The Jennies took on Northwest Missouri State and No. 12 Washburn last week. Through seven sets the Jennies had 110 kills, 15.71 per set, and a .274 hitting percentage. Central Missouri had 102 assist, 14.57 per set, and 102 digs, 14.57 per set, in the two matches.
The Jennies beat Northwest Missouri State in four sets, 25-16, 26-24, 22-25, 26-24. Central Missouri had 53 assists, 53 digs, and 58 kills, with a .223 hitting percentage in the match. The Jennies also had eight serving aces and six blocks. In the first set of the match the Jennies had 13 kills in the first set, giving them a .323 hitting percentage, two serving aces, and a block.
Saturday the Jennies beat No. 12 Washburn in three sets, 25-20, 25-21, 25-16. The Jens had seven blocks and 52 kills, hitting .345 through the match. Set one was the only set that the Ichabods had the lead over the Jennies, in the entire match. In set three the Jens had 17 kills, hitting .469, and four blocks.
Central Missouri volleyball continues to climb up the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, landing the No. 3 spot this week. The Jennies are 22-0, 8-0 MIAA, after beating Northwest Missouri State and No. 12 Washburn last week.
Central Missouri moves ahead of Minnesota-Duluth, with two first place votes and 1108 points, after taking the No. 4 spot three weeks in a row. Only two other MIAA squads were ranked in the poll, Nebraska-Kearney down one spot to No. 9, and Washburn up one spot to No. 11 this week. No other MIAA team is ranked.
Concordia-St. Paul again took the top spot, with 46 first place votes and 1197 points. Tampa is the only other team to rank above Central Missouri at No. 2.
MIAA & NCAA Rankings
The Jennies are ranked in the top fifty teams in four NCAA categories, making the top five in two categories. Central Missouri also takes the top spot in four of seven MIAA categories. The team is ranked tenth in the MIAA in blocks, totaling 143 blocks with 1.93 per set, and eleventh in digs, with 1135 total and 15.34 per set.
The Jennies lead the MIAA in serving aces, 136 total 1.84 per set, and are also 40th in the NCAA. The Jens are up one spot this week to first in the MIAA in assists, they've totaled 1001 assists this season and average 13.53 per set. That average also places them sixth of all the NCAA teams. The Jennies have the highest hitting percentage in the MIAA, at .307, and are second in the NCAA. The final category that the Jennies lead the MIAA in is kills. Central Missouri has 1120 total kills and 15.17 on average, again putting the team at second in the NCAA.
Concordia-St. Paul is the only team in the NCAA to rank above Central Missouri in kills and hitting percentage. The team has 1051 kills this season, averaging 15.69 per set, with a .336 hitting percentage.
Central Missouri Jennies
Julia Bates, senior setter, had 83 assists, 11 kills, and hit .474 through seven sets last week. In the three set match against Washburn, Bates had 40 assists, and nine attacks with seven kills. Bates has started every match this season, and played in every set. She has 834 assists this season, and is currently fifth in the Jennies All Time Assists Leaders, after starting the season in eighth. Bates averages 11.27 assists per set, the highest average in the MIAA, and 12th in the NCAA. She is also second in the MIAA and 58th in the NCAA in aces, with 33 so far this season. Bates has been named MIAA Specialist of the Week twice this season, for the weeks of Sept. 9 and Oct. 7.
Another senior on the squad, Taylor Goodness, is ranking in on a national level. The outside hitter has 282 kills this season, the second highest total in the MIAA and 24th in the NCAA. She is ninth in the MIAA in hitting percentage at .324. Goodness was named MIAA Hitter of the Week for the week of Sept. 9. Last week Goodness had 29 kills, and averaged 4.14 kills per set. She had 14 kills and her first service ace of the season against Northwest Missouri last Tuesday.
Libero,
Annie Reilly, had 26 digs and four serving aces against Northwest Missouri, and 21 digs and a service ace against Washburn. Reilly has 385 digs this season, ranking her third in the MIAA, and 31st in the NCAA. She is also first in the MIAA and 9th in the NCAA in serving aces, totaling 47 this season. Reilly was named MIAA Specialist of the Week for the week of Sept. 30.
Carly Sojka, sophomore outside hitter, was named MIAA Hitter of the Week for the week of Oct. 7. That was the first time Sojka was names MIAA Player of the Week in her collegiate career. Sojka is second on the Jennies in kills, with 212 total, and tenth in the MIAA. She is also third on the squad in serving aces, 16 total, and digs, 2.16 per set.
Sojka has recorded three double-doubles this season, the most on the team. Sojka had eight kills and two blocks against Northwest Missouri, and 12 and two blocks against Washburn.
Redshirt freshman and middle hitter,
Haley Thompson, has the highest hitting percentage in the MIAA and 14th highest in the NCAA, at .370. Thompson has 186 kills this season, the third highest total on the team. She has 65 blocks, and averages 0.88 blocks per set. Thompson had nine kills and four blocks against Northwest Missouri, and seven kills and two blocks against Washburn.
Becca Blaise, had 15 kills, the team high, and hit .400 through four sets against Northwest Missouri. She also had two blocks in the match. Blaise has 156 kills this season, and averages 2.10 per set. She is also second on the team in digs and third in aces, with 160 digs and 25 aces.
Freshman middle hitter,
Maddie Jones, had eight kills and a block against Northwest Missouri. Jones has the third highest hitting percentage in the MIAA, and is 50th in the NCAA, at .337. She is second on the team in blocks, with 48 blocks this season, 0.71 per set.
Mackenzie Harding started her second match of the season against No. 12 Washburn. She had five blocks, and five kills in the match, and a .500 hitting percentage. Harding has 13 kills, a .500 hitting percentage, and eight blocks in eight sets this season.
Lauren Dudgeon has played in twelve sets this season, totaling 15 kills and six blocks. She started her first match of the season against No. 12 Washburn, and had six kills, hitting .545 through the match. She also had three blocks.
Mikalee Monachino had three serving aces in the match against Northwest Missouri. Monachino has 16 service aces this season, and has made an apperance in every set the Jennies have played this season.
Opponent Preview
Emporia State (13-7, 4-4 MIAA) has won their last five games this season. The Hornets are 4-2 on their home court. The team is ranked in four MIAA and three NCAA statistical categories. The Hornets are fifth in the MIAA and 46th in the NCAA in assists, with 12.4 assists per set average. They have the fifth highest hitting percentage in the MIAA at .211, but are not ranked in the top 50 NCAA teams. Emporia State is fourth in the MIAA and 29th in the NCAA in kills, with 1030 total kills, averaging 13.55 kills per set. Blocking is the only category that Emporia State ranks in ahead of the Jennies, the team is second in MIAA and 38th in the NCAA in blocks, totaling 171 and averaging 2.25 blocks per set. The Hornets also average 15.8 digs per set and 1.3 serving aces per set.
Junior middle hitter, Courtney Haring, has played in 74 of 76 sets for the Hornets this season. Haring is ranked fourth in the MIAA in blocks per set, averaging 1.08 blocks per set, and has 80 total blocks this season. She also has the highest hitting percentage on the squad, at .320, and has had 162 kills this season. Carly Spicer, junior outside hitter, has played in every set for Emporia this season. She has the highest kill per set average, 2.58, and total kills, 196, on the team. She also has 44 blocks this season, the third highest total on the team. Paige Vanderpool has also seen significant playing time for Emporia. Vanderpool is second on the Hornets in kills, 196 total this season, and in digs, averaging 3.40 per set. Vanderpool is tied for second in total serving aces, with 16, and averages .24 per set, the third highest average on the team.
Kelly Holden is has started every set for the Hornets as the libero the season. Holden averages 4.54 digs per set, ranking fifth in the MIAA. She also has the most serving aces on the Hornets squad, with 17 serving aces total. Katie Deutschmann has also played in every set for the Hornets, and has 46 blocks this season, averaging 2.18 assists per set. Sydney Hartman has started in 69 sets for the Hornets, and averages 5.29 assists per set. Macki Pankratz averages 5.53 assists per set, and has played in 59 sets this season. Pankratz is also second in serving aces, with 16 total and 0.27 aces per set, and third in digs with 1.81 digs per set.
