Jennies vs. Truman
Wednesday, September 25 | 7:00 p.m.
Pershing Arena | Kirksville, Mo.
Live Stats
Jennies vs. Missouri Western
Friday, September 27 | 7:00 p.m.
UCM Multipurpose Building | Warrensburg, Mo.
This Week
This week the Jennies will take on the Truman Bulldogs on the road, before returning to Warrensburg for their fourth conference match of the season against Missouri Western. The Jennies are 3-0 in conference play, and are currently ranked first in the MIAA.
Last Week
The Jennies improved to 12-0, 3-0 in the MIAA, with a 3-0 win over Southwest Baptist Friday night, and a 3-1 win over Lindenwood Saturday afternoon. The Jennies won all three sets against Southwest Baptist, totaling 51 kills and 50 assists 61 digs through the match. The Jennies held Southwest Baptist to only 16 points in two of the three sets.
Saturday Central Missouri traveled to St. Charles, Mo. for their first MIAA road match of the season. Lindenwood won only one set in the match, which is only the second set the Jennies have lost all season. Central Missouri tallied 63 kills, 53 assists, 55 digs, and 5 serving aces in the four set match.
Jennies in the Polls
The Jennies continued to climb in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association poll released Sept. 23. The Jens moved up one spot to No. 5 after going 3-0 last week to improve to 12-0 on the season.
The Jennies tallied 993 points to jump fellow MIAA member Nebraska-Kearney, who dropped one spot to No. 6. Minnesota-Duluth continues to hold down the top spot in the rankings followed by Concordia-St. Paul, Tampa and BYU-Hawai'i. The only other MIAA school in the rankings is Washburn, who fell two spots to No. 13.
The Jennies are the only team in Division II to appear in the AVCA Coaches Poll every week since the poll began in 1986, making the top 25 for 344 consecutive weeks.
NCAA Rankings
The Central Missouri Jennies are not only leading the MIAA in several statistical categories, they are also ranked in several NCAA categories as a team. The Jennies are currently second in the NCAA in kills per set, with an average of 15.26, and have the third highest hitting percentage at .325. Central Missouri also makes the top ten NCAA teams in assists per set, with an average of 13.55. The Jennies narrowly miss the top ten in aces per set at 16th in the NCAA, they have totaled 88 aces on the season with an average 2.32 aces per set.
Returning Starters
Seniors,
Julia Bates and
Taylor Goodness continue to lead the squad, both ranking on a conference and national level. In only twelve matches this season Bates has already moved from No. 10 to No. 6 in the Jennies All-Time Assists Leaders, she's currently 88 assists out of fifth. Bates averages 11.16 assists per set, which is the second highest average in the MIAA and 16th in the NCAA. Bates is second in the MIAA in serving aces per set, and 28th in the NCAA with .63 aces per set. She also has the fourth highest hitting percentage in the MIAA, at .385. Bates posted 42 assists in both the three set match against Southwest Baptist and the four set match against Lindenwood last weekend. Bates also finished the weekend with 15 kills total in two matches.
Goodness is third in the MIAA in kills, with 151 kills and 4.19 per set. That average ranks her in at 34th in the NCAA. Goodness also makes the top ten in highest hitting percentage for the MIAA at .332. Last weekend Goodness had double-digit kills in both matches against Southwest Baptist and Lindenwood. In the match against Lindenwood Goodness also had two blocks solo and three block assists, the second highest total on the team.
Sophomore libero,
Annie Reilly, leads the MIAA in serving aces, with 38 total aces and .68 serving aces per set. That average also ranks her in at 19th in the NCAA. Reilly is also third in the MIAA in digs per set, with an average of 4.95. Reilly had six serving aces against Missouri Southern, and two against Lindenwood last week.
Carly Sojka, sophomore outside hitter, has proven to be a solid player for the Jennies. Sojka has played in all 38 sets this season, and is third on the team in kills with 96 total, 2.53 kills her set. She is also third on the team in digs and serving aces, 2.47 digs per set and 11 total serving aces. In the match against Lindenwood, Sojka had 15 kills, the second highest number on the team, and ten digs. Sojka is the only member of the Jennies squad to post two double-doubles this season.
Fresh Faces
Red shirt freshman and middle hitter,
Haley Thompson reached double-digit kills twice last week, her second and third time this season, with ten kills against Missouri Southern and Southwest Baptist. She also had four blocks in the match against Missouri Southern, and three in the match against Lindenwood. Thompson currently has the second highest hitting percentage in the MIAA and 19th in the NCAA, .402. Thompson is also third in the MIAA in blocks per set with 9 blocks solo, 32 block assists and 1.08 blocks per set average.
Maddie Jones, a true freshman and middle hitter, currently has the sixth highest hitting percentage in the MIAA, at .339. Jones has 77 kills this season and an average 2.03 kills per set. In the match against Lindenwood she posted a team high six blocks, with one solo and five assists.
Becca Blaise, right side hitter and true freshman, rounds out the Jennies starting line-up. Blaise has the second highest dig per set average on the team, 2.97, fourth in kills per set, 2.39, and is tied for fourth in blocks per set at .42. Blaise had nine points in both matches this weekend against Southwest Baptist and Lindenwood.
Opponent Preview
The Jennies will start off their week with a non-conference match against Truman in Kirksville Missouri, before traveling home to face Missouri Western. Although Truman currently leads the series in Kirksville, Central Missouri has not lost to the Bulldogs since 2008, and lead the overall series 58-31. The Bulldogs started the 2013 season at the Riverfront Hotel Grand Rapids Classic, where they went 3-1, No. 6 Southwest Minnesota State dealing Truman their first loss in the first match of the season. The following week Truman traveled to the Colorado Premier Challenge, finishing the tournament with a 5-3 record after losses to No. 3 Nebraska-Kearney and No. 4 Concordia-St. Paul. Last weekend the Bulldogs played a pair of conference road matches, resulting in one win against Wisconsin-Parkside and one loss against Lewis University, taking their record to 6-4, 1-1 in the GLVC.
Junior outside hitter Allie Brak leads the Bulldogs in kills with 137 total kills and an average 3.51 kills per set. Brak also leads Truman in serving aces, she has 12 this season and an average of .31 serving aces per set. Emilee Walters, sophomore middle hitter, leads the team in blocks with 37 block assists and four blocks solo, an average 1.05 per set. Walters also has 81 kills this season, and is tied for third highest average on the team with 2.08 kills per set. Junior setter Meghan Zimmerman has an average 10.51 assists per set, and the third highest average in digs per set at 2.13. Zimmerman has also tallied 22 block assists and one block solo this season.
The Jennies have won all but four matches against Missouri Western in series history, the most recent loss was in 2005. The Griffons started their season by splitting the Pittsburg State University Tournament, with wins against Quincy Univeristy and Pittsburg State, before going win less in the NSIC Challenge the following week. The Griffons played a pair of conference matches last weekend, with a win against Northwest Missouri, and a loss to Emporia. Missouri Western is currently 4-7, 2-1 in the MIAA.
Erica Rottinghaus is a junior outside hitter in her first season with the Griffons. Rottinghaus currently leads the squad in kills, 140 total 3.26 kills per set, serving aces, 21 total .49 serving aces per set, and is second on the team in digs, with an average 3.21 digs per set. Amanda Boender leads the Griffons in blocks, with 36 block assists and 8 solo blocks, averaging 1.02 blocks per set. Sophomore setter Jordan Chohon leads the Griffons in total assists with 246 assists in 41 sets, and an average 6.00 assists per set. Junior libero Sarah Faubel rounds out the squad with 185 total digs and 4.30 digs per set.
