Jennies Volleyball Returns Home for Two Matches Homecoming Weekend

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Oct. 19, 2016) - It's homecoming weekend and No. 15 Jennies Volleyball has a pair of matches at the Multi. They'll be home to take on Fort Hays State and Nebraska-Kearney this Friday and Saturday.

When: Friday-Saturday, Oct. 21-22

Where: Warrensburg, Mo. - UCM Multipurpose Building

Opponents: Fort Hays State - Friday, Oct. 21, 2016 - 7 p.m.
                   No. 4 Nebraska-Kearney - Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016 - 7 p.m.

How to Watch: For fans who cannot attend, 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.



First Serve
• The Jennies moved up one spot in this week's AVCA Coaches Poll to No. 15 in the rankings. This is the first time they have moved up in the last two weeks, after a high of No. 6 three weeks ago, and a low of No. 16 last week.
• Fort Hays State comes to Warrensburg winners of three of their last four and an even .500 in the MIAA at 5-5. They are 19-6 overall.
• Nebraska-Kearney also moved up one spot in the AVCA rankings to No. 4 this week. At 24-1 (9-1, MIAA), they are one of only three teams with one or fewer losses this season.  

Story Lines
• This weekend sets up a pair of revenge match-ups for UCM. Both Fort Hays State and Nebraska-Kearney defeated Central Missouri earlier this season on the road. 
• For the Tigers, their win on the last day of Sept. was just their second even over Central Missouri. The Jennies hold a 22-2 lifetime record against Fort Hays State. 
• Nebraska-Kearney has continued to be a thorn in the Jennies side. The Jennies .632 winning percentage (12-7) over UNK is their lowest of any MIAA opponent. The last time the Jennies dropped two straight to UNK was in November of 2012, with the second coming in the MIAA Tournament Championship match.
• The Jennies reached 1,400 program wins last week against Missouri Southern. They are now at 1,401, starting the climb towards 1,500. 
• The Jennies won back-to-back games for the first time in almost a month, last doing so Sept. 23-24 against Central Oklahoma and Pittsburg State. 
• Last season, UCM went 15-3 in conference. They have never lost more than five conference matches in a single season.
• The Jennies went 30-5 in 2015, and won their 14th MIAA Tournament Championship. 

Quick Hits
UCM in the Polls
Central Missouri moved up in the AVCA poll for the first time in two weeks. They jumped ahead one spot to No. 15 in the rankings. Last week at No. 16 was the lowest the Jennies have been ranked all season long. Three weeks ago, UCM was ranked No. 6, tied for the highest they've been ranked the last two seasons. The Jens have been ranked in every AVCA poll since its inception in 1986, a span of 390 polls. 

Before the season started, Central Missouri was picked to finish second in the MIAA, tying with Central Oklahoma with 106 points in the preseason coaches poll. Washburn received the most points to lead the preseason poll.  

Leader Boards (as of 10/18/2016)
On the offensive end of the floor, the Jennies are third in the MIAA in both hitting percentage and kills. Cheyanne Lyons is the team leader and is sixth in the league at 3.31 kills per set. The Jens have two in the MIAA top-10 in hitting percentage with Kasey Hohlen fourth at .355 and Kourtney Thompson sixth at .335. In conference only games, Molly Lawrence is fifth hitting .317 and Maddie Jones sixth at .312.

Also in conference only games, the Jennies have three in the MIAA top-10 in service aces. Tyler Downs tops the conference at 0.42 aces per set. Carly Offerdahl is fourth at 0.35 and Kylie Hohlen eight at 0.26. Downs is sixth in MIAA-only games with 9.79 assists per set and Hohlen ninth in digs with 4.00.

Jazzy Juniors
The Jennies junior class has been making a big impact this season. The juniors boast three starters at three different positions, helping out all over the floor. Offensively, Molly Lawrence and Kasey Hohlen have big playmakers.  Lawrence is third on the team with 164 kills while Hohlen is second in kills per set at 2.58. Lawrence also leads UCM in blocks with 45 while Hohlen's .355 attack percentage leads UCM.

Defensively, Katie Carlson has helped to fill the hole at libero and solidify the backrow. Carlson leads UCM with 4.03 digs per set and 290 total digs. She also has 208 service receptions, and 16 service aces, both second on the team. 

Savvy Seniors
All four Jennies seniors have made their presence felt this season. Before her injury, Cheyanne Lyons led the team and was sixth in the MIAA with 3.31 kills per set. 

Setter Kourtney Thompson has also missed time with injury, but was in the midst of having a big year, averaging 10.24 assists, 1.51 kills and 2.27 digs per set. 

Maddie Jones has returned from injury and has been a big help in the month of October. An All-American last season, Jones is averaging 2.38 kills per set and hitting .342 in the six games this month. 

Finally, Mackenzie Harding is having a career-year as a senior. She is sixth on the team with 99 kills and set a career-high two weeks ago with 12 against Lindenwood. She is also second with 37 blocks.

New Faces
So far this season, six Jennies have seen the floor who didn't a season ago. Redshirt freshmen Carly Offerdahl and Tyler Downs saw their first action in two years and freshmen Rylee Neigenfind and Abby Skrastins, along with transfer Fuatino Manu, have seen plenty of court time. Most recently, Downs has been starting at setter with Offerdahl playing libero for the first time last weekend. Two weeks ago, Gabby Johnson saw her first action of the season and landed five kills against Northwest Missouri. 

Jennies at Home
Central Missouri has always sent the home crowd home happy and this season hasn't been any different. UCM is 7-1 at the Multipurpose Building and 107-8 all-time in Coach Piontek's seven-plus seasons as head coach. 

On the Upswing
After losing four of five matches earlier in the season, Central Missouri has rebounded with wins in back-to-back games for the first time since Sept. 23-24. Last week's victories gets them back over .500 in the MIAA with a 5-4 record and nine games over .500 at 15-6.

Magic Number
Throughout Coach Piontek's tenure at the helm of UCM Volleyball, there has been one surefire way to determine if the Jennies won - checking out the hitting percentage. When UCM hits .300 or better for the match, the Jennies are a perfect 96-0 under Piontek. That includes going 8-0 this season. Things normally work out even if they fall a little short. They are 14-0 this season and 189-10 when hitting at least .200 for a match. 

Scouting the Opposition
Fort Hays State Tigers
• Fort Hays State is a game behind Central Missouri in the MIAA with a 5-5 record. They won their last match vs. Pittsburg State, but haven't won back-to-back MIAA matches since defeating Central Missouri and Lindenwood at the end of September. 
• The Tigers are in the top-five in the NCAA-II in four stat categories: blocks per set (2.36), total assists, (1,135), total kills (1,210), and total blocks (208). 
• Hannah Wagy controls the Tiger offense and is third in the MIAA with 11.43 assists per set. Wagy also helps out defensively with 184 digs and 37 total blocks. Her 949 total assists lead the nation.
• The Tigers have Callie Christensen to thank for most of their blocks this season. She's fifth in the country in total blocks at 104 and 19th with 1.21 blocks per set. Both marks lead the MIAA. Rebekah Spainhour is also in the MIAA top-10 in blocks with 0.91 blocks per set and fifth connecting on a .351 hitting percentage. 
• Offensively, the Tigers rely on Spainhour and Christal Whitten. Whitten leads the MIAA with 4.07 kills per set and her 350 total kills is fourth in Division II. Spainhour's 3.23 kills per set are fourth in the conference. Both numbers go up in conference play with Whitten averaging 4.40 kills per set and Spainhour 3.34 kills per set against conference opponents. 
• Defensively, three Tigers have more than 200 digs this season, led by Whitten's 274. Ari Jacobsen has 3.81 digs per set and 221 digs, but is yet to play in a full match this month.
• FHSU doesn't generate many points off the serve, but Chandler Hillman provides what they have with 32 service aces.

No. 4 Nebraska-Kearney Lopers
• Nebraska-Kearney is the highest ranked team in the MIAA, moving up to No. 4 this week. They enter the weekend as one of three teams with one or fewer losses. 
• The Lopers have the highest hitting percentage plus/minus in the NCAA-II at .230. UNK's .312 attack percentage is third in the nation and they are second defensively, holding opponents to a .082 hitting percentage.
• The Lopers offense is led by Tara Ziegelbein and Annie Wolfe. Wolfe has a .408 attack percentage and 3.11 kills per set. Ziegelbein leads the MIAA and is third in the NCAA in hitting percentage, landing a kill 41.5% of the time. Wolfe's 40.8% is fifth in the NCAA. Mackenzie Puckett is also third in the MIAA hitting .332.
• With 1,090 total assists, Kearney has the second most assists in the NCAA, just being Fort Hays State. Reigning MIAA Specialist of the Week Lindsey Smith leads the MIAA and is eighth in the NCAA with 11.71 assists per set. She averaged over 13 assists/set last week and 2.50 digs per set. 
• As a team, the Lopers are averaging 17.08 digs per set. Libero Ellie McDonnell paces the Loper defense with 4.70 digs per set. Wolfe also helps out with her 2.86 digs per set average. 
• Serving is a big part of Nebraska-Kearney's attack, both offensively and defensively. They've allowed the second fewest service aces in the MIAA at 0.47 per set and 48 total. They've also landed 105 themselves, led by Smith's 24. 
• Behind Fort Hays, the Lopers are the best blocking team in the MIAA with 2.34 blocks per set. Mackenzie Puckett has a team-best 76 blocks this season. Ziegelbein is right behind at 73 and Wolfe has 56.