Jennies Return Home for Tuesday Tilt with William Jewell

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Oct. 17, 2017) - Central Missouri Volleyball returns to the Multipurpose Building for nonconference mid-week action Tuesday night.

Opponent: William Jewell (8-13, 2-7 GLVC)

Where: Warrensburg, Mo. - UCM Multipurpose Building

When: Tuesday, Oct. 17 - 7 p.m.

How to Watch
Tuesday's match will be webcast online through Central Missouri's Blueframe Internet portal on the MIAA Network at TheMIAANetwork.com/ucmmules It is a pay-per-view broadcast. Live stats can be found at UCMathletics.com.

First Serve
• Central Missouri moved up to number 18 this week in the AVCA Coaches Poll after going 1-1 last week. They had previously been ranked 20th for the last two weeks and four weeks ago they reached their highest position in the poll, No. 15 after starting the season at No. 21 in the preseason poll.  
• The Jennies are home for the first of three matches this weekend starting Tuesday against William Jewell. 
• The Cardinals are 8-13 this season and 2-7 in GLVC matches. They have been playing well of late, winning three straight, coming at the Midwest Regional Crossover last weekend, defeating Purdue Northwest, Ohio Dominican and Kentucky Wesleyan. 

Story Lines
• Central Missouri is 6-0 all-time against William Jewell. Last year the Jennies defeated the Cardinals 3-0 (25-14, 25-18, 25-23) in Liberty. Kylie Hohlen had 14 digs in the match and eight kills while Carly Offerdahl had 11 digs.
• The Jennies play two more matches this week at home. They take on Pittsburg State Friday night and No. 10 Central Oklahoma on Saturday. 
• Including tonight, UCM has only 10 games left in the regular season. The Jens will play most of those games in Warrensburg, with seven of the final 10 being home contests. 
• Last season, UCM went 11-7 in conference and finished fourth overall in the regular season.
• The Jennies went 23-10 overall in 2016, their 36th straight season with at least 20 wins. 

Quick Hits
Last Time Out
Central Missouri went 1-1 last week on the road defeating Fort Hays State 3-1 before falling to then-eighth ranked Nebraska-Kearney, 3-0. It was their first and only 3-0 loss so far this season. 

UCM in the Polls
The Jennies moved up to No. 18 this week in the AVCA Coaches Poll. They reached a high of No. 15 Sept. 11. They are the third-highest ranked MIAA team in the poll. The Jens have been ranked in every AVCA poll since its inception in 1986, and this week, hit 405 straight weeks, the longest in the AVCA. 

Conference Leader Board (as of 10/16/2017)
Central Missouri's offense is at the top of the league in three major categories. UCM leads the MIAA with 13.29 assists per set as well as kills with 14.12 and are in the top-20 in the NCAA in both. They are second in the league with a .236 attack percentage. 

Ally Offerdahl has been the one racking up the assists. Her 11.28 assists per set is second in the MIAA and is 18th in the NCAA. Kasey Hohlen leads the MIAA and is 27th in the NCAA with a .366 attack percentage. She is also fourth in kills per set with 3.39. Freshman Aubrey Fisher's .309 attack percentage is fifth. 

Defensively, Kylie Hohlen leads the league and 11th in Division II with 6.08 digs per set.

Audrey Fisher is not only fifth in the league in hitting percentage, she is at the top of the conference with 0.42 service aces per set. 

Individual Milestones
• Kasey Hohlen is 25 more kills away from reaching 700. 
• Aubree Bell needs just four more kills for 200 in her first season. 
• Abby Skrastins needs three more digs to reach 200. 
• Molly Lawrence reached 100 career-blocks last weekend in the match at Nebraska-Kearney.

New Kids on the Block
They aren't household names yet, but they are starting to be. Three true freshmen and one redshirt freshman have made major impacts. Setter Ally Offerdahl is most involved in the team's offense passing out 11.28 assists per set. Audrey Fisher and Aubree Bell are each over 190 kills for season. Redshirt freshman Hannah VanBuskirk is also averaging more than two kills per set and is fourth on the team with 25 total blocks. 

Stifling Defense
Four Jennies are now averaging at least two digs per set through eight matches this season. Kylie Hohlen's 6.16 leads the team. Senior Katie Carlson has 214 digs and 2.89 digs per set and both Offerdahl's as well with Carly coming up with 2.31 digs per set and Ally 2.28. Aubree Bell is just shy with 1.96 digs per set. 

The Jens have also been seeing an uptick in their blocking numbers. The Jens are sitting at 1.57 blocks per set, led by Kasey Hohlen's 0.74 and 55 total blocks. 

.300 or Better
If you didn't see the match, a good way to see if UCM won is to look at the hitting percentage. Under Coach Piontek, Central Missouri 103-0 when they hit at least .300. While it hasn't happened often under Piontek, UCM is also just 3-10 when surrendering a .300 attack percentage to their opponent. 

Double-Dipping
Only two Jennies this season have recorded a double-double. Ally Offerdahl has seven assist-dig double-doubles while Aubree Bell has six kill-dig double-doubles. No Jennies has recorded a triple-double since Sarah Dallas in 1997. Offerdahl seems to have the best chance. She's been in double-figure assists every game this season and has seven double-digit dig matches. Her career-high in kills is eight. 

This Tuesday in Missouri
Jennies Coach Flip Piontek has has uncanny success both on Tuesdays and when playing teams from in their home state of Missouri. In his 8+ seasons, Piontek is undefeated, 33-0 playing on Tuesdays and he is also 97-3 when playing teams from Missouri. This Tuesday the Jens take on William Jewell from nearby Liberty Missouri.

Sister Act
Jennies sisters Kasey and Kylie Hohlen were named the MIAA Hitter and Specialist of the Week this week. It is the third time this season for Kylie and the second award for Kasey. 

Scouting the Opposition
William Jewell Cardinals - 8-13, 2-7 GLVC
• William Jewell is on a three game winning streak after going 3-0 at the Midwest Regional Crossover. They are 8-13 overall and 2-7 in the GLVC. 
• The Cardinals have struggled on the road this season, going just 1-4 away from Liberty and have lost three straight on the road. 
• Outside of GLVC play, William Jewell is 6-6.
• The Cardinals offense is led by Maddie Wingert. She has 147 kills on the season and 2.45 kills per set. Grace Miller is leading the team with a .244 attack percentage and has 133 kills. Stefanie Richterkessing is also over 2.0 kills per set with 123 kills and 2.05 kills per set.
• William Jewell has landed 79 service aces this season with their opponents knocking down 73. Paige Cunningham is the team leader with 17. Alix Weigel has 14. 
• The Cardinals run a 6-2 offense with Weigel as the primary setter. She has 7.48 assists per set 486 assists. Megan Rhule has seen her playing time increase of late. She has 4.31 assists per set and 138 total assists. 
• Miller and Madeline Johnson are the top two blockers for the Cardinals. Miller has 0.76 blocks per set and Johnson is just a tad behind with 0.75. Of Miller's 56 total blocks, 10 have been solo. Opponents have put down more than two blocks per set against William Jewell. 
• Olivia Tolberd has held down the Cardinal back row. She leads the defense with 5.29 digs per set and has 413 total digs. Richterkessing has 189 total digs and 3.15 digs per set. 
• The Cardinals are hitting just .130 as a team this season. Their opponents are doing a better job on offense, with an attack percentage of .169.