WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Nov. 14, 2017) - It wasn't easy at times, but Central Missouri Jennies Volleyball lives to play another match. They defeated Northwest Missouri 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 25-15, 25-19) Tuesday evening in the first round of the MIAA Championship Tournament.

How it Happened
• Four Jennies hit for double-figure kills as UCM landed 68 kills to the Bearcats 47. 
• For the third straight game the Jens hit better than .300 with a .323 attack percentage.
• Both defenses came to play with the Jennies totaling 80 digs and the Bearcats 72. NWMSU also had eight blocks to the Jennies six. 
• Northwest came ready to play and got out in front of UCM in the opening set. The Bearcats committed just one attack error in the while landing 17 kills. The lead went back-and-forth a few times, and four straight kills gave the Jens a 17-16 lead and forced a NWMSU timeout. Out of the break, the Bearcats quickly regained the lead and never trailed again, going on to win 25-21. Hannah VanBuskirk landed seven kills in the set and both teams hit better than .350.
• Set two saw 11 ties and five lead changes and neither team held more than a one-point lead until a Kasey Hohlen kill made it 16-14 in favor of the home team, and after that it was all UCM. A Katie Carlson service ace made it a four-point game, 22-18, but Northwest made a run and cut the lead to one, 23-22. Once again it was Hohlen lifting the team with back-to-back kills to end the set and tie the match. 
• With the third set tied early at four, that's when the Jennies took over. They went on a 14-5 run to go on top 18-9 and were able to breathe a little easier with a 25-15 set three win to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
• The Jennies actually never trailed set four, but it was anyones game as the frame was tied on 10 different occasions. Four straight points put UCM up by four, 14-10, but that was answered right away by four straight from Northwest. Credit to the Jennies who didn't get rattled. Hohlen scored the next point and UCM started rolling after. The Jens scored four straight again near the end of the set and a NWMSU attack error clinched the match for Central Missouri.

Jennies Stat Leaders
• The same day as being named First Team All-MIAA, Kasey Hohlen proved why with 20 kills on 34 attacks and a .559 hitting percentage.
• Audrey Fisher actually outscored Hohlen with 16 kills, three service aces and four blocks for 21 points.
• Aubree Bell collected a double-double with 12 kills and 12 digs.
• Ally Offerdahl also had a double-play of 51 assists and 13 digs. She also had six kills. 
• Kylie Hohlen, had a game-high 28 digs and five assists.
• Hannah VanBuskirk was in double-figures with 11 kills.  
• Katie Carlson picked up eight digs and landed a service ace.

For the Bearcats
• Maddy Bruder led the team with 16 kills and had 12 digs.
• The team shared setting duties with Sarah Dannettell collecting 22 and Maddy Ahrens 15 to go along with 13 digs.
• Olivia Nowakowski racked up 19 digs.
• Morgan Lewis chipped in with 11 kills and three blocks.

News and Notes
• The win is the Jennies 93rd all time against Northwest Missouri.
• UCM Volleyball is back in the MIAA Tournament semifinals. Only one time in now 22 MIAA Tournaments have the Jennies failed to make the semifinals, that came in 2007.
• Flip Piontek kept up a pair of perfect records moving to 35-0 when playing on Tuesdays and 107-0 when hitting .300 for the match.
• Another perfecto: The Jennies move to 10-0 this season at home. It is their eighth undefeated season at home and first since 2013.
• Kasey Hohlen hit career kill number 800 in the match.
• Aubree Bell hit kill number 300. She also tallied her seventh double-double while Ally Offerdahl had her 12th double-double. They are the only two Jennies to record a double-double of any kind this season.

Up Next
• In a repeat of last year's MIAA semifinal match, the Jennies play No. 1 seed and host Nebraska-Kearney, Friday, Nov. 17. Game time is to be determined. The Jennies season came to an end last year at this point with a 3-1 loss to the Lopers after claiming the opening set.
• The higher seeds all won in the opening round. The winner of UCM-UNK will meet the winner of No. 2 Missouri Western and No. 3 Central Oklahoma.
• The Jennies are 0-1 this season against Nebraska-Kearney, 1-0 against Central Oklahoma and 1-1 against Missouri Western.