No. 6 Jennies Return Home to Host Missouri S&T

WARRENSBURG, Mo. - The no. 6 Central Missouri Jennies return home for a brief reprieve Tuesday evening with a nonconference match against Missouri S&T. The homestand only lasts one match, as they'll turn around for their final regular-season tournament this weekend in Russellville, Ark. at the Arkansas Tech Regional Crossover. 

Quick Hits
Piontek against the Miners
Coach Piontek is a perfect 6-0 against the Miners in his career as Jennies head coach. He is 7-0 including his time as an assistant.

Moving On Up
A pair of Jennies seniors are climbing the Jennies all-time rankings. Libero Annie Reilly is just six service aces away from 200 for her career. Her 194 career aces place her third all-time at UCM just two behind second place.

In addition to Reilly, Carly Sojka is moving up on a pair of all-time lists. She's recorded 144 points in nine matches and had now accumulated 1408.5 career points. Last weekend at the Colorado-Premier Challenge, Sojka jumped a pair of Jennies and now sits fifth for the most points scored in Jennies history and is 96.5 points away from fourth place.

Fast Starts
UCM has been getting off on the right foot in their matches this season. The Jens have won the first set in all nine matches.

Efficiency Rating
As a team, the Jennies are hitting more than .100 points higher than their opponents at .298 to their opponents' .186. Of their nine matches, the Jens have hit better than .300 six times and better than .350 five times.

A Helping Hand
Dating back to the end of last season, Kourtney Thompson has handed out at least 25 assists in 32 consecutive matches. Thompson dished out 164 assists over the four matches last weekend, including a season-best 49 against UC San Diego. With 8.95 career assists per set, Thompson is eighth all-time at UCM.  

Two For One
Carly Sojka and Kylie Hohlen both earned double-doubles against Tampa, their first of the season for any player. Sojka landed 15 kills with 17 digs while Hohlen also had 15 kills and 10 digs. Sojka has record 15+ kills in her last four matches and Hohlen reached double-figure kills for the first time in her career with 16 against UC San Diego.

Almost Perfect 10
A win for the Jennies over Missouri S&T would give UCM nine wins in their first 10 matches for just the third time since 1996. The Jennies last accomplished that in 2012 when they opened the season 22-0.

UCM at Home
The Jennies have been superb at home under Coach Piontek. This season the Jennies are 5-0 and are 90-6 (.938) in Piontek's tenure.

UCM on the Road
The Jennies have had just one true road match this season, the final match at the Colorado-Premier Challenge against Regis. Under Coach Piontek, the Jennies are 58-12 (.829) on the road.

UCM at Neutral Sites
The Jennies have gone 2-1 this season in neutral site matches. They'll play just two more before the end of the regular season, later this week at the Arkansas Tech Regional Crossover. Under Coach Piontek, the Jennies are 37-16 (.698) at neutral sites.

Scouting the Opposition
Missouri S&T Miners
Overall Record: 6-2
Conference Record: 0-0 (Great Lakes Valley Conference)
Series History: Jennies lead 7-0
Last Meeting: UCM 3-0, 2013
Head Coach: Jason Holt (113-123, Eighth Season)

• The Miners enter Warrensburg at 6-2 on the young season. They got out to a 4-0 start after going undefeated at the St. Edward's Tournament Sept. 4-5. Like the Jennies, they competed at the Colorado-Premier Challenge where they went 2-2.
• Missouri S&T played four ranked opponents in Colorado, going 1-2 against them. They lost twice in day one to then-13th ranked Ferris St. and then-25th ranked West Florida. They came back though with a straight set win over then-ranked 18th Colorado Mesa. The Miners evened up their tournament record with a five-set win over Angelo St.
• The Miners are coming off of an 18-14 season in 2014, their third winning season in four years. They qualified for the NCAA Midwest Regional where they fell to Grand Valley State in straight sets.
• Missouri S&T's offense has been led this season by Krista Haslag. She's averaging 3.14 kills per set with a team-best 91 kills. She's also been efficient posting a .283 attack percentage despite her high attempt total.
• Haslag has also been a force on defense totaling a team-best 42 blocks. She's knocked down nine solo blocks and 33 block assists.
• In addition to Haslag, Gracey Moon and Carlie Combs have done their share on offense. Moon leads the team with a .352 attack percentage while Combs is second on the team with 81 kills.
• Defensively, Jackie Pyles leads the way with 141 digs. She was named the GLVC Defensive Player of the Week after the Miners first week of competition. She averaged 4.62 digs per set the first week, and has since upped that to a season total of 4.86 digs/set.
• Centering the Miner offense has been setter Alexis White. White is averaging 9.41 assists per set and has passed out 273 assists. In S&T's last match against Angelo St., White dished out a season-best 55 assists.