Jennies Volleyball Heads to St. Charles for Midweek Match at Lindenwood

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Nov. 8, 2016) - The final week of the regular season begins tonight for No. 16 Jennies Volleyball as they travel to St. Charles for a match against Lindenwood. The Jens have three matches this week to finish up the regular season, starting tonight at 7 p.m.

When: Tuesday, November 8

Where: St. Charles, Mo. - Robert F. Hyland Arena

Opponent: Lindenwood - 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 remain in the No. 16 spot in the AVCA rankings for the second straight week. 
• With just one weeks remaining in the MIAA regular season, the Jennies are 8-7 and are currently in sixth place, one-half game behind fifth place Fort Hays State (9-7) and one game behind fourth-place Northwest Missouri (9-6). The top eight teams make the MIAA Tournament Championship with the top four hosting quarterfinal matches Tuesday, November 15. 
• Lindenwood is 11-16 this season and 5-10 in the MIAA. They are still alive in the conference race, looking to get to the No. 8 spot in the final standings. They are currently in ninth place one half game behind Emporia State.

Story Lines
• The Jennies are undefeated when playing Lindenwood, including a 3-0 win last month. One of the newer teams in the MIAA, the Jennies and Lions have met just 10 times previously. This will be the fifth time these two have met in St. Charles.
• In their match last month, the Jens swept the Lions 25-14, 25-16, 25-17. Mackenzie Harding and Molly Lawrence each landed 12 kills, a career-high for Harding. Tyler Downs was playing setter and helped out with 37 assists and Katie Carlson had a game-high 16 digs.
• Last week, the Jennies went 2-1 winning their two matches 3-0 over William Jewell and Emporia State. The Jennies dropped a heartbreaker 3-2 against Washburn. The Jennies led the match 1-0 after the first set and held a 10-7 lead in set five before the Ichabods came from behind for the win.
• Sophomore Kylie Hohlen won her first MIAA Hitter of the Week award this week. The outside hitter landed 38 kills and also picked up 46 digs in 11 sets. She helped out all over the court also picking up three service aces and three blocks. 
• 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 two straight weeks and three of the last five. Their 16th ranking matches their lowest of the season. The Jennies have been ranked as high as sixth this season on two separate occasions. 

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 11/4/2016)
On the offensive end of the floor, the Jennies are third in the MIAA in team hitting percentage (.233) and fourth in kills per set (13.76). Cheyanne Lyons is the team leader and is seventh in the league at 3.08 kills per set. The Jens have two in the MIAA top-10 in hitting percentage with Kourtney Thompson fifth at .348 and Kasey Hohlen ninth at .319. In conference only games, Maddie Jones is seventh hitting .316.

Also in conference only games, the Jennies have two in the MIAA top-10 in service aces. Katie Carlson is fifth in the conference with 0.29 aces per game and Kylie Hohlen eighth at 0.25. Hohlen is also ninth in digs per set with 4.06 in MIAA contests.

At the national level, the Jennies rank 21st in kills per set and 30th in hitting percentage and 33rd in assists per set. Thompson is a big help to those last two, she's 45th in hitting percentage and 49th in assists per set. 

Career Milestones
Senior setter Kourtney Thompson cracked 3,000 career assists earlier this season and now stands at 3,191 for her career. Her 9.82 assists per set are seventh all-time at UCM

Maddie Jones surpassed 900 career kills two weeks ago At 946 she is just 54 away from 1,000. Jones is also closing in on 250 career blocks. She is just one block away from the milestone with 249.

Fellow senior Mackenzie Harding went over 100 kills for the season earlier in the year and is at 232 for her career. Harding has 131 kills this season, a career-best. She also reached 100 career blocks last weekend vs. Washburn.

Redshirt-freshman Carly Offerdahl needs just one more dig to reach 300 for her season and career. 

Junior Kasey Hohlen went over 100 career total blocks last week. She has 108 blocks in less than two full seasons. She also needs just 16 more kills to reach 400 for her career and 41 for back-to-back 200 kill seasons.

Cheyanne Lyons returned from injury to play last week. She is now just 15 kills shy of reaching 400 for her career. She has set a single-season high with 222 kills this season. 

Jennies on the Road
This season, Central Missouri has posted a 6-4 record when playing on the road. During his tenure as head coach, the Jennies are 73-18 on the road under Coach Piontek. 

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 97-0 under Piontek. That includes going 9-0 this season. Things normally work out even if they fall a little short. They are 18-0 this season and 193-10 when hitting at least .200 for a match. 

Against Unranked Opponents 
The Jennies have faced one of the toughest schedules in the nation, playing 10 of their first 28 games against ranked opponents this season, including five matches against top-10 teams. In their 18 games against unranked opponents, the Jennies have made the most of their opportunities posting a 16-2 record against teams outside the top-25. With their win over Emporia State on Saturday, Coach Piontek is 201-10 against unranked teams in his eight years as Jennies head coach. 

What's Ahead?
Following the midweek match at Lindenwood, the Jennies wrap up the regular season with a home match against Missouri Western and back on the road at Northwest Missouri this Friday and Saturday. The Jennies will celebrate their four seniors, Mackenzie Harding, Maddie Jones, Cheyanne Lyons, and Kourtney Thompson with a special on court ceremony following their match on Friday. Next week is the quarterfinal round of the MIAA Tournament played at campus sites Tuesday, Nov. 15. Next weekend will be the conference semifinal and final round played at the highest remaining seed after the quarterfinals. 

Scouting the Opposition
Lindenwood Lions
• Lindenwood enters Tuesday's match on a three match MIAA losing streak. Their last conference win came on Oct. 28 in a 3-1 win over Pittsburg State. The Lions are 11-16 this season and 5-10 in the MIAA. They are nearly .500 at home with a 6-7 record in St. Charles. 
• 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-10 server in the MIAA. Alex Dahlstrom's 0.31 aces per set is sixth and her 28 total aces tie her for sixth.  
• Two Lions have reached 200 kills this season with Jessica Krygsheld's 128 leading the way. Dahlstrom is close behind with 220 kills. Dahlstrom has reached double-figure kills in 11 games this season.
• Primary setter Allyson Clancy is fifth in the MIAA this season averaging 10.19 assists per set. She also has 227 digs which ranks second on the team and 10 double-doubles this season. She's reached at least 27 assists in each of her last 12 matches this season and has a high of 58 coming against Sioux Falls. 
• Sarah Makowski is at 0.86 blocks per set this season to lead the Lions with 70 total blocks and eight solo. Alex Bogusz' 75 total blocks are a team and she's averaging 0.81 blocks per set and is hitting a team-best .286 on offense. 
• Defensive specialist Megan Hellwege is up to 4.62 digs per set which is fifth in the MIAA and her 439 total digs are also sixth. She's reached double-digit digs in 17 of her last 18 matches.