Jennies vs. Nebraska-Kearney
Thursday Dec. 5 | 2:30 p.m.
Opponent Preview
This will be the third time the Jennies face the Lopers this season. The Lopers average 14.3 kills, 13.4 assists, and 18.6 digs per set. They also average 1.4 serving aces, and 1.8 blocks per set. The Lopers were ranked No. 11 in the last AVCA poll, released on Nov. 18, before the  MIAA Championship Tournament. Nebraska-Kearney finished second at the tournament, losing to the Jennies in five sets in the Championship.
MIAA Tournament
The Jennies won the MIAA Tournament for the 23rd time in program history, and the fourth time since Piontek took the position of head coach. The Jennies averaged  16.1 kills, 1.7 serving aces, and 1.8 blocks per set in their three matches in the tournament.Â
In the semifinals the Jennies swept the Central Oklahoma Bronchos, 25-14, 25-23, 25-20. The Jens had 51 kills in three sets, and hit .342, with 10 serving aces. Goodness led the Jennies with 14 kills, and hit .367, with a block solo on the night. Sojka had a .375 hitting percentage, with 11 kills. Bates had 32 assists, five aces, and five kills. Reilly had 14 digs, three kills, and three serving aces. Thompson had seven kills, and hit .357 in the match. Blaise had nine kills, and eight digs in the match. Jones had two kills and a block.Â
The Jennies battled through five sets, 25-27, 29-27, 25-15, 19-25, 15-12, to beat Nebraska-Kearney in the finals of the MIAA Tournament. The Jennies had 71 kills, and hit .255, with 12 blocks and six aces. Sojka had a career-high 26 kills, and her sixth double-double this season with 20 digs. Sojka hit .375 in the match and also had a block. Bates had her fifth double-double this season with 55 assists, and 17 digs. She also had a serving ace and six kills. Goodness had 19 kills and three blocks. Thompson had nine kills and five blocks.
Maddie Jones had five kills and four blocks.
Becca Blaise had six kills and five blocks.
Annie Reilly had 28 digs and four serving aces.
Media Coverage
The matches will be aired on 1450 KOKO AM and warrensburgradio.com with Sean McCarrell and Ian Ross on the call. Live video of the matches will be available on americaonesports.com. The link for live stats for both matches can be found at UCMAthletics.com, under the Volleyball Schedule tab.
Daktronics All-Central Region Teams
Central Missouri led the overall selections with four, while Concordia-St. Paul had three and Minnesota-Duluth had two. Katie Lange of UMD was named the Central Region Player of the Year.
Reilly was a first team All-MIAA selection at libero this season after leading the team in digs at 5.40 per set. She also leads the MIAA in serving aces with 72 and averages 0.63 aces per set. This is the first all-region honor for Reilly.
Bates was the MIAA Player of the Year and a first team all-conference selection after leading the Jennies with 11.06 assists per set. She also averaged 1.95 digs and 1.37 kills per set and hit .340. She ranks fifth all-time at Central Missouri with 5,272 career assists. This is the second Daktronics All-Region honor of her career and the fourth overall. She was a third team Daktronics All-American in 2011.
Goodness earned unanimous first team All-Conference honors this season after leading the MIAA with 4.04 kills per set while hitting .303. She had 28 matches with double figure kills. This is the first all-region honor of her career.
Thompson was a second team All-MIAA selection in her first season on the court. She averaged 2.46 kills and 0.83 blocks per set and was third in the MIAA in hitting percentage at .337. This is the first all-region honor for Thompson.
Opponent Preview
In the first match against the Loper this season the Jennies beat the Lopers in straight sets, 25-21, 25-21, 25-18. The Jennies hit .214 as a team, with 44 kills, six aces, and eight blocks in the match. The Jennies last match was against the Lopers in the MIAA Tournament Championship on Nov. 23, Central Missouri won in five sets, 25-27, 29-27, 25-15, 19-25, 15-12. Central Missouri had 71 kills, twelve blocks, and six aces in the match.Â
Katie Sokolowski and Ashley Leitner lead the Lopers with 15 kills. Ellie Pesavento had 14 kills, hitting .483, with four blocks in the match. Kinslie TeKolste also had double-digit kills in the match, finishing with 11 kills, and two blocks. Erin Seele had 51 assists, six kills, and 24 digs in the match. Liz McGowan had 22 digs.Â
Ellie Pesavento has the highest hitting percentage on the team, at .343. Pesavento averages 1.91 kills per set, and is second on the team in blocks with 63 total this season. Ashley Leitner leads the Lopers in kills, averaging 3.51 kills per set. She has a .248 hitting percentage, and is third on the team in serving aces, with 30 total this season. Erin Seele averages 11.28 per set. She is also second on the team in serving aces, with 31 total this season, and third in digs, with 2.77 digs per set. Molly O'Brien has 37 serving aces, the highest total on the team, and has played in every set for the Lopers this season. Liz McGowan leads the Lopers in digs averaging 4.05 per set, and has played in 111 sets for the Lopers this season.
The Jennies average 14.4 kills, 1.5 aces, and 2.5 blocks per set against the Lopers. Sojka has tallied 40 kills, and averages 5.00 kills per set, leading the Jennies against the Lopers. She also averages 3.50 digs per set against the team. Goodness has 29 kills against Kearney, and averages 3.62 kills per set, with four blocks in two matches. Thompson has 10 blocks and 15 kills against the Lopers. Blaise has nine blocks and 12 kills. Bates has 89 assists, 24 digs, nine kills, and four blocks in the two matches this season. Jones has seven blocks. Reilly has 42 digs and the team high seven aces against the Lopers.Â
