WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Oct. 4, 2016) - Central Missouri Jennies Volleyball returns to action for their first of three matches this week Tuesday, Oct. 4 at home against Lindenwood.
When: Tuesday, Oct. 4
Where: Warrensburg, Mo. - UCM Multipurpose Building
Opponents: Lindenwood - Tues., Oct. 4, 7 p.m.
How to Watch: 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 fell five spots in this week's AVCA Coaches Poll to No. 11 in the rankings. Their ranking of sixth last week tied a high from the previous two seasons. They've been ranked sixth on four occasions over the past two seasons, but their last time in the top-five was back in 2014.
• Central Missouri opened the MIAA portion of their schedule with back-to-back wins over No. 7 Central Oklahoma and Pittsburg State. They've dropped their last two to Fort Hays State and Nebraska-Kearney.
• Lindenwood got off on the right foot in the MIAA sweeping Pittsburg State, but have since dropped three straight. Two of those losses were to ranked opponents, falling to seventh-ranked Central Oklahoma and third-ranked Nebraska-Kearney.
• The Jennies will have two more matches this weekend. Following their match against Lindenwood, UCM will travel to St. Joseph, Mo. for a road tilt with Missouri Western. They'll then come back to Warrensburg to wrap up the week against 18th ranked Northwest Missouri. It is the first time this season playing three conference games in one week.
Story Lines
• Central Missouri has never lost to Lindenwood. The Jens are 9-0 in their history after sweeping the Lions in both matchups last season.
• At 1,398 wins, Central Missouri can reach 1,400 all-time program wins if they win two of their three matches this week.
• Last season, UCM went 15-3 in conference. They have never lost more than five conference matches in a single season and no more than three under Coach Piontek.
• The last time Central Missouri was under .500 in the MIAA was the conference opener last year when they fell to Central Oklahoma, 3-1.
• The last time Central Missouri lost three straight matches was back in 2014 when they lost four in a row at the Colorado Premier Challenge.
• The Jennies went 30-5 in 2015, and won their 14th MIAA Tournament Championship.
Quick Hits
UCM in the Polls
Central Missouri fell five spots this week in the weekly AVCA poll to No. 6. The Jennies were also ranked 11th in the second poll of the regular, their lowest this season. Last week's No. 6 spot 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 388 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 10/04/2016)
On the offensive end of the floor, the Jennies rank ninth nationally and lead the MIAA with 14.2 kills per set.
Cheyanne Lyons is the team leader and is fourth in the league at 3.50 kills per set.
Mackenzie Harding is fifth in the MIAA with a .346 attack percentage and
Kasey Hohlen is seventh at .345.
The Jennies remain one of the top defensive teams in the MIAA in terms of digs. They're fourth in the conference in digs per set with 16.3.
Katie Carlson has been the biggest reason for that, leading the team with 4.48 digs per set which is third in the conference.
Kylie Hohlen has also contributed with 3.44 digs per set
Kourtney Thompson is up to fifth in the MIAA in assists per set with 10.24. Thompson finished third in the league each of the last two seasons, averaging 10.69 assists per set last season and 10.27 in 2014. Thompson has also been coming up with some timely kills this season. She has 74 and is eighth in the MIAA with a .335 attack percentage.
Jazzy Juniors
Two juniors have already been putting up career numbers. After seeing limited playing time their first two seasons,
Katie Carlson and
Molly Lawrence have provided helping hands in the Jennies 10 wins this season. Carlson has been the Jennies starting libero and leads UCM with 242 digs.
On the offensive end,
Molly Lawrence has already surpassed her career total entering the year in kills. She has 112 kills which is third on the team. She also leads UCM with 38 blocks.
Savvy Seniors
All four Jennies seniors have made an impact this season.
Cheyanne Lyons leads the team and is fourth in the MIAA with 3.50 kills per set.
Kourtney Thompson is having a big year averaging 10.24 assists, 1.51 kills and 2.27 digs per set.
Maddie Jones missed five games before returning to action and has 2.03 kills per set. Finally,
Mackenzie Harding has started the past 11 matches and is hitting .346 with 67 kills and 30 blocks.
Versus Ranked Opponents
The Jennies so far this season are 3-3 against ranked opponents. Last year, the Jennies went 5-4 against AVCA top-25 teams and are 55-33 under Coach Piontek. UCM has been in three top-10 matchups already this season and are 1-2 with a win over Central Oklahoma and losses to Wheeling Jesuit and Nebraska-Kearney. This week, The Jennies face another ranked team out of the MIAA in Northwest Missouri, when they come to the Multi Saturday, Oct. 8.
Roll out the Red Carpet
So far this season, the Jennies have picked up four MIAA weekly awards. The Jennies started the season with back-to-back MIAA Specialists of the Week in
Kourtney Thompson and
Katie Carlson. The last two have belonged to the hitters as
Kasey Hohlen and
Cheyanne Lyons each brought home their first career MIAA awards.
New Faces
So far this season, five 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. With the injury to Thompson, Downs joins Offerdahl in the starting lineup.
Hot Starts
The Jennies have won the opening set in 14 of 16 matches thus far in 2016. They've scored 388 points, their most in any set and are 12-1 when they win the first set. Last season, the Jennies won the opening set in 28 of 35 matches.
This Tuesday in Missouri
During his time at the helm of the Jennies, Coach Piontek's teams have been excellent at many things. Two of the best though, may just be playing teams from Missouri and playing on Tuesday's. Central Missouri is a perfect 28-0 playing on Tuesdays under Coach Piontek and they are a whopping 85-1 playing against teams from their home state. Tonight, both marks are on the line as UCM faces Lindenwood who come in from St. Charles, Mo.
Scouting the Opposition
Lindenwood Lions
• Lindenwood comes to Warrensburg on a three match losing streak. They are 5-9 overall and 1-3 in the MIAA. After defeating Pittsburg State, the Lions fell in four to Central Oklahoma and Nebraska-Kearney and were swept by Fort Hays State.
• As a team, Lindenwood ranks in the bottom half in every statistical category in the MIAA, both offensively and defensively and when it comes to opponent stats.
• Lindenwood does however have a top-three server in the MIAA. Alex Dahlstrom's 0.38 aces per set is third and her 19 total aces tie her for sixth.
• Two Lions have reached 100 kills this season with Jessica Krygsheld's 135 leading the way. Dahlstrom is close behind with 129 kills. Dahlstrom has reached double-figure kills in three of her last four games played.
• Primary setter Allyson Clancy is sixth in the MIAA this season averaging 9.81 assists per set. She also has 121 digs which ranks third on the team and double-doubles in her last three matches. She's reached at least 40 assists in five matches this season with a best of 58 vs. Sioux Falls.
• Sarah Makowski is nearing 1.00 blocks per set this season. Her 0.97 is ninth in the MIAA and her 36 total lead the team. Alex Bogusz has 27 blocks and 89 kills with a .242 attack percentage for the Lions.
• Defensive specialist Megan Hellwege is up to 4.30 digs per set which is sixth in the MIAA and her 215 total digs are eighth. She's reached double-digit digs in her last five matches and has reached 20 blocks four times.
