Jennies Volleyball Returns Home as MIAA Play Rolls On

WARRENSBURG, Mo. - No. 15 Central Missouri Volleyball returns home for a pair of conference battles over Halloween weekend. First, the Jennies and No. 12 Central Oklahoma will square off in a match featuring two AVCA top-15 teams, Friday, Oct. 30 at 6 p.m. Then, Halloween afternoon, UCM welcomes Pittsburg State to Warrensburg for a match with the Gorillas at 4 p.m. Fans who arrive to the Oct. 31 match in costume will receive free admission and kids will have the chance to trick or treat with the Jennies following the match.



First Serve
• No. 15 Jennies Volleyball enters the weekend after having gone 1-1 last week with a win over Fort Hays State and a five-set loss to then No. 16 Nebraska-Kearney
• The Jennies moved down three spot to No. 15 in this week's AVCA Coaches Poll. UCM stands at 20-4 and 8-3 in the MIAA.
• Central Oklahoma is 22-2 this season with a 10-1 conference record. The Bronchos are ranked 12th in the AVCA poll. UCO lost their first conference match last weekend at Washburn. The Bronchos defeated the Jennies in the first conference match of the season, 3-1.
• Pittsburg State has a record of 1-21 on the season and 1-10 in the MIAA. The Gorillas have dropped five straight matches and their only win this season came at Southwest Baptist. UCM defeated PSU 3-2 in September.

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 8-3 this season in the MIAA and 20-4 overall.
• The Jennies loss to UCO earlier this year is just their second loss to the Bronchos all-time. UCM is 10-2 against Central Oklahoma in the series.
• This will mark the 63rd meeting between the Jennies and the Gorillas. UCM leads the series 56-5-1 including their win earlier this season.
• Central Oklahoma is one of just four MIAA teams to defeat coach Flip Piontek on multiple
occasions. He is 4-2 lifetime against the Bronchos and 13-1 against the Gorillas.
• 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 in the Jennies first match against Fort Hays State. With 210 career aces, Reilly becomes just the third Jennie to reach the milestone and is second all-time at UCM.

Reilly is also just 20 digs behind cracking the UCM top-three. She has 2,361 digs and 481 this season.

In addition to Reilly, Carly Sojka is moving up on the all-time points and kills lists. She's recorded 417.5 points in 24 matches and has now accumulated 1,682 career points. Sojka has already moved into third-place all-time in points and is 137 points away from cracking the top two.

Sojka also became just the 10th Jennie to record 1500 career kills last weekend against Nebraska-Kearney. With 1507 kills, she is ninth all-time and needs 93 more kills to reach fifth all-time.

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 leads the nation with 2,361 digs, one of only five active players with more than 2,000 career digs. She is also in the top-five in service aces with her 210 placing her fourth.

Sojka has also climbed into the top-five among active NCAA players in kills. With 1,507 career kills, Sojka is fourth among active players.

UCM in the Polls
After going 1-1 last week, the Jennies moved down three spots to No. 15 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 379 polls.

National Leaders
Carly Sojka is ranked in the NCAA top-15 in four different categories. She is seventh in the nation in total kills with 364 and ninth in total attacks with 1,020. She also ranks 11th with 4.85 points per set and 14th with 4.23 kills per set. Sojka is also the MIAA leader in three of those four categories and second in kills per set.

Annie Reilly is also in the NCAA top-25 in total digs. She's 23rd in the nation and leads the MIAA with 481 digs.

Maddie Jones has crept into the top-20 in hitting percentage. With an attack percentage of .373, Jones ranks 13th.

As a team, UCM is in the Division II top-10 in three different categories. The Jens lead the nation in kills per set with 14.90 and fourth in total kills with 1,281. They're also sixth in total assists with 1,154 and just outside the top-10 with a .266 team attack percentage, which ranks 11th.

Sweeps Ahead
Of the Jennies 20 wins, 14 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 seven MIAA wins, five have come in three sets.

Attack Percentage
When the Jennies and Bronchos meet, the match will feature two of the premier teams when it comes to hitting percentage. The Bronchos are third in the nation at .295 team attack percentage while the Jennies are 11th at .266. The two teams are 1-2 in the MIAA and showcase the top three leaders in the conference.

One number to pay attention to when it comes to attack percentage is .300. The Jennies are 10-0 this season when hitting .300 or better and UCM is 85-0 under Coach Piontek when reaching the .300 percentage plateau.

Scouting the Opposition
Central Oklahoma
Overall Record: 22-2
Conference Record: 10-1 (MIAA)
Series History: UCM leads 10-2
Last Meeting: 2015, UCO 3-1
Head Coach: Edgar Miraku (76-34, fourth season)
• The Bronchos dropped their first conference match of the season last week when they fell 3-0 at Washburn. UCO is 22-2 this season and 10-1 in the MIAA. They had won 16 straight matches before losing to Washburn.
• UCO leads the MIAA in hitting percentage and has two of the top-three leaders in the conference. The Broncho's .295 attack percentage is third in the nation. Jordan Spence (.365) and Allison Barr (.364) are 22nd and 23rd in the nation.
• The Bronchos also have the individual assist leader in the MIAA. Katy Davis is averaging 11.89 assists per set which is fifth in the nation and she has been the MIAA Specialist of the Week three times this year.
• Whitney Gifford sits in the top-15 in the nation in digs per set. She leads the conference with 5.79 digs per set and is 27th in total digs with 463.
• The Bronchos also have reigning MIAA Player of the Year in Barbara Jackson. She leads the team with 281 kills and 3.80 kills per set. Jackson is one of two Bronchos with more than 200 kills. Taylor Bevis has 257 kills. Both Jackson and Bevis recorded 15 kills in the Bronchos win in September.
• UCO has only allowed 65 service aces against this season. That's 30 less than they've landed. Five Bronchos have 10+ service aces led by Whitney Gifford's 19.

Pittsburg State
Overall Record: 1-21
Conference Record: 1-10 (MIAA)
Series History: UCM leads 54-5-1
Last Meeting: 2015, UCM 3-2
Head Coach: Jenny Mueller (11-30, second season)
• The Gorillas have only one win this season, coming three weeks ago against Southwest Baptist. They have lost five straight since that win.
• PSU has gone to five sets only once this season, a 3-2 loss to Central Missouri in September.
• Pittsburg State has four athletes with mroe than 100 kills. Lana DaSilva leads the team with 139 while Maggie Highberger right behind with 134 kills.
• PSU has a pair of setters with more than 300 assists. Taylyn Schwartz leads the team with 354 and Hayley Hansford is just five behind at 349.
• Ashlen Schwartz is the Gorilla's defensive leader with 364 digs and 4.85 digs per set.
• Also on the defensive end, Lana DaSilva has reached 50 total blocks. Taylor Unke has 44 total blocks and a team-leading 10 block solos.