for the Jennies, recording 26 kills aaginst #2 Tampa. She's reached double-digit kills in her last two matches, with 14 kills coming both against #17 Lewis and #21 Colorado Mines

Defensively, Renshaw ranks second on the team in digs, with a total of 95. She's recorded double-digit performances in her last three appearances, resulting in a team-high four double-doubles to start the year.

Freshman Phenoms

Freshman libero Annie Reilly has spent the last two weekends earning valuable experience on the Jennies back line. Reilly, a true freshman from Overland Park, Kan., has appeared in every set this season and is averaging a team-high 4.42 digs per set, ranking eighth in the MIAA, and second among league freshmen.

Reilly has reached double-figures in digs in all eight matches this season, with her lowest total of 13 coming in the three-set victory over West Florida. In the match against #17 Lewis on Saturday, Reilly recorded a career-high 30 digs. It stands as the fourth-highest dig total in the MIAA this season, and the second-highest total in five-set matches.

Mikalee Monachino, a redshirt freshman from Jacksonville, Fla., is averaging 1.97 digs per set after appearing in all eight matches this season. 

Monachino recorded a career-high 15 digs in the five-set win over #17 Lewis last weekend. She has three double-digit dig performances, with 14 coming against #2 Tampa, 10 against #14 West Texas A&M, and the previously mentioned 15 against the Flyers.

Milestone Victory

With the 3-2 victory over #17 Lewis on Saturday, Jennies head coach Flip Piontek has earned his 100th career victory. Piontek, who was the Jennies assistant coach from 1986-2008, has earned 30 or more wins each of his first three seasons at the helm of the program. With the landmark win, Piontek became the fastest coach to 100 victories in Jennies volleyball history.

Opponent Preview

Missouri S&T

After suffering a rough 0-4 start at a weekend tournament in Monmouth, Ore., the Lady Miners recovered to win all four matches at their home-court Middle of Everywhere Classic. The Lady Miners defeated Upper Iowa, Northern Michigan, Southwestern Oklahoma State and Northwest Missouri to climb back up to the .500 mark. Missouri S&T will face off against the Jennies in their final match before beginning play in the GLVC.

The Lady Miners boast a well-blanaced attack, with five players averaging two or more kills per set. Leading that group is senior Julie Meyer with 2.62 kills per set, and junior Haley Wright, averaging 2.60 kills per set. Defensively, freshman Krista Haslag has been a dominant force at the net, averaging 1.47 blocks per set. On the back line, senior libero Jennifer Kegler is averaging a team-high 3.93 digs per set.

A relatively new program, Missouri S&T volleyball began in 2007. The Jennies have met up with the Lady Miners in each season since, winning all five matchups.

Senior Leadership

Seniors Lisa Moore and Hillary McCormick have seen increased playing time so far this season, and have risen to the challenge. Moore, who had appeared in just 44 sets during her first three seasons with the Jennies, has started six matches and played in 30 of 36 sets this year. The right side hitter is averaging 1.80 kills per set with a .201 hitting percentage.  Moore also has 17 blocks so far this season. The Lee's Summit native posted her first two double-figure kill performances with 11 scores against #10 Indianapolis, and a career-high 13 kills in the win over Lock Haven. Against #10 Metro State last week, Moore set a career high with four total blocks.

McCormick has also made an impact on the offense, averaging 1.69 kills per set. Her .268 hitting percentage is third-highest on the team. McCormick set a career-high with 12 kills in the loss to Tampa, then matched it last week with 12 more against Metro State. The Overland Park, Kan. native reached the 10-kill mark for the first time as a Jennie when she recorded 11 against Indianapolis. The transfer from Division I Arkansas is leading the team in blocks per set, at 0.94.

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.