WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Oct. 4, 2018) - MIAA play continues for Jennies Volleyball who is home this weekend for two matches, including a top-25 battle Saturday afternoon.
Opponents: Fort Hays State Tigers (6-13, 0-7 MIAA)
No. 4 Nebraska-Kearney Lopers (20-1, 6-1 MIAA)
Where: Warrensburg, Mo. - UCM Multipurpose Building
When: Friday, Oct. 5, 2018 - 6 p.m. vs. Fort Hays State
Saturday, Oct. 6, 2018 - 2 p.m. vs. Nebraska-Kearney
How to Watch
• This weekend'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 is back home this weekend for two more MIAA matchups. They host Fort Hays State and Nebraska-Kearney.
• UCM continues to be ranked in the AVCA top-25. This week they moved up one spot from No. 17 to No. 16. The Jennies have been ranked in all seven polls of the 2018 season (preseason, six regular season) with a high spot of No. 9.
• The Jennies went 3-0 last week with three sweeps on the road. The Jennies defeated William Jewell in a nonconference match, before defeating Missouri Southern and Southwest Baptist in MIAA play.
Story Lines
• All-time the Jennies are 25-2 against Fort Hays State and 9-0 when playing in Warrensburg. One of Hays' two wins came in 2016. Their first ever win over UCM in Hays. Their only other win over UCM came in 2003.
• The Jennies have currently lost five straight to Nebraska-Kearney with four of those coming on the road and two in the MIAA Tournament. UCM's last win over the Lopers came in 2015 in the MIAA Tournament semifinals. All-time UCM is 12-11 against the Lopers, their closest rivalry among MIAA opponents.
• UCM won their 1,450th match all-time with their last win against Southwest Baptist.
• Looking ahead to the MIAA Tournament, the Jennies are one of five teams with a record of 5-2 or better. The top four seeds will host an opening round MIAA Tournament match.
Quick Hits
Last Time Out
• Central Missouri went 3-3 last week with three 3-0 sweeps on the road. The Jennies defeated William Jewell, Missouri Southern and Southwest Baptist. The Jennies hit better than .250 in all three matches and over .300 in two of the three.
Audrey Fisher averaged more than 4.0 kills per set for the week.
Previously Against Fort Hays State/Nebraska-Kearney
• The Jennies season came to an end at the hands of the Lopers last season in the MIAA Tournament semifinals. The Jennies lost 3-1 after taking the first set.
Hannah VanBuskirk and
Kasey Hohlen each had 12 kills.
Kylie Hohlen had 30 digs and
Ally Offerdahl 40 assists. In the regular season against the Tigers, the Jennies had a 3-1 last season.
Ally Offerdahl had 48 assists and 16 digs.
UCM in the Polls
• In the American Volleyball Coaches Poll, the Jennies moved up one this week to No. 16. They had been ranked as high as No. 9 and have appeared in all seven 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 as conference play continues this weekend.
• Washburn is the last of the unbeatens in the MIAA at 7-0. Nebraska-Kearney and Northwest Missouri are each 6-1 and Central Oklahoma and the Jennies are 5-2. The top four seeds all host an MIAA Tournament First Round match.
Individual Milestones
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Audrey Fisher needs 11 more kills to reach 600 for her career.
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Kylie Hohlen is 21 digs away from 1800.
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Ally Offerdahl needs 17 more kills to get to 200.
• With nine more assists
Abby Skrastins will reach 100.
.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
• In conference only matches,
Audrey Fisher leads the MIAA hitting .385. She is also second in kills per set with 3.58. Overall, Fisher is third in the league in attack percentage and fourth in kills per set.
• As a team, the Jennies are third in both kills per set (14.01) and assists per set (13.16) this season. With 18.20 digs per set, they're also third in the league in that category.
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Ally Offerdahl is fourth in assists per set in the MIAA with 10.49
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Abby Skrastins' 4.67 digs per set is sixth in the league.
Quest For a Triple Double
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Ally Offerdahl has come close on numerous occasions to achieving a triple-double with kills, assists and digs. She has 12 double-doubles already this season and has three matches with at least seven kills. Against St. Edward's, Offerdahl had eight kills, 39 assists and 11 digs in her closest bid yet. The last time a Jennie had a triple-double came in 1997 courtesy of Sarah Dallas.
Top-25 Opponents
• This season the Jennies have already played seven top-25 opponents. They are 4-3 in those games this season and are 61-45 all-time under Coach Piontek against ranked opponents. They'll likely play two more ranked opponents in back-to-back matches. The Lopers are ranked fourth and the Bronchos, who the Jennies face next weekend are currently ranked 19th.
Scouting the Opposition
Fort Hays State Tiger (6-13, 0-7 MIAA)
• Fort Hays State comes to Warrensburg in search of their first win in nearly a month. They have lost nine straight, including all seven conference matches and are 6-13 this sesaon.
• The Tigers aren't above seventh place in the MIAA in any major statistical category, which is digs where they average 16.81 per set. They are also seventh in opponent kills and opponent assists.
• Abbie Hayes is the Tigers individual leader in digs. She averages 4.66 digs per set which is seventh in the league.
• Also seventh in the MIAA is Christianna Herron, who averages 0.97 blocks per set, however in just 35 sets played.
• On the offensive end, Isabelle Reynolds leads the team with 2.75 kills per set and 168 total kills. She also has the highest attack percentage at .205.
• Three other Tigers have more than 100 kills this season: Azlyn Cassaday (141), Tatum Barles (111), and Kayla Viztum (100).
• Fort Hays has used two setters this season in Breann Becker and Amirah Bentley. Becker has gotten the majority of the playing time with 61 sets and averages 6.36 assists per set. Bentley averages 3.59 assists per set in 39 sets played.
• Becker is also the team leader in service aces with 15. FHSU has landed 71 aces while opponents have hit 84.
No. 4 Nebraska-Kearney Lopers (20-1, 6-1 MIAA)
• As evidenced by their No. 4 ranking in the AVCA, the Lopers are one of the best teams in the nation. They've lost one match all season, to Washburn, and stand at 20-1 and 6-1 in the MIAA.
• The Lopers rank in the NCAA top-10 in a handful of categories as a team. They are fifth in opponent hitting percentage at .096 and total assists with 946. They are also sixth in digs (1,363), seventh in kills (1,003) and eighth in attacks (2,819).
• Individually, Lindsey Smith is third in the MIAA with 10.75 assists per set. Her 806 total assists also lead the conference.
• Noone in the MIAA has more digs than Ellie McDonnell. She has 412 and leads the league with 5.49 digs per set.
• Rounding out the defense is Anna Squiers who has the most blocks on the team with 56 and 0.92 blocks per set.
• Offensively, the Lopers are hitting .245 as a team. They have four players averaging more than two kills per set. Kendall Schroer leads the team at 2.80 kills per set. Julianne Jackson has the most total kills with 182.
• The Lopers have hit 113 service aces while allowing just 47 against. Lindsey Smith has the most with 29 while Jackson has 27 and Mary Katherine Wolfe has 23.
