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BOLIVAR, Mo. - Senior Bradye Peniston led the eighth-ranked Jennies with 15 kills, as Central Missouri defeated Southwest Baptist in the MIAA season opener for both teams. Freshman hitter Carly Sojka recorded her third double-double of the season, earning 11 kills with 13 digs.

The Jennies took command of the match early, grabbing an 11-5 lead in the first set off back-to-back kills from Lisa Moore and Sojka, forcing the Bearcats to burn an early timeout. UCM never let the home team build any momentum, with a 71% (12-17) sideout percentage. The Bearcats rallied for three straight points only once in the first set.

The Bearcats answered early in the second set, jumping out to a 5-1 lead. After a Southwest Baptist service error made it 5-2, the Jennies reeled off four straight points, and six of the next seven, to take a 8-6 edge. Another four-point run coming off a kill from Hillary McCormick and followed by three straight Bearcat attack errors stretched Central Missouri's lead to 13-8. A 7-1 put the set out of reach, as another SBU misstep made it a 20-11 Jennies lead.

After UCM took a 5-2 lead, the Bearcats climbed back into the set, taking four of the next six points to make it 7-6 Jens. Following a kill from Moore, SBU went on a 7-3 run, claiming a 13-11 lead as the Jennies recorded just one kill during that stretch. The Bearcats built a five-point advantage, at 19-14, before Central Missouri responded and turned the momentum back around. Three straight kills, one from junior Taylor Goodness followed by another two from Peniston, cut the score down to 19-17. After a UCM service error made the Bearcats the first team to 20, a kill from Moore and a Mikalee Monachino service ace brought the Jens even closer at 20-19. Both sides traded serves until Sojka's kill set the score at 23-22, and a block from Goodness and Moore tied the set at 23-23. A bad set from UCM gave Southwest Baptist set point at 24-23, before Goodness answered for the Jennies with a kill, tying the set at 24-24. Another Bearcat set point came at 25-24 after scoring a kill, but Moore answered with back-to-back kills to claim match point for the Jennies, which was promptly scored by freshman libero Annie Reilly's service ace.

The victory extends the Jennies' win streak over Southwest Baptist to 56 games. UCM has not dropped a set to the Bearcats since a 3-1 win in 2006.

Senior Lisa Moore set a personal high in MIAA matches with nine kills on the night. She also tied a career-high with four total blocks, matching her previous best from earlier this season, against #10 Metro State.

With the win, the #8 Jennies improve to 7-3 on the year, and 1-0 in the MIAA. The Jens return home tonight, to prepare for a visit from the Lindenwood Lions, who face the Jennies on Saturday afternoon, starting at 3 p.m.