WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Sept. 7, 2016) - Sixth ranked Central Missouri Jennies Volleyball heads to Denver, Colo. for the annual Colorado Premier Challenge. The Jens will play two games Friday, Sept. 9 against No. 19 Angelo State and Metro State. They'll play two more Saturday, with their opponents to be determined based on their record Friday.
When: Friday-Saturday, Sept. 9-10
Where: Denver, Colo., co-hosted by Metro State University and Regis University with matches played at both sites.
Opponents: No. 19 Angelo State - Friday, Sept. 9, 1 p.m.
                 Metro State - Friday, Sept. 9, 8 p.m.
                 TBA - Saturday, Sept. 10
How to Watch: Live stats are available for all matches and live video will be provided for select games of the Tournament. Visit www.roadrunnersathletics.com for a complete, up-to-date list of live broadcasts.
First Serve
• The Jennies are ranked sixth in the AVCA this week. They moved up three spots from No. 9 in the preseason rankings.
• Central Missouri went 3-1 last weekend at the West Florida Hampton Inn-Vitational. The Jennies defeated No. 23 West Florida and Findlay and Carson-Newman who were receiving votes. Their only loss was at the hands of No. 2 Wheeling Jesuit, defending NCAA DII Champions.
• Angelo State is off to a 4-0 start and are tied for the 19th spot in this week's AVCA rankings. This will be the Belles first time away from home, after hosting a tournament in San Angelo last weekend.
• Metro State also got their season started with four straight wins to open the season. They are receiving votes in this week's AVCA poll.
Story Lines
• The Jennies continue their difficult early season schedule. After going 3-1 against teams at least receiving votes in the AVCA top-25 poll, the Jennies will take on two more Friday.
• Depending on how the Jennies fare on Friday will determine their opponents for Saturday's matches.
• Central Missouri has seen each of their opponents Friday a number of times in the past. UCM is 14-2 all-time against Angelo State, though the two teams haven't faced each other since 2011. The Jens are 13-7 against Metro State and swept the Roadrunners last season.
• 2016 will mark the 18th time the Jennies have participated in the Colorado Premier Challenge dating back to 1996. They have a combined record of 41-27 in 68 matches in the Tournament. Only once, 1996 have the Jennies gone 4-0 and only once, 2014 have they gone 0-4.
•
Kourtney Thompson won her second-career MIAA Specialist of the Week award after averaging 10.19 assists per set with 19 kills and 32 digs last weekend.
• The Jennies went 30-5 last season and won their 14th MIAA Tournament Championship.
Quick Hits
Jennies Records
Jennies setter
Kourtney Thompson is up to 163 assists through four games this season. She now has 2,601 career assists. Her 9.71 assists per set already ranks seventh all-time in Jennies history. To reach 10th in career assists, Thompson needs 1,025 more.
UCM in the Polls
After going 3-1 last week, the Jennies moved up three spots to No. 6 in the AVCA Coaches Poll. UCM started the season at No. 9 in the preseason poll and their current rank matches their highest ranking from the 2015 season. The Jens have been ranked in every AVCA poll since its inception in 1986, a span of 385 polls.
Before the season started, Central Missouri was picked to finish second in the MIAA, tying with Washburn with 106 points in the preseason coaches poll.
Conference Leader Board (as of 9/6/2016)
Despite the loss of All-American libero
Annie Reilly, the Jennies defense sits atop the conference in digs per set with 17.38. To make up for the loss of Reilly,
Katie Carlson has been seeing considerable time and has 4.00 digs per set, seventh in the MIAA and
Kylie Hohlen has chipped in with 3.81 which is ninth. Also on the defensive end, the Jennies have allowed the fewest opponent service aces in the MIAA at 13 and 0.81 aces per set.
On the offensive end of the floor, Central Missouri is second in the MIAA averaging 14 kills per set.
Cheyanne Lyons is the team leader and is sixth in the league at 3.44 kills per set.
Kourtney Thompson is fifth in the MIAA in assists per set with 10.19. Her 163 total assists lead the MIAA. Thompson finished third in each of the last two seasons, averaging 10.69 assists per ste last season and 10.27 in 2014.
Jazzy Juniors
Two juniors have already been putting up career numbers after seeing limited playing time their first two years.
Katie Carlson and
Molly Lawrence have provided helping hands in the Jennies three wins this season. Carlson matched her total digs from last season in a win over West Florida with 25. She's been the Jennies starting libero and leads UCM with 64 digs. On the offensive end,
Molly Lawrence has already surpassed her career total entering the year in kills. She has 27 kills and landed a career-high 13 against West Florida. Â
Versus Ranked Opponents
The Jennies so far this season are 1-1 against ranked opponents with a win over No. 23 West Florida and a loss to No. 2 Wheeling Jesuit. Last year, the Jennies went 5-4 aganst AVCA top-25 teams and are 53-31 under coach Piontek. This week, they'll take on No. 19 Angelo State and including the Jennies, eight of the 12 teams in Denver this weekend are ranked.
Double Dipping
Two Jennies picked up double-doubles over the weekend in three games.
Kylie Hohlen recorded a pair of double-doubles after have four all of last season.
Cheyanne Lyons recorded her first career double-double against West Florida. It was her first ever picking up 10 or more digs and also the first time she's reached 20 kills in a match.
All-Time Wins
After winning three matches last weekend, the Jennies have a total of 1,389 wins in their history, leaving them just 11 shy of reaching 1,400.
Digging For Gold
Last season, the Jennies finished with 18.41 digs per set, thanks in part to
Annie Reilly's 5.92 digs per set. So far in the early going of 2016, the Jens still top the MIAA in digs per set with 17.38. They've taken more of a committee approach with four players averaging at least two digs per game.
Katie Carlson leads the team with four digs per set, followed by
Kylie Hohlen's 3.81,
Carly Offerdahl's 2.50 and
Kourtney Thompson's two digs per set. Â
New Faces
So far this season, five Jennies have seen the floor who didn't a season ago. Redshirt freshman
Carly Offerdahl and
Tyler Downs saw their first action in two years and freshmen
Rylee Neigenfind and
Abby Skrastins, along with transfer
Fuatino Manu got some playing time in Florida.
Hot Starts
The Jennies have won the opening set in all four matches thus far in 2016. They've scored 101 points, their most in any set and allowed 81, their fewest in any set in the first frame. Last season, the Jennies won the opening set in 28 of 35 matches.
Scouting the Opposition
No. 19 Angelo State
• Angelo State opened their 2016 season last weekend going 4-0 at their own Invitational. The Belles defeated South Dakota School of Mines, St. Mary's, St. Edwards, and Regis, beating three of four in straight sets.
• The Belles advanced to the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Championship in 2015, losing in five sets to Arkansas Fort-Smith.
• Angelo State is ranked in the AVCA top-25, checking in this week at No. 19.
• As a team, the Belles are hitting .278 while holding opponents to a .137 attack percentage. They are averaging 14.7 kills/set.
• Two Belles, have more than 40 kills this season with Mallory Blauser leading ASU with 46. Brianna Sotello is right behind her with 43 kills and Abbie Lynn has 37.
• Blauser is also the team leader with 11 total blocks.
• Angelo State is averaging two service aces per set with 26 in 13 sets. Meghan Parker is responsible for nearly half of that total, having already landed 12 service aces this season.
• Park is also the team's starting setter and has a team-best 159 assists.
Metro State
• Metro State started their season going 4-0 at the Concordia University (Ore.) Tournament. They defeated Florida Southern, Concordia, Missouri S&T and Western Oregon.
• Like Angelo State, the Roadrunners season also came to an end last year at the hands of Arkansas Fort-Smith. Metro State fell in the opening round of the Regional three sets to two.
• Metro State is receiving votes in this week's AVCA Coaches Poll.
• The Roadrunners have played 17 sets in four matches and have 224 kills, averaging 13.18 kills per set. Michaela Smith leads the team having put down 57 kills slready this season. Right behind her is Ryan Hoerdemann with 48 kills and Vasati Fiatoa who has 47 kills.
• Hoerdemann and Fiatoa share the team lead with 13 total blocks. Stephanie Laraway has 12 and a team-best two block solos.
• As a team, the Roadrunners are hitting .238. Fiatoa has committed only eight errors and is hitting a team-best .476.
• Averaging 10.65 assists per set, Brandi Torr leads MSU. She's handed out 181 assists through the first four matches.
• The Roadrunners collect points on the serve, totaling 25 service aces this season. Michaela Smith leads the team with seven.
• With 4.24 digs per set, Jackie Lopez has been the center of the MSU defense.
