Volleyball Clashes with Lindenwood in Mid-Week Matchup

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Oct. 16, 2018) - No. 17 Central Missouri Jennies Volleyball starts this week with a midweek match on the road to conclude their three-match road trip.

Opponent: Lindenwood Lions (12-9, 4-7 MIAA)

Where: St. Charles, Mo.

When: Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018 - 6 p.m.

How to Watch
• Tuesday's matches will be broadcast live on the MIAA Network. Fans can access the stream by visiting www.themiaanetwork.com/ucmmules. The game will also feature live stats which can be found at www.ucmathletics.com.

First Serve
• Central Missouri wraps up a three-match road trip Tuesday evening in St. Charles to take on Lindenwood. The Jennies are 1-1 on the current trip with a win at Pittsburg State and a loss to then-17th-ranked Central Oklahoma. 
• For four straight weeks the Jennies have been ranked either 16th or 17th by the AVCA (American Volleyball Coaches Association). For the last two weeks they were 16th in the country before sliding down to 17th, which is where they were three weeks ago. 
• Following the Jennies match at Lindenwood, they will host two more this week. First on Friday, Oct. 19, UCM will take on Missouri Western before finishing up the weekend with a match against Northwest Missouri. 

Story Lines
• Central Missouri has never lost to Lindenwood. They are 14-0 since the Lions have joined the MIAA. The Lions have never won two sets against the Jennies in any match.
• UCM beat the Lions earlier this year in Warrensburg. 
• Coach Piontek has never lost as a Jennie when playing on a Tuesday. His teams are 37-0. The Jens are also now 107-6 all-time against teams from Missouri with Piontek on the bench. 

Quick Hits
Last Time Out
• Central Missouri went 1-1 last weekend for the second straight week, defeating Pittsburg State but falling to then 17th-ranked Central Oklahoma. 

Previously Against Lindenwood
• These two teams met nearly one month ago, back on September 18. The Jennies hosted and defeated Lindenwood 3-0 in three close sets. Kylie Hohlen was the only Jennie in double-figure kills with 11. UCM his .276 for the match while the Lions were held to a .170 attack percentage. Ally Offerdahl passed out 32 assists and Abby Skrastins came away with 13 digs. 

UCM in the Polls
• In the American Volleyball Coaches Poll, the Jennies fell one spot to No. 17 after being ranked 16th the previous two weeks. They had been ranked as  high as No. 9 and have appeared in all nine polls. The Jennies were ranked in the top-10 twice this season after starting out at No. 22 in the preseason.
• In the MIAA preseason poll, the Jens were picked to finish fourth behind Nebraska-Kearney, Missouri Western and Central Oklahoma. They finished with 85 points and one first place vote. 

Around the MIAA
• All 12 teams are in action Tuesday taking on their travel partner. 
• Washburn fell from the ranks of the unbeaten last weekend with a 3-0 loss to Northwest Missouri. The Ichabods and Nebraska-Kearney are tied atop the standings at 10-1. Central Oklahoma and Northwest Missouri are each 9-2 followed by the Jennies at 7-4. Those five teams are the only ones with a winning record in conference play. The top four teams will all host an MIAA quarterfinal round match. 

Individual Milestones
• Aubree Bell needs four more digs to get to 250. 
• With one more block, Audrey Fisher will reach 150. 
• Kylie Hohlen needs 22 more kills to set a career-best for a single season. 
• With one more assist Abby Skrastins will reach 100. 
• Carly Offerdahl is counting down to 1,000 career digs. She needs 68 more. 

.300 or Better
• If you didn't see the match, a good way to know if UCM won is to look at the hitting percentage. Under Coach Piontek, Central Missouri 109-0 when they hit at least .300. While it hasn't happened often under Piontek, UCM is just 3-13 when surrendering a .300 attack percentage to their opponent. The Jennies hit .328 Tuesday against William Jewell, their highest attack percentage this season and first time over .300. 

League Leaders
• Audrey Fisher is second the MIAA hitting .350 this season. She is also fourth in the league with 3.57 kills per set.
• Kylie Hohlen is seventh in kills per set with 3.13.
• Ally Offerdahl moved up to third in assists per set with 10.80.
• Hannah Engelken is fourth with 1.00 blocks per set.
• Abby Skrastins is in the top-10 in digs with 4.44 digs per set which is eighth in the league. 
• As a team, the Jennies are third in the league with 14.14 kills per set and 13.32 assists per set.
• They also sit second in the league with 18.52 digs per set. 
• The Jennies .229 attack percentage and .173 opponent attack percentage are both fifth in the MIAA.

Top-25 Opponents
• This season the Jennies have already played nine top-25 opponents. They are 4-5 in those games this season and are 61-47 all-time under Coach Piontek against ranked opponents. The Jennies will take on Northwest Missouri this upcoming weekend who is currently receiving votes. They also have Washburn left on the schedule who is currently ranked 11th by the AVCA. 

Heating Up
• In nine of the Jennies last 10 matches they have hit at least .200 with five matches above .250 and two higher than .300.
• During that stretch, the Jennies have hit .248 and raised their team hitting percentage .018 points from .211 to .226.
• Audrey Fisher has been a big reason for the bump as she leads the team with a .365 attack percentage and 3.97 kills per set during the 10-game span. 

Scouting the Opposition
Lindenwood Lions (12-9, 4-7 MIAA)
• Lindenwood started the season 8-1 but a midseason six-game losing streak has them at 12-9. They've rebounded to win four of their last six. 
• The Lions are outhitting their opponents .221-.179. Sadie Kosciuk has been a big reason for that with a .335 attack percentage with 196 kills.
• Alexa Pressley leads the team with 214 kills. She also is over 100 digs with 111.
• Allyson Clancy is the Lions primary setter. She has 670 assists and averages 10.31 assists per set. She also leads team with 24 service aces and averages 1.78 digs per set and has 30 blocks on defense.
• Jenna Garrett has picked up 20 points for the Lions on service aces. They've landed 116 total aces this season while allowing just 79. Garrett's 201 digs are also second on the team.
• Sara Wagenknecht leads the back row with 226 digs and 3.01 digs per set. She has 11 double-digit dig matches and also has 12 service aces.
• Kosciuk also leads the team with 90 blocks. The Lions 2.33 blocks per set are the most in the MIAA.