Volleyball Remains Home for Two This Weekend

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Oct. 19, 2017) - No. 18 Central Missouri Volleyball wraps up a three match week this weekend with a pair of MIAA matchups.

Opponents: Pittsburg State (3-18, 0-9 MIAA)
                    No. 10 Central Oklahoma (21-2, 8-1 MIAA)

Where: Warrensburg, Mo. - UCM Multipurpose Building

When: Friday, Oct. 20 - 6 p.m. vs. Pittsburg State
            Saturday, Oct. 21 - 4 p.m. vs. No. 10 Central Oklahoma

How to Watch
This weekend's matches 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 played a nonconference match earlier this week, defeating William Jewell 3-0. 
• Pittsburg State is yet to win an MIAA match this season, starting the year out at 0-9. They are 3-18 overall in coach Jen Gomez's second season with the team.
• Central Oklahoma is tied for the lead in the MIAA standings at 8-1 and are 21-2 on the season. Middle Hitter Jordan Spence was the MIAA co-Hitter of the Week last week along with Kasey Hohlen. 

Story Lines
• All-time against Pittsburg State the Jennies are 59-5-1. Their last loss to the Gorillas came in September of 2009. Since then, they have won 16 straight matches over PSU. The Jens are also 27-3 lifetime in Warrensburg when hosting Pitt State.
• Central Missouri is 13-3 in 16 all-time matchups with the Bronchos, but just 4-3 in their last seven, and have lost to UCO at least once in each of the last three seasons. 
• The Jennies wrap up their season-long four game homestand on Tuesday with a match against Lindenwood, who they defeated earlier this season in St. Charles. 
• There are just three weekends left of volleyball this season and seven matches in UCM's regular season. 
• 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 played their first match of the week at home on Tuesday with a 3-0 sweep of nonconference foe, William Jewell. Kasey Hohlen and Audrey Fisher each had more than 10 kills. Ally Offerdahl had 38 assists and Kylie Hohlen picked up 28 digs. 

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 13.33 assists per set as well as kills with 14.21 and are in the top-12 in the NCAA in both. They are second in the league with a .237 attack percentage. 

Ally Offerdahl has been the one racking up the assists. Her 11.34 assists per set is second in the MIAA and is 17th in the NCAA. Kasey Hohlen leads the MIAA and is 23rd in the NCAA with a .370 attack percentage. She is also fourth in kills per set with 3.42. Freshman Aubrey Fisher's .309 attack percentage is fifth in the MIAA. 

Defensively, Kylie Hohlen leads the league and 10th in Division II with 6.29 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 13 more kills away from reaching 700 for her career. 
• Audrey Fisher needs two digs and three blocks to reach 50 in both categories.  
• Ally Offerdahl needs 1.5 more points for 100 this season
• Abby Skrastins needs just two digs to reach 200. 

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 11.34 assists per set. Audrey Fisher and Aubree Bell are each over 200 kills for season. Redshirt freshman Hannah VanBuskirk is also averaging more than two kills per set and is fourth on the team with 27 total blocks. 

Stifling Defense
Four Jennies are now averaging at least two digs per set through eight matches this season. Kylie Hohlen's 6.29 leads the team. Senior Katie Carlson has 225 digs and 2.92 digs per set and both Offerdahl's with Carly and Ally both averaging 2.31 digs per set and they each have exactly 178 digs. 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 0.77 and 59 total blocks. Central Missouri is outblocking their opponents 1.68 per set to 1.67 in MIAA games. 

.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. 

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
Pittsburg State Gorillas - 3-1, 0-9 MIAA
• Pittsburg State comes to Warrensburg with losses in each of their last 12 matches. They are 3-18 on the season, with their last win coming Sept. 14th. 
• The Gorillas are yet to win a match in conference play. They are 0-9 to start the MIAA season and have only won three sets in MIAA competition. 
• On the road, the Gorillas are also winless. They are 0-7 in road games. 
• Pittsburg State is hitting exactly 100 percentage points lower than the Jennies this season. The Gorillas attack percentage is .137 while the Jennies are at .237. 
• The Gorillas are being out-played in every facet of the game, not just hitting percentage. Lauren Regier is this top hitter with 211 kills, averaging 2.81 kills per set. Noelle Dooley is the only other Gorilla to average more than two kills per set with 2.41 and 169 total kills. They are both hitting over .200 at .213 and .214 respectively. 
• Pittsburg State has had issues on the serve, committing 141 service errors, or 1.88 per set. They do have 66 aces with 17 coming from Carolina VanBuskirk and 15 from Lauren Maisberger. 
• The Gorillas are another team that runs a 6-2 offense. VanBuskirk (sister of Jennie Hannah VanBuskirk) is the primary setter and has 382 assists this season, averaging 5.62 assists per set. Kylie Farris and Camryn Blanton have been the other setters for PSU. Blanton has 157 assists and Farris 151. 
• On the defense, Maisberger and Lauren Dunn have seen the bulk of the action. Maisberger's 3.65 digs per set leads the team and Dunn is at 2.92. Raven Lawlor is at 2.85 digs per set and has seen her playing time increase of late.
• The Gorillas have been able to hang with teams when it comes to blocking. They average 1.73 blocks per set while opponents are at 1.78. Emily Regier leads the team with 65 total blocks and has 10 solo.  

No. 10 Central Oklahoma Bronchos - 21-2, 8-1 MIAA
• Unlike Pittsburg State, Central Oklahoma is one of the best teams in country. They've lost only two matches this season and are 21-2 and 8-1 in the MIAA. 
• This week Central Oklahoma is ranked 10th by the AVCA. 
• The Bronchos first conference loss came last week at home to Missouri Western, 3-2. Their only other loss came in the first week of the season, playing at No. 25 Tarleton State, whom the Jennies also lost to back in September. 
• Central Oklahoma runs on of the best offenses in the league. They lead the MIAA and are 13th in Division II with a .262 attack percentage. By contrast, opponents are hitting 100 points lower at .147. 
• Jordan Spence ranks second in the MIAA in hitting percentage at .358. She has 183 kills which is second on the team and averages 2.41 kills per set. Alexis Washington is hitting .289 and has 122 kills in 71 sets played. 
• Taylor Bevis is an early Player of the Year candidate. She is third in the NCAA with 5.11 kills per set and has 337 total kills. Bevis is also hitting .218 and has 32 total blocks. 
• McKenzie Fyfe is the one in the middle. She has passed out 10.19 assists per set which is fourth in the MIAA. 
• Dominique Lipari leads the back row with 4.71 digs per set. She is fifth in the MIAA. Bevis also has her fair share of digs, averaging 3.04 digs per set and has 202 total on the season. 
• The Bronchos are one of the better blocking teams in the MIAA, coming in at No. 3 in the league with 2.18 blocks per set. They also rank 39th in Division II. The tandem of Spence and Washington in the middle have most of the blocks with Spence's 78 leading the team and Washington right behind with 76. They also have a combined 25 of the teams 22 solo blocks. 
• On the serve, the Bronchos 88 service aces are fifth in the MIAA. Callie Bangasser has the team lead with 21. UCO has given up just 55 aces in 76 sets.