UCM Volleyball Wins MIAA Tournament Championship; Clinches Automatic Bid to Regionals

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EDMOND, Okla. – Central Missouri Volleyball won their 13^th MIAA Tournament Championship with a 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 27-25, 25-18) over Central Oklahoma. The Jennies, ranked No. 13 in the latest AVCA Coaches poll, also earned the MIAA's automatic bid to the NCAA Central Region Tournament, Dec. 3-5.

The win is the Jennies 10^th straight and moves them to 30-4 this season.
 
The Jennies landed 74 kills and hit .288 for the match. Carly Sojka led the offense with 25 kills. She was one of three with 10+ kills as Cheyanne Lyons hit a career-high 15 and Kasey Hohlen landed 11. Kourtney Thompson passed out 59 assists.
 
Thompson and Sojka also finished with double-doubles as Thompson had 10 digs and Sojka had 14. Annie Reilly set a new career-best with 35 digs. Shelby Winkelmann (18) and Kylie Hohlen (12) also finished with double-digit digs.
 
The Bronchos took a tight first set, gaining separation late in the frame. The teams went back and forth with six tie scores and three lead changes. With the score knotted at 19-all, UCO closed on a 6-3 run to take the set. Sojka had nine kills in the set and Reilly picked up 10 of her digs.
 
After a tough first set loss, coach Flip Piontek knew it was going to be a lot more than play on the court that will determine the match. "I told the team in the huddle, both teams are working so hard, and the effort level was so high that it became a match of character. You're going to decide what type of team you have by how hard you fight through some ugly, sloppy plays."
 
That's what the Jennies did in the second frame. The two teams were going back-and-forth before the Jennies took the first two-point lead of the frame at 15-13, forcing a UCO timeout. Central Missouri maintained a lead the rest of the set, scoring the final three points on a UCO attack error and kills from Sojka and Haley Thompson.
 
A wild and pivotal third set saw 16 ties and five lead changes, needing extra points to determine a winner. With both teams looking to take a 2-1 lead, the Bronchos were able to gain some separation, going up four, 13-9. It didn't take long for the Jennies to respond though, going on a 6-3 run to tie the match. UCO got to within set point twice at 24-23 and 25-24, but the Jens didn't quit, finally breaking through with two straight kills from Sojka to take the important third set, 27-25.
 
It was easy to see the excitement on the floor and on the bench from the Jennies. Said Lyons, "I think we all pulled together and we were all encouraging each other. If someone else got the point, we were just as excited as if we got the point."
 
With momentum on their side, UCM took charge in the fourth set, breaking out and taking an early 8-4 lead. The Bronchos cut the lead to two on a few occasions, but got no closer and the Jennies put some distance with a 5-0 run to go up 21-14. It was Sojka again who closed the set with a 25^th kill of the match.
 
UCM now moves on to the NCAA Central Region Championship, Dec. 3-5. The site and the Jennies seed will be determined Monday, Nov. 23 on the NCAA selection show.
 
Talking about the regional championship after the match, Winkelmann said "Now we have that confidence going in. Our region is definitely tough and winning this game will help us have a better attitude going forward."