Jennies Battle Bulldogs in NCAA First Round

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Nov. 14, 2018) - No. 10 Central Missouri Jennies Volleyball is back in the NCAA Tournament. The Jens play in the first round of the Central Region Championship Thursday afternoon.

Opponent: #2 seed Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs (27-5, 16-3 NSIC) 

Where: Kearney, Neb. - Health and Sports Center

When: Thursday, Nov. 15 - 2:30 p.m.

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

First Serve
• Central Missouri finished the regular season at 24-6 and 14-4 in the MIAA for the second straight season.
• The Jens fell into a tie for third place in the league regular season standings, however due to tie breakers fell to the fifth seed in the MIAA tournament. 
• UCM defeated Northwest Missouri 3-1 Tuesday, Nov. 6 in the MIAA quarterfinals before losing 3-0 to No. 1 seed and host Nebraska-Kearney on Nov. 9.
• Central Missouri enters the NCAA Central Region as the number seven seed, which was their ranking in the final poll. They'll take on second-seed Minnesota Duluth in the quarterfinal round Thursday afternoon.
• The Jennies are ranked 10th in the AVCA poll this week climbing up one spot from No. 11. It is the third time this season the Jennies have been ranked in the top-10. 

Story Lines
• This is the Jennies first trip back to the NCAA Central Region Championship since 2015.
• In NCAA postseason play, the Jennies have an all-time record of 39-37 (including two third-place regional matches). The Jennies last NCAA win came in 2013, 3-2 over Nebraska-Kearney after falling 2-0. 
• The Jennies and Bulldogs have met one other time in postseason play. In 1980, Minnesota Duluth defeated the Jens 2-0 in the AIAI-II Regional Tournament. 
• Each of the last three seasons, the Jennies have won their MIAA quarterfinal round match and advanced to the semifinals to play Nebraska-Kearney in Kearney where their run in the MIAA Championship came to and end. 
• All time against Minnesota Duluth the Jennies are 11-4. Their last meeting came in this same game in 2012. The Jennies were on top 2-1, but fell 3-2 to the Bulldogs. 

Quick Hits
Last Time Out
• Central Missouri's quest for a 15th MIAA Tournament Championship came to an end in the semifinal round at the hands of Nebraska-Kearney. The Lopers defeated the Jennies 3-0. It took the Jennies a bit to get going falling in set 1, 25-11 and trailing in set two 20-8 before coming back to fall short by three, 25-22. The Jennies outscored the Lopers 35-30 from the middle of the second set to the end of the match. 

Previously Against Minnesota Duluth 
• It's been six years the Jennies and Bulldogs met in this same game - the NCAA Central Region Quarterfinals. The Jennies got on top 2-1, but couldn't put the Bulldogs away and lost in five. Carly Sojka had a double-double with 13 kills and 12 digs for the Jennies. The Bulldogs hit .255 as a team with nine blocks. 

UCM in the Polls
• In the American Volleyball Coaches Poll, the Jennies moved up to No. 10 this week. They had been ranked as  high as No. 9 and have appeared in all 12 polls, three times in the top-10.
• 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. 

Individual Milestones
• Aubree Bell is six digs away from 300. 
• Audrey Fisher needs two more blocks to get to 100 this season and 15 more for 200 in her career. 
• Kylie Hohlen needs 16 digs to reach 2,000.
• Rylee Neigenfind needs five blocks to reach 100 for her career.

.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 110-0 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.

League Leaders
• The Jennies are the only team in the MIAA with two in the top-five in kills. Audrey Fisher and Kylie Hohlen go back-to-back with 3.32 and 3.31 kills per set to rank fourth and fifth.
• Audrey Fisher also ranks third in hitting percentage at .337 and 10th in blocks per set with 0.83.
• Ally Offerdahl is second in assists per set at 10.97. 
• Hannah Engelken is third with 1.03 blocks per set and second with 121 total blocks. 
• Abby Skrastins, Kylie Hohlen and Carly Offerdahl all rank in the top-15 in the MIAA in digs per set. Skrastins is the highest at No. 11 while Hohlen and Offerdahl are 13th and 14th. 

Top-25 Opponents
• This season the Jennies have already played 11 top-25 opponents. They are 5-6 in those games this season and are 62-48 all-time under Coach Piontek against ranked opponents. Minnesota is ranked fourth in the AVCA rankings. The Jennies have already beaten a team ranked fourth in the country this season. Opening weekend, UCM took down then-fourth ranked Florida Southern 4-0. 

Block Party
• Central Missouri is averaging 2.01 blocks per set this season, way up from their total of 1.64 last season. 
• UCM has seven matches this season with at least 10 blocks and three in their last seven. 
• Freshman Hannah Engelken has more than 100 blocks already this season, the first time a Jen has picked up more than 100 blocks since 2014. Audrey Fisher has 98. The last time two Jennies picked up more than 100 blocks in a season was in 2009 when they had three: Bradye Peniston, Paula Harris and Abby Gruenbacher.
• Engelken is also third in the MIAA in blocks per set and second in total blocks, two behind the overall leader. The last time a Jennie led the MIAA in blocks was Peniston back in 2009. 

Jennies in the Postseason
• Central Missouri has been in 34 NCAA Postseasons.
• They are 39-37 all-time in NCAA games with their last win coming in 2013.
• Only one Jennies has NCAA postseason playing experience - Kylie Hohlen. She had two kills and 23 digs against Wayne State in 2015. Carly Offerdahl was on the team but did not appear in the game. 

Scouting the Opposition
Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs (27-5, 17-3 NSIC)
• Minnesota Duluth is currently riding a seven-game winning streak that includes the championship of the Northern Sun Conference Tournament. They are 27-5 entering the Central Region.
• The Bulldogs placed four on the All-Northern Sun First Team, tied for the most of any team in the league. Kate Berg (OH), Sarah Kelly (MB), Makenzie Morgan (OH), Emily Torve (S).
• We'll start with the setter, Emily Torve, who is third in Division II with 12.63 assists per set. She's helped the offense to a .273 attack percentage which is the fifth highest in the NCAA.
• The Bulldogs have three outsides who have more than 300 kills this season. Makenzie Morgan's 325 lead the team with Hanna Meyer right behind her with 321. Kate Berg has landed 304. Meyer made the All-NSIC Second Team.
• Keena Seiffert leads the defense with 4.29 digs per set. The Bulldogs average just 15.63 digs per set as a team, as a result of short rallies.
• The Bulldogs average 2.30 blocks per set led by Abby Thor's 113. She also made the All-NSIC Second Team.
• UMD has cashed in 142 service aces with Berg's 25 leading the way. Four Bulldogs have 20+ aces this season.