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(PENSACOLA, Fla.) – The #5 Central Missouri Jennies passed their first early-season test Friday, earning a pair of victories over #10 Indianapolis and host West Florida at the Hemmingway's Island Grill Invitational.

The Jens opened up the regular season with a tough five-set victory over the tenth-ranked Greyhounds, 16-25, 25-16, 25-14, 24-26, 15-7. Central Missouri took a while to get into a rhythm, dropping five of the first six points of the opening set, and ultimately trailing at one point 15-7 in the first before dropping the set. The Greyhounds led the second set 7-3 before UCM responded with an 11-3 run, marked by kills from five different Jennies. Up by two, at 18-16, the Jennies reeled off seven straight points for the set win.

The third set went much smoother for Central, who never trailed and recorded a .419 hitting percentage. The fourth set was back and forth throughout, as Indianapolis took a slim 23-22 lead late. Senior Bradye Peniston (Valley Center, Kan./Valley Center HS) and sophomore Taylor Goodness (Salina, Kan./Salina HS) answered with back-to-back kills to take a 24-23 edge. The Greyhounds got the sideout on the next point, then took the set 26-24 with a kill and a UCM attack error.

With their backs to the wall again, the Jennies responded, jumping out to an insurmountable 9-3 lead in the first-to-15 set. The Jens took five of the last six points to earn a 15-7 win.

The match with West Florida didn't go the distance, but the Jennies had to earn every set, taking the match with scores of 25-19, 25-23, 25-23. Ahead 22-14 in the first, the Argonauts took advantage of a pair of errors to put together a 4-point run, closing the gap to 22-18. Goodness and Hillary McCormick (Overland Park, Kan./Arkansas) teamed up for a pair of kills, as the Jens took the set.

In the second, West Florida trailed UCM 14-9 before a 12-3 run gave them the lead, at 21-18. The Jens answered with a run of their own, taking seven of the last nine to earn the second set. The Jennies jumped ahead early in the third, with Aubri Renshaw's (Raymore, Mo./Metropolitan CC-Longview) ace going down to make it 10-5. The Argos chipped away throughout the rest of the set, never trailing by more than four points, but could never get over the top, as the Jens took the set 25-23.

Renshaw earned the first double-double of the young season, recording 10 kills and 13 digs against West Florida. Against Indianapolis, the Raymore, Mo. native picked up 13 kills and 8 digs. Peniston had a team-high 24 kills between both matches, with 16 against U-Indy and 8 against West Florida. Goodness (21 combined kills), Lisa Moore (Lee's Summit, Mo./Lee's Summit HS) (16), and McCormick (13) also had solid offensive nights. Junior setter Julia Bates (Leavenworth, Kan./Lansing HS) picked up 48 assists in the opening match, followed by 23 against the Argos. Freshman libero Annie Reilly (Overland Park, Kan./St. James Academy) had a strong showing in her collegiate debut, recording 21 digs against the Greyhounds, followed by 13 in the nightcap. Also against Indianapolis, Reilly returned all 23 serves directed her way. Jamie Haworth (Rogers, Ark./Bentonville HS) recorded double-digit digs in both matches, with 11 and 13 respectively in each match.

With the victories, the Jennies start the year at 2-0, and have recorded their first win over a ranked opponent in 2012. The squad will go for their second such win tomorrow, as they finish up the tournament with matches against #2 Tampa (1-1) and Lock Haven (0-2). The day begins at 11:30 a.m. against Tampa, with a 4:30 p.m. start scheduled against Lock Haven.