Jennies Travel to Kearney, Neb. for MIAA Semifinals

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Nov. 17, 2016) - The MIAA Volleyball Tournament rolls on with the No. 4 seeded Central Missouri Jennies matching up with No. 1 seed Nebraska-Kearney.

When: Semifinals - Friday, Nov. 18, 7:30 p.m.
            Finals - Saturday, Nov. 19, TBA

Where: Kearney, Neb. - Health and Sports Center

Opponents: No. 1 seed Nebraska-Kearney (33-1, 17-1 MIAA)
                    Finals: No. 2 seed Washburn (27-5, 16-2 MIAA) or No. 3 seed Central Oklahoma (30-3, 15-3 MIAA)

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 remain in the No. 16 spot in the AVCA rankings for the third straight week. 
• For the first time this season, UCM made an appearance in the NCAA Central Region rankings, coming in at No. 10.
• Central Missouri wrapped up the regular season at 22-9 and 11-7 in the MIAA. They earned the No. 4 seed in the MIAA Tournament. 
• Central Missouri has now won at least 20 games in a season for the 40th straight year. 

Story Lines
• The Jennies are 12-8 all-time against Nebraska-Kearney They are 0-2 this season. Coach Piontek is 7-6 all-time against the Lopers and Central Missouri 1-4 against Nebraska-Kearney playing in Kearney, Neb.
• In their match last month, the Jens were swept 3-0 in Warrensburg. The first two sets were decided by three points or fewer and UCM played without Cheyanne Lyons. Maddie Jones led the offense with 12 kills and Kourtney Thompson had 32 assists. Three Jens picked up double-digit digs led by Carly Offerdahl's 22. The Lopers out-hit the Jens .245 to .147.
• The Lopers also swept UCM when they first met in Kearney back in September. That time, the team was playing without Kourtney Thompson and Kasey Hohlen. Kylie Hohlen led UCM with nine kills and 11 digs. 
• With the win over Fort Hays State Tuesday, UCM has a four-match winning streak. 
• Sophomore Kylie Hohlen won her first MIAA Hitter of the Week award last week. This week she won her second. The sophomore outside hitter connected for 35 kills and a 3.18 kills per set average while also aiding on defense with 44 digs and four digs per set.
• Central Missouri swept the MIAA weekly awards this week as redshirt-freshman Carly Offerdahl joined Hohlen. Offerdahl led the Jens with 66 digs on the week for a 6.0 dig per set average. She also passed out 16 assists and landed three service aces. 
• Last season, Central Missouri went 15-3 in conference, on their way to their 14th MIAA Tournament Championship. 
• The Jennies went 30-5 during the regular season in 2015 and appeared in their 33rd consecutive NCAA Tournament. 

Quick Hits
UCM in the Polls
Central Missouri remained at No. 16 in this week's AVCA Poll. They've now been ranked 16th for three straight weeks and four of the last six. Their 16th ranking matches their lowest of the season. The Jennies have been ranked as high as sixth this season on two separate occasions. 

For the first time this season, the Jennies were found in the NCAA Central Region rankings. They checked in at No. 10. The three conference tournament winners from the MIAA, Northern Sun and Great American Conference earn automatic bids and the next five highest ranked teams receive at-large bids to the Central Region Tournament.

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 11/17/2016)
On the offensive end of the floor, the Jennies are fourth in the MIAA in both team hitting percentage (.231) and third in kills per set (13.78). The Jens have two in the MIAA top-10 in hitting percentage with Kourtney Thompson seventh at .330 and Kasey Hohlen eighth at .327. In conference only games, Thompson is second in the MIAA hitting .375 while Maddie Jones is eighth hitting .316.

Also in conference only games, Katie Carlson is fifth in the conference with 0.29 aces per game. The Jens have two in the top-10 in digs per set with Kylie Hohlen ninth at 4.05 digs per set and Carly Offerdahl a spot behind her in 10th recording 3.97 digs per set in conference games.

Career Milestones
Senior setter Kourtney Thompson is well over 3,000 career assists standing at 3,355 for her career. Her 9.87 assists per set are seventh all-time at UCM.

Maddie Jones surpassed 900 career kills earlier in the season. At 977 she is just 23 away from 1,000. Jones also went over 250 career blocks last week at Lindenwood. She has 262 for her career.

Redshirt-freshman Carly Offerdahl needs three more to reach 400 and has gone over 20 digs in her last four matches.

Junior Kasey Hohlen went over 100 career total blocks two weeks ago. She has 118 blocks in less than two full seasons. She also went over the 400 career kill mark last weekend and needs one more for back-to-back 200 kill seasons.

Sophomore Kylie Hohlen reached 800 career digs in the Jennies win Tuesday over Fort Hays State. She is also just two kills away from reaching 500 for her career. 

Jennies in the MIAA Tournament
Central Missouri has had a great deal of success in the MIAA Tournament. Throughout the 19 years the tournament has been held (1982-92, 2003-07, 2012, 2013, 2015) Central Missouri has a 47-6 all-time record after Tuesday's win.

Jennies on the Road
Central Missouri went 11-3 at home this season, but if they want to win their second straight MIAA Tournament, they'll have to do so away from Warrensburg. The Jennies are 8-4 on the road this season, a position they'll be in Friday at Nebraska-Kearney. Should they win, that'll set up a neutral site match, in which UCM is 4-2 this season. 

MIAA Awards
The MIAA announced their All-MIAA members this week. For the second straight season, Maddie Jones made the All-MIAA First Team. She has been an All-MIAA member all four years at Central Missouri. Joining Jones on the First Team is Cheyanne Lyons. Lyons was Honorable Mention in 2015. Kourtney Thompson was named to the Second Team for the third straight season. Kylie Hohlen joined Thompson on the Second Team. Like Lyons, she was named Honorable Mention a season ago. Three Jennies were All-MIAA Honorable Mention: Kasey Hohlen, Molly Lawrence and Carly Offerdahl. For Hohlen, it is her second All-MIAA Honorable Mention in as many years. Lawrence and Offerdahl receive their first career All-MIAA honors. 

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 99-0 under Piontek. That includes going 11-0 this season. Things normally work out even if they fall a little short. They are 20-0 this season and 195-10 when hitting at least .200 for a match. 

Scouting the Opposition
Nebraska-Kearney Lopers
• The Lopers have won 13 straight matches and are 33-1 on the regular season. They went 17-1 in the MIAA to earn the No. 1 seed in the MIAA Tournament. They defeated Emporia State 3-0 in the MIAA Quarterfinal round, Tuesday. 
• UNK sits at No. 3 in the AVCA Coaches Poll and No. 4 in the NCAA Central Region rankings. 
• The Lopers have the highest hitting percentage plus/minus in the NCAA-II at .217. UNK's .301 attack percentage is fourth in the nation and they are second defensively, holding opponents to a .084 hitting percentage.
• The Lopers offense is led by Tara Ziegelbein and MIAA Player of the Year Annie Wolfe. Wolfe has a .388 attack percentage and 3.09 kills per set. Ziegelbein leads the MIAA and is fifth in the NCAA in hitting percentage, landing a kill 40.8% of the time. Wolfe's 38.8% is 11th in the NCAA. Kaitlynn Thomas is also fifth in the MIAA landing 3.32 kills per set.
• With 1,479 total assists, Kearney has the 12th most assists in the NCAA. All-MIAA First Teamer Lindsey Smith is second in the MIAA and is 10th in the NCAA with 11.67 assists per set. 
• As a team, the Lopers are averaging 17.49 digs per set. Libero Ellie McDonnell paces the Loper defense with 4.69 digs per set. Wolfe also helps out with her 3.07 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 0.60 per set and 65 total. They've landed 152 themselves, second most in the conference, led by Smith's 35, tied for the most in the MIAA this season.
• The Lopers are the third best blocking team in the MIAA with 2.22 blocks per set. Ziegelbein has a team-best 99 blocks this season. Mackenzie Puckett is right behind with 93 blocks and Wolfe has 69.