Volleyball Falls To #2 Team In Country

DENVER, Colo. (Sept. 1, 2018) - Fresh off defeating the No. 3 team in the country Friday night, the Jennies turned around to face No. 2 and defending national champions, Concordia-St. Paul Saturday afternoon. Though UCM fought hard, dropping two sets by two points in extra-points, the Golden Bears swept UCM 3-0 (13-25, 28-30, 25-27) to put the Jennies at 5-2 on the season.

How it Happened
• St. Paul hit better than .300 at .309 to the Jens .160. Concordia landed 54 kills on 123 attempts with just 16 errors.
• The Golden Bear defense had a good morning with 63 digs and seven blocks.
• In the first two sets, Concordia had a sideout percentage over 60.
• The Golden Bears led from the opening points of set one and did not allow the Jennies to get settled in. It was quickly 7-3 CSP and after UCM had a burst to get it to 9-7, the Golden Bears rattled off four straight points to take a six-point lead. After a Jennies timeout, the Golden Bears scored eight straight points and led 21-8 and were able to roll to a 25-13 win. Concordia hit .368 for the set with 16 kills while the Jennies hit just .047.
• The next two sets were nail-biters throughout. Set two saw 12 ties and five lead changes. The teams started out trading points, but UCM was able to get to a five-point lead, 18-13 and force a CSP timeout. The Jens had three straight kills, two from Kylie Hohlen and one from Hannah Engelken during a 3-0 run to take the score from 15-13 to 18-13. The Jennies were still in control up 23-19, but three errors and a kill allowed Concordia to come back and tie. UCM took advantages at 24, 25, 27, and 28, but Concordia was able to avoid set point and scored three straight with two kills to go up 2-0 in the match with a 30-28 win. 
• Set three was just a continuation of set two. This time there were 14 ties and five lead changes, but unfortunately for UCM, the result was the same. Central Missouri was the team making numerous comebacks in this one. Trailing 7-4 early, the Jens tied the set at 8-8 after back-to-back Hannah VanBuskirk kills. CSP took another three-point lead, 16-13, but the Jens were up to the task again, tying the frame at 18-all. Down 20-18, the Jennies scored five straight with two kills from Audrey Fisher, two service aces from Ally Offerdahl and another kill from Hannah VanBuskirk, taking a 23-20 lead. The Golden Bears made a run of their own, scoring four straight and regained a 24-23 lead. UCM tied the set up twice, but an attack error and a Golden Bear service ace ended the match, 27-25.

Jennies Stat Leaders
• Hannah VanBuskirk led UCM with nine kills.
• Kyile Hohlen had seven kills and 10 digs.
• Ally Offerdahl picked up 31 assists, two aces and seven digs.
• Hannah Engelken helped out with eight kills.
• Abby Skrastins shared team team lead with Hohlen picking up 10 digs. 

For the Golden Bears
• Brooklyn Lewis had a game-best 18 kills.
• Hope Schiller had 14 kills along with nine digs.
• Elizabeth Mohr had a double-double with 45 assists and 10 digs.
• Tori Hanson led the game with 21 digs.
• Erin Fallert added seven kills and 17 digs.

News and Notes
• The Jennies fall to 0-9 all time against Concordia-St. Paul.
• This is the first match this season where UCM failed to have a player reach double-figure kills. It is also the first time this season an opponent has hit better than .300 for an entire match. 
• Katlyn Fastenau and Tyler Downs each made their season debuts.
• In seven of UCM's 27 sets, 25 points not been enough to determine a winner. The Jennies are 3-4 in those sets. 
• The Jennies have now faced both teams from the 2017 National Championship game, defeating Florida Southern and falling to Concordia-St. Paul

Up Next
• The Jennies will play the loser of Missouri Western and Southwest Minnesota State in the third place game tonight at 5 pm CT.