Jennies Volleyball to Play Wayne State in First Round of NCAA Regional

ST. PAUL, Minn. - The No. 8 Central Missouri Jennies (30-4) embark on their 33rd straight trip to the NCAA Regionals this week. The second-seeded Jennies first match will be against seventh seed Wayne State Thursday, Dec. 3 at 2:30 from the site of top-seed Concordia-St. Paul.

First Serve
• No. 8 Jennies Volleyball won their 13th MIAA Tournament Championship two weeks ago to earn the MIAA automatic bid to the Central Region Championship. They defeated Northwest Missouri (3-0), then-No. 10 Nebraska-Kearney (3-0) and then-No. 14 Central Oklahoma (3-1).
• The Jennies moved up five spots to No. 8 in the latest AVCA rankings. It is their first time cracking the top-10 since week three, when ranked sixth. It also snaps a streak of three straight weeks at No. 13 in the poll.
• Central Missouri earned the No. 2 seed in the Central Region where they face No. 11 Wayne St. (Neb.) in the quarterfinal round. It is their highest seed entering a regional tournament since also being a No. 2 seed in 2013. They last were a No. 1 and hosted in 2011.
• Wayne St. (Neb.) stands at 24-7 and finished with a 16-4 mark in the Northern Sun. The Wildcats were ousted in the first round of the NSIC Tournament by Minnesota-Duluth. They enter the Regional Tournament No. 11 in the AVCA and on a two-match losing streak.

On The Air
• Live stats and video can be found at UCMathletics.com

Story Lines
• This is a rematch of the Jennies opening round in the Central Region Tournament in 2014. UCM took the opening set, but dropped the next three, ending their season with a 3-1 loss to the Wildcats (25-17, 24-26, 14-25, 22-25).
• Last year was the first time the Wildcats defeated the Jennies. Central Missouri is 2-1 all-time against Wayne St. (Neb.).
• Head Coach Flip Piontek is 1-1 against the Wildcats at the helm of UCM Volleyball.
• The Jennies are 39-36 all-time in NCAA games. Coach Piontek has a 10-6 mark in the NCAA postseason, but has lost three of his last four.
• UCM is currently on a season-long ten match winning streak.
• In seven years, Coach Piontek is 119-14 against teams from the MIAA, 6-7 against teams from the Northern Sun and 4-0 against teams from the Great American Conference (GAC).
• Central Missouri is one of four MIAA in this year's Central Region, joining Nebraska-Kearney, Central Oklahoma and Washburn. Corcordia-St. Paul, Southwest Minnesota, and Wayne St. will represent the NSIC and Southwestern Oklahoma St. won the GAC automatic bid.
• 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 (10/2). With 220 career aces, Reilly becomes just the third Jennie to reach the milestone and is second all-time at UCM.

Reilly also moved into second-place at UCM in career digs with her 27 at Missouri Western (11/12). With 2,572, she is also in second-place in MIAA history.

In addition to Reilly, Carly Sojka is moving up on the all-time points and kills lists. She's recorded 583.5 points in 34 matches and has now accumulated 1,848 career points. Sojka moved into second-place all-time in points in the MIAA Finals and is 37 points away from becoming the Jennies all-time leader.

Sojka also became just the 10th Jennie to record 1500 career kills Oct. 24 against Nebraska-Kearney. With 1,652 kills, she is the fifth to ever reach 1600 career kills and is fifth all-time.

National Rankings (as of 11/23/15)
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 the active NCAA-D2 leader with 2,572 career digs, the only player in Division II with more than 2,500 digs and third among all active players in the NCAA, across all divisions. She is also in the top-five in service aces with her 220 placing her fifth.

Sojka has also climbed into the top-five among active NCAA players in kills. With 1,652 career kills, Sojka is fourth among active players.

UCM in the Polls
After going 3-0 last week, and winning the MIAA Tournament the Jennies moved up five spots to No. 8 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. Of the 13 AVCA Polls this season, UCM has been ranked No.13 in six of them, including the last three. The Jens have been ranked in every AVCA poll since its inception in 1986, a span of 383 polls.

National Leaders (as of 11/23/15)
Carly Sojka is ranked in the NCAA top-15 in three different categories. She is sixth in the nation with a career-high 509 total kills. She's also 11th with 4.90 points per set and 13th with 4.28 kills per set. Her 509 kills are the most by a Jennie in a single season since Elyse mohme landed 593 in 2004.

Annie Reilly is in the NCAA top-20 in digs per set. She's 20th in the nation and second in the MIAA with 5.81 digs per set. She is also 11th with a career-high 691 total digs. She's nine away from 700, which would make her the first Jennie since Rachel Fister in 2009 who totaled 708 digs with 700 digs in a single-season.

As a team, UCM is in the Division II top-10 in four different categories. The Jens lead the nation in kills per set with 15.07 and are fourth in total kills with 1,793. They are also fifth in assists per set with 13.61 and seventh in total assists with 1,620. They're also just outside the top-10 with a .265 team attack percentage which ranks 12th.

Awards Ceremony
The MIAA announced their All-conference team with seven Jennies earning the honor. Carly Sojka headlined the group as she was named the 16th MIAA Player of the Year in team history. Her and Maddie Jones were unanimous selections to the First Team while Annie Reilly made her third straight All-MIAA First Team. Kourtney Thompson was selected to the Second Team and newcomers Kasey, Hohlen, Kylie Hohlen and Cheyanne Lyons were Honorable Mention.

"Flip" the Calendar
The Jennies have historically played some of their best volleyball when the calendar turns to November. Under Coach Piontek, the Jennies are 49-5 (.907) in the month of November. In 2014, the Jennies went 6-1 with their only loss coming at the NCAA Regional to Wayne St. (Neb.). They are 8-0 thus far in 2015.

Versus Ranked Opponents
The Jennies this season are 5-3 against ranked opponents and 52-29 all-time under Head Coach Flip Piontek. The Jennies final two matches of the MIAA Tournament came against ranked opponents, and Central Missouri has won their last four matches against teams in the top-25.

Scouting the Opposition
Wayne State
Overall Record: 24-7
Conference Record: 16-4 (NSIC)
Series History: UCM leads 2-1
Last Meeting: 11/20/14, WSC 3-1, Central Region Quarterfinals
Head Coach: Scott Kneifl (275-94, 25th season)

• The Wildcats have backed their way into the Regional Championship. WSC has lost their last two matches and three of their last four. They dropped the opening round matchup with Minnesota-Duluth 3-1.
• Wayne State enters the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 11 in the AVCA top-25. They were fifth in the region heading into NSIC Tournament before losing in the first round and falling to seventh.
• The Wildcats boast the NSIC Libero of the Year in senior Courtney VanGroningen. She lead the league with 5.15 digs per set and also has 27 service aces.
• In addition to VanGroningen, the Wildcats had three others make the All-NSIC First Team. Middle Hitter Alyssa Frauendorfer, Outside Hitter Katie Hughes and setter Leisa McClintock. Outside hitter Danielle Rampart was named to the Second Team.
• As a team, WSC is fourth in Division II with 19.82 digs per set and lead the NSIC by a wide margin. Aside from VanGroningen, Hughes averages 4.82 digs per set and Michaela Mestl sits at 4.53 digs per set.
• Hughes is one of three Wildcats averaging more than three kills per set. She leads the team with 3.55 and is followed by Frauendorfer with 3.21 and Elizabeth Gebhardt with 3.07 kills per set.
• Frauendorfer has the team's best hitting percentage at .353. The Wildcats are hitting .238 as a team and holding opponents to just a .182 attack percentage.
• All-NSIC First Team setter Leisa McClintock is fifth in the conference with 11.42 assists per set. She passed out a season-high 64 assists in a four-set match with Northern State. She's also a threat with 96 kills and 16 service aces.
• Wayne State is a strong serving team, averaging 1.55 service aces per set. Mestl leads the team and the NSIC with 0.43 aces per set and has 46 total aces this season. The Wildcats have landed 166 total service aces compared to just 80 from their opponents. Hughes and Frauendorfer also have 22 aces apiece.
• Not known for their blocking, the Wildcats have three student-athletes with exactly 72 total blocks to lead the team. Frauendorfer, Gebhardt and Alex Opperman all share the team lead. Fraudendofer has 11 solo  blocks while Gebhardt and Opperman each have 10.