Game Notes

No. 17 Jennies vs. Fort Hays State Tigers
Friday, Oct. 3 | 7 p.m.
UCM Multipurpose Building|Warrensburg, Mo.
Live Stats | Video 

No. 17 Jennies vs. No. 5 Nebraska-Kearney Lopers
Saturday, Oct. 5 | 3 p.m.
UCM Multipurpose Building|Warrensburg, Mo.
Live Stats | Video

Opponent Preview
Central Missouri will face Fort Hays State and No. 5 Nebraska-Kearney at home this weekend. Fort Hays State (7-7, 2-4 MIAA) was 1-2 last week, their only win of the week was over Southwest Baptist in four sets, their only other win MIAA win was over Missouri Southern. The Tiger are fifth in the MIAA in kills (13.39) and assists (12.67). The team is also third in digs (17.56). Central Missouri has won their last 12 matches against the Tigers.

Nebraska-Kearney (13-1, 5-1 MIAA) will be the Jennies sixth ranked opponent this season, with a 3-2 record against ranked teams. The Lopers went 3-0 last week, with wins over Emporia State, Pittsburg State, and Southwest Baptist. Central Oklahoma dealt the Lopers their only loss off the season in the first week of conference play. Nebraska-Kearney is first in the MIAA in assists per set (13.73), and second in hitting percentage (.271) and kills (14.33). Last season the Jennies beat the Lopers in three straight matches last season, including a five set match to end the Lopers season at Regionals.  

Last Week ...
Last week the Jennies picked up two wins, before falling to No. 8 Washburn. Central Missouri hit .221, and had 14.60 kills per set and 2.30 blocks per set in 10 sets. 

The Jennies won their second home match of the season against Lindenwood in straight sets, 25-16, 25-12, 25-15. Kills were evenly spread through the offense, with four Jennies hitting over .300 in the match. Both Haley Thomson and Becca Blaise had four blocks in the match.  

The following Friday, the Jens beat Emporia State 3-1, in their first four-set match of the season. Central Missouri dropped the first set but won three to follow to earn the win, 22-25, 25-20, 25-18, 25-19. Carly Sojka had 22 kills, and hit .429, for her best performance this season. She also had 14 digs for her third double-double of the season. Kourtney Thompson also had a double-double in the match, with a career-high 56 assists and 10 digs. She also had three kills and four blocks. Maddie Jones had 19 kills and six blocks, for a team-high 22.5 points at the end of the match. Annie Reilly served four aces and had 29 digs in four sets. 

Central Missouri finished the week in Topeka, Kan. where they  fell in three to Washburn, 22-25, 25-27, 22-25. Sojka had 17 kills, while H. Thompson recorded five blocks in the match. Reilly served the Jennies only aces in the match, she had three aces and 18 digs.

AVCA Top 25 
Central Missouri (8-6, 5-1 MIAA) was ranked No. 17 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll release Monday afternoon. The Jennies had 397 points in the poll, and dropped one spot after finishing a three match week of conference play at 2-1.

The top five remained the same this week, Tampa in the top spot with 47 first place votes and 1199 points total. Minnesota-Duluth received the only other first place vote and had 1152 points in the poll, with a 13-1 overall record this season. Concordia-St. Paul was No. 3, with 1085 points, and BYU-Hawaii was No. 4 with 1004 points. Nebraska-Kearny rounds out the top five with 946 points total.

Washburn is the only other MIAA squad to be ranked. The Ichabods were up one spot to No. 7, with 885 points.

Central Missouri Jennies
Reilly has had at least one ace in 11 matches this season, with 23 aces in conference play alone. She averages 0.77 aces per set, which is currently the best average in the NCAA-II. She leads the MIAA in digs, with 5.93 digs per set, and hasn't had a reception error since the Jennies first day of play this season.  

Sojka leads the team and is fourth in the MIAA in kills. She has had 3.74 kills per set, with a .179 hitting percentage this season. Sojka is also third on the squad in digs and blocks, with 2.65 digs per set and 0.49 blocks per set. She has had four double-double this season, and has had the most kills on the team in eight matches this season. 

H. Thompson has hit over .300 in eight matches this season, and has had at least one block in every match. She leads the Jennies is fifth in the MIAA in blocks, averaging 1.05 blocks per set. H. Thompson also has the best hitting percentage on the team, at .327. 

K. Thompson is fifth in the MIAA in assists, with 9.79 assists per set. She leads the Jens in double-double combinations, with five this season. Blaise has had at least one block in every conference match this season, with an average 0.53 blocks per set including tournament play. Jones has started every conference match this season. She has led the Jennies in blocks three times this season. She averages 1.76 kills per set and 1.99 points per set. Shelby Winkelmann is second on the Jennies in digs and aces. She has served 11 aces this season, and averages 2.88 digs per set. 

Fort Hays State Tigers | Hays, Kan.
Series Record: UCM leads 17-1    Current Streak: UCM 12 straight
Kohler vs. UCM: 0-8        Piontek vs. LU: 8-0
AVCA Rank: NR         Starters Returning/Lost: 3/3+Libero
2014 Statistics            (7-7, 2-4 MIAA)                                                                                
Kill/Set: 13.39        Hit Pct.: .199    Ace/Set: 0.78    
Digs/Set: 17.56        Assists/Set: 12.67    Blocks/Set: 1.80

Fort Hays State has two returning All-MIAA honorees, Mallory Flagor and Taylor Mares. Flagor is has started every match and played in every set this season. She leads the Tigers in kills (3.59) and is seventh in the MIAA. She also has the highest hitting percentage on the team, at .280. Mares has played in every match, but has yet to start this season. She has had 2.59 kills per set, with a .199 hitting percentage. Sophomore, Rebekah Spainhour is also having a large impact on the Tiger offense. She is third on the team in kills, with 2.29 kills per set, and has a hitting percentage at 0.70. She leads Fort Hays State in blocks (0.70). 

Libero Keanu Bradley is fourth in the MIAA in digs (5.19). She leads the Tigers in aces, with 0.20 aces per set. Bradley and Flagor are the only Tigers to rank in the top ten of conference statistics.  

Nebraska-Kearney Lopers | Kearney, Neb.
Series Record: UCM leads 8-5    Current Streak: UCM 3 straight
Squires vs. UCM: 2-3    Piontek vs. ESU: 7-2
AVCA Rank: NR         Starters Returning/Lost: 5+Libero/1
2014 Statistics            (4-4, 0-3 MIAA)                                             
Kill/Set: 12.79        Hit Pct.: .185    Ace/Set: 1.15    
Digs/Set: 15.67        Assists/Set: 11.48    Blocks/Set: 1.67

Nebraska-Kearney has three All-MIAA honorees returning this season. First Team selection MJ Massanet, has spent more time in the back row this season. She is third on the Lopers in digs, with 3.10 digs per set. Setter and Second Team selection Erin Seele is also returning. She is third in the MIAA in assists (11.54), and second on the Lopers in digs (2.81). Their final returning All-MIAA honoree is Liz McGowan. She is leading the Lopers in digs (3.45).

Several fresh faces are making an impact on the Lopers offense. Kelle Carver and Katie Weber are fifth and eighth in the MIAA in hitting percentage. Carver averages 3.06 kills per set, and has hit .332 this season. She is also leading the Lopers in blocks (0.59). Weber is third on the team in kills (2.22) and has hit .324 this season, with 0.51 blocks per set. Kinslie Tekolste is the final has played in 13 matches and 44 in her sophomore season. She is leading Nebraska-Kearney in kills (3.34) and has a hitting percentage a .270.