Jennies Volleyball Hosts MSSU and SBU This Weekend

WARRENSBURG, Mo. - No. 13 Central Missouri Jennies Volleyball hosts a pair of MIAA matches this weekend as they welcome Missouri Southern and Southwest Baptist to Warrensburg. Friday night the Jens will host the Lions at 7 p.m. before turning around to face the Bearcats Saturday at 3 p.m.

First Serve
• No. 13 Jennies Volleyball enters the weekend after having gone 2-1 last week with wins over Lindenwood and Northwest Missouri with a loss to Missouri Western sandwiched between.
• The Jennies moved down two-spots to No. 13 in this week's AVCA Coaches Poll. UCM stands at 17-3 and 5-2 in the MIAA.
• Missouri Southern is 2-16 this season with a 1-6 conference record. The Lions won their first conference match of the season last Saturday at home vs. Pittsburg State.
• Southwest Baptist also comes to Warrensburg with a 1-6 conference record. They defeated Missouri Southern on October 6, 3-1 before falling to Pittsburg State and Central Oklahoma last weekend. The Bearcats started the year with wins over Kentucky Wesleyan and Bellarmine.

On The Air
• Matches this weekend will be webcast online through Central Missouri's Stretch Internet portal at UCMathletics.com/gamecentral. It is a pay-per-view broadcast. Live stats can be found at UCMathletics.com

Story Lines
• The Jennies are 5-2 this season in the MIAA and 17-3 overall.
• The Jennies have had a great deal of success against both the Lions and Bearcats throughout their history. UCM is 63-1-1 all-time against MSSU and 61-1 against SBU. Those win totals are the third and fourth highest against any opponent in Jennies volleyball history.
• Head Coach Flip Piontek has never lost to either MSSU or SBU. He's 12-0 lifetime against both opponents.  
• Senior outside hitter Carly Sojka is closing in on 1500 career kills. She currently have 1461. Sojka would join nine other Jennies in the 1500 kill club.
• The Jennies went 22-9 last season on their way to a share of the MIAA regular season
championship (an MIAA Tournament Championship was not played) and 32nd straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

Quick Hits
Jennies Rankings
A pair of Jennies seniors are climbing the UCM all-time rankings. Libero Annie Reilly surpassed the 200 ace mark against Fort Hays State. With 207 career aces, Reilly becomes just the third Jennie to reach the milestone and is
second all-time at UCM.

In addition to Reilly, Carly Sojka is moving up on the all-time points and kills lists. She's recorded 361.5 points in 20 matches and has now accumulated 1,626 career points. Last weekend, Sojka moved into third-place all-time in points and is 193 points away from cracking the top two.

Sojka is also just 39 kills away from reaching 1500 for her career. She would become the 10th Jennie in team history to reach the milestone.

National Rankings
In addition to their career rankings at UCM, Reilly and Sojka are among elite company in the NCAA Division II. Among all active players, Reilly is first in the nation with 2,272 digs, one of only four active players with more than 2,000 career digs. She is also in the top-five in service aces with her 207, checking in at No. 4.

Sojka has also climbed into the top-five among active NCAA players in kills. With 32 last week, Sojka is fourth with 1,460 kills.

UCM in the Polls
After going 2-1 last week, the Jennies fell two spots to No. 13 in the AVCA Coaches Poll. UCM started the season at No. 13 in the preseason poll and has been ranked as high as No. 6. The Jens have been ranked in every AVCA poll since its inception in 1986, a span of 377 polls.

National Leaders
Carly Sojka is ranked in the NCAA top-10 in four different categories. She is fourth in the nation in total kills with 318 and fifth in total attacks with 853. She also ranks ninth with 5.02 points per set and 10th with 4.42 kills per set. Sojka is also the MIAA leader in all four of those categories

Annie Reilly is also in the NCAA top-20 in total digs. She's 18th in the nation and leads the MIAA with 392 digs.

Maddie Jones has crept into the top-30 in hitting percentage. With an attack percentage of .366, Jones ranks 26th.

As a team, UCM is in the Division II top-10 in three different categories. The Jens are third in both kills per set with 14.76 and total kills with 1,063. They're also sixth in total assists with 957 and just outside the top-10 with a .270 team attack percentage, which ranks 12th.

Up the Middle
The Jennies have been getting a lot of points up the middle lately. In addition to Jones' offense Haley Thompson, Kasey Hohlen and Lauren Dudgeon have provided the offense and defense with a spark. Thompson has 30 kills in her last six matches to go along with 18 blocks. Since returning from injury, Hohlen has at least 7.5 points in six of seven matches. And Lauren Dudgeon set a new career-high with 12 kills against Missouri Western. She had 16 kills and 10 blocks last weekend.

Sweeps Ahead
Of the Jennies 17 wins, 11 have come by a 3-0 sweep. A season ago, UCM posted 15 3-0 sweeps and the most this decade came in 2010 when the Jens totaled 27 sweeps out of their 32 wins. Of UCM's five MIAA wins, three have come in three sets.

Show Me State Success
Friday night when the Jennies fell to Missouri Western, it was the first time Head Coach Flip Piontek lost to a team inside his home state. UCM is now 79-1 all-time under Piontek vs. teams from Missouri.

Scouting the Opposition
Missouri Southern
Overall Record: 2-16
Conference Record: 1-6 (MIAA)
Series History: UCM leads 63-1-1
Last Meeting: 2014, UCM 3-0
Head Coach: John Napier (10-38, second season)
• The Lions won their first MIAA match in the their last game with a 3-0 victory over Pittsburg State. MSSU had opened the conference season with six straight losses.
• Missouri Southern's only other win this season came against Arkansas Monticello earlier in the month. The Lions are 2-2 in their last four games.
• The only returning All-Conference player from 2014 for the Lions is senior middle hitter Callie Whetstone. Whetstone was named All-MIAA Second Team a season ago.
• Whetstone is second on the team with 2.05 kills per set and 119 total kills. She also leads the squad with 1.03 blocks per set which is third in the MIAA.  
• In addition to Whetstone, Bridgette Jaeger is the team-leader with 2.28 kills per set. She's also dug out 124 attacks and leads the team with 484 service receptions. In her last match against PSU, Jaeger totaled 14 kills her second highest of the season. She also has three double-doubles this year.
• Setter Abby Finder is the only other Lion in the MIAA top-10. She is currently ninth in assists with 7.23 per set and has 405 for the season. She set a new season-best with 36 assists against Pittsburg State.
• The Lions are at their best around the net. Their 2.04 team blocks per set is third in the MIAA this season.

Northwest Missouri
Overall Record: 3-14
Conference Record: 1-6 (MIAA)
Series History: UCM leads 61-1
Last Meeting: 2014, UCM 3-0
Head Coach: Ciara Dortch (13-34, second season)
• Southwest Baptist returns all three of their All-MIAA Honorable Mention selections from a year ago: Taryn Marton, Hannah Blount and Kalyn Sotomayor.
• The Bearcats won their first conference match earlier in the month defeating Missouri Southern 3-1 in Joplin. It is their only MIAA win this season as they stand at 1-6 in the MIAA.
• SBU's two other wins this season came against Kentucky Wesleyan in their first match of the year and Bellarmine earlier in September.
• Southwest Baptist is one of the better teams in the MIAA on the serve. Their 1.46 service aces per match ranks second in the conference. Katy Fitzpatrick leads the way with 13 aces while Marton and Bailey Baumann each have 12.
• Marton is also leading the team's offense with 142 kills and 2.58 per set. She has double-digit kills in two of her last three matches including a conference-best 15 against Pittsburg State.
• Anna Stuehm has been the Bearcats primary setter. She sits 10th in the MIAA with 7.04 assists per set and has 394 total assists. She set a season-best against PSU with 39 assists and has 104 assists in her last three matches.
• Blount and Sotomayor have been leading the Bearcat defense. Blount has recorded 252 digs with a 4.50 dig per set average. Sotomayor has 25 total blocks and 0.53 blocks per set.