Volleyball Travels to Kearney for MIAA Tournament

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Nov. 16, 2017) - Central Missouri Jennies Volleyball is back in the MIAA Tournament semifinals in search of their 15th MIAA Conference Tournament.

Opponent: No. 7 Nebraska-Kearney Lopers (31-3, 16-2 MIAA)

Where: Kearney, Neb. - Health and Sports Center

When: Friday, Nov. 17 - 7:30 pm
           MIAA Championship - Saturday, Nov. 18

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 went 2-0 last week and ended the regular season on a four match winning streak. They moved up to No. 18 in the AVCA rankings and are No. 9 in the latest NCAA Regional rankings as of Nov. 8. They have been ranked no lower than 20th in the coaches poll at any point this season.
• The Jennies defeated Northwest Missouri in the opening round of the MIAA Tournament 3-1 for their fifth straight win. 
• Nebraska-Kearney finished the regular season at 31-3 and 16-2 in the MIAA to share the regular season title with Missouri Western. They earned the tiebreaker over the Griffons based on sets won against each other for the right to host the semifinals and finals. 
• Following Tuesday's opening round, the higher seeds all won meaning the top-four teams in the MIAA will meet in Kearney, Neb. for the semifinals and Championship Match. Semifinals take place Friday, Nov. 17 with the Championship Saturday, Nov. 18. 

Story Lines
• No team in the MIAA has a better winning percentage against the Jennies than Nebraska-Kearney. The Jennies are 12-10 all-time against the Lopers, but just 1-5 when playing in Kearney. Nebraska-Kearney has a four-match winning streak against UCM including once this season. 
• Only one time in team history have the Jennies failed to make the semifinals of the MIAA Tournament. That came in 2007. Central Missouri has won 14 MIAA Conference Tournament Championships with their latest coming in 2015. 
• The Jennies failed to make the NCAA Regional Championships for the first time in 33 years last year. They might need to win the MIAA Tournament to make a return trip. The winner of the MIAA Tournament receives and automatic bid to the regional. The Jennies can also earn an at-large bid by placing in the top-eight. 
• Central Missouri volleyball with their fourth place finish this season has finished no lower than fourth in the MIAA in team history. 
• Last season, UCM went 11-7 in conference and finished fourth overall in the regular season and made it to the semifinals of the MIAA Tournament.
• The Jennies went 23-10 overall in 2016, their 36th straight season with at least 20 wins. 

Quick Hits
Last Time Out
Central Missouri won their MIAA Opening Round match 3-1 against No. 5 seed Northwest Missouri Tuesday in the Multi. The Jennies dropped the first set 25-21, before going on to win by scores of 25-22, 25-15 and 25-19. Kasey Hohlen led the team with 20 kills. Four different Jennies landed at least 10 kills. Aubree Bell had a double-double with 12 kills and 12 digs. Ally Offerdahl also picked up a double-double with 51 assists and 13 digs. 

Previously vs. Nebraska-Kearney
The Jennies were swept 3-0 in their only match with the Lopers this season, back on Oct. 13 in Kearney. All three sets were close with the Jennies scoring at least 20 in each, including an extra-point 27-25 loss in the third set. UCM has now lost four straight to UNK. Their last win came at the MIAA Championship semifinals in 2015. 

UCM in the Polls
The Jennies moved up one spot to No. 18 this week in the AVCA coaches poll after being ranked 19th for the last two weeks. They reached a high of No. 15 Sept. 11 and have been no lower than 20th all season long. 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 409 straight weeks, the longest in the AVCA. 

In the NCAA Regional Rankings, the Jennies fell out of the top-10 this week. They had been ranked ninth in the first two polls. The top eight teams make the NCAA regional with automatic bids going to conference tournament champions out of the MIAA, Northern Sun and GAC conferences. The NCAA will announce the regional field Monday, Nov. 20 at 6:30.

Conference Leader Board (as of 11/16/2017)
Central Missouri's offense is at the top of the league in three major categories. UCM leads the MIAA with 13.43 assists per set as well as kills with 14.53 and are ranked in the top-15 in the NCAA in both. They are second in the league with a .249 attack percentage. 

Ally Offerdahl has been the one racking up the assists. Her 11.36 assists per set is second in the MIAA and is 18th in the NCAA. Kasey Hohlen leads the MIAA and is 22nd in the NCAA with a .375 attack percentage. She is also fourth in kills per set with 3.56. Freshman Audrey Fisher's .333 attack percentage moved her to third in the MIAA. She is not only third in the league in hitting percentage, she is also second in the conference with 0.38 service aces per set and her 42 total aces are best in the league. She has also moved into the top-10 in kills per set with 3.06 which is ninth.  

Defensively, Kylie Hohlen leads the league and 10th in Division II with 6.15 digs per set.

Around the MIAA
The higher seeds all won their first round matches, meaning 1-4 will meet in Kearney, Neb. for the semifinals and final rounds. The Jennies play host and No. 1 seed Nebraska-Kearney at 7:30 pm. No. 2 seed Missouri Western will play No. Central Oklahoma. The Lopers are ranked third in the latest NCAA Regional rankings while the Bronchos are sixth.

Individual Milestones
• Katie Carlson is six digs away from hitting 700. 
• Aubree Bell landed her 300th kill in the win against Northwest Missouri
• Kasey Hohlen knocked career kill number 800 Tuesday and seven blocks from 200.
• Kylie Hohlen needs just 14 digs for 1500 in her career. 
• Abby Skrastins needs just two digs to reach 200. 
• Hannah VanBuskirk needs nine more kills for 250. 
• Molly Lawrence had the fourth-best single match hitting percentage in team history last week against Southwest Baptist with eight kills on nine attempts with no errors. 

.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 107-0 when they hit at least .300 and did so for their third consecutive time in the win on Tuesday. While it hasn't happened often under Piontek, UCM is just 3-10 when surrendering a .300 attack percentage to their opponent. 

All-MIAA
For the fifth straight year seven Jennies were named to the All-MIAA team. Three Jennies picked up First Team honors, those going to Kasey and Kylie Hohlen and Aubree Bell. It is the third All-MIAA award for each Hohlen sister and their first time selected to the First Team. Two Jennies made the second team in freshmen Audrey Fisher and Ally Offerdahl. Senior Katie Carlson made her first career All-MIAA team being named Honorable Mention, as was redshirt-freshman Hannah VanBuskirk. 

Scouting the Opposition
Nebraska-Kearney Lopers
• Nebraska-Kearney has lost just three matches this season. They ended the regular season with a loss to Missouri Western to snap a 15 match winning streak. 
• The Lopers are ranked seventh this week in the AVCA Coaches poll, and third in the region. 
• The site of where the Jennies 2016 season came to an end, the Lopers are a perfect 18-0 this season when playing at home. In fact they have lost only five sets this season playing at the Health and Sports Center.
• Its no surprise the Lopers are at the top of the MIAA in nearly every statistical category, but the only one they lead in is opponents hitting percentage which is at .116 for the season.
• Setter Lindsey Smith is third in the league in assists per set and was a All-MIAA First Team selection. She is averaging 11.21 assists per set and is a three time MIAA Specialist of the Week.
• Three Lopers are in the MIAA top-10 in kills per set. Tara Ziegelbein, the MIAA Player of the Year is seventh with 3.15 and Kaitlynn Thomas is eighth at 3.14. Kendall Schroer leads the team with 3.18. 
• Ziegelbein does it on defense two as she leads the Lopers with 1.12 blocks per set which is fourth in the MIAA. Of her 122 total blocks, 20 have been solo. Josie Cox is second on the team with 68.
• Ellie McDonnell has long been one of the better liberos in the MIAA. She is currently averaging 4.41 digs per set which ranks eighth. Morgan Stute is also over three digs per set with 3.27.
• UNK has 152 total service aces in 115 sets for a 1.3 ace per set average. Stute leads the team with 31. She is one of four Lopers with at least 200 aces. Julianne Jackson and MK Wolfe have 28 and Smith has 27.
• The Lopers are hitting .228 as a team which is third in the MIAA and their 13.96 kills per set is second. Ziegelbein is hitting .327 this season.