Jennies Host Lindenwood in Midweek Action

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Sept. 18, 2018) - No. 13 Central Missouri Jennies Volleyball plays the first of three MIAA matches tonight at the Multi.

Opponent: Lindenwood Lions (8-4, 0-2 MIAA)

When: Tuesday, Sept. 18 - 6 p.m.

Where: Warrensburg, Mo. - UCM Multipurpose Building

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

First Serve
• Central Missouri continues MIAA play this week with three matches in five days, all at home. Their first match is Tuesday against Lindenwood. They'll then continue on to play Emporia State and Washburn this weekend.
• The Jennies went 9-2 during the tournament portion of their schedule and are 1-1 through two MIAA games. 
• UCM fell out of the AVCA top-10 for the first time in two weeks. The Jennies dropped four spots to No. 13 this week after spending two weeks in the top-10. They are one of four MIAA teams in the top-25 and the second highest ranked MIAA team. 
• Last weekend the Jennies went started conference play with their second win of the season against Missouri Western, 3-2. They then fell 3-0 at Northwest Missouri to close out the weekend and stand at 10-3 on the season. 

Story Lines
• Central Missouri has never lost to Lindenwood. They are 13-0 since the Lions have joined the MIAA. The Lions have never won two sets against the Jennies. 
• This weekend marks the first home matches for the Jennies since the Peggy Martin Challenge. The Jennies went 2-1 in true road games and 4-2 in neutral site games in the three weeks they've been away from Warrensburg. 
• Coach Piontek has never lost as a Jennie when playing on a Tuesday. His teams are 36-0. The Jens are also now 106-6 all-time against teams from Missouri with Piontek on the bench. 

Quick Hits
Last Time Out
• Central Missouri went 1-1 last weekend to start MIAA play. The Jens defeated Missouri Western with a 3-2 final for the second time this season, and came back from a 2-1 defecit to do it. Unfortunately, the Jens ran out of gas playing the next day at Northwest Missouri, dropping the match to the Bearcats 3-0. 

Previously Against Lindenwood
• The Jennies swept the Lions in the last meeting, back on Oct. 24 of 2017. After a hard-fought 25-23 win in set one, the Jens picked up 25-14 wins in sets two and three. Aubree Bell had a game-high 13 kills and Audrey Fisher added 12. Kylie Hohlen and Carly Offerdahl each had double-figure digs and Ally Offerdahl had 31 assists. 

UCM in the Polls
• In the American Volleyball Coaches Poll, the Jennies fell four spots to No. 13 this week. They had moved up in each of the previous three weeks to a high of No. 9. The Jennies were ranked in the top-10 in each of the last two weeks 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 began conference play last weekend and will continue with three matches each this week. Four teams remain undefeated after week one, Washburn, Central Oklahoma, Pittsburg State and Northwest Missouri. Washburn defeated previously No. 1 ranked Nebraska-Kearney 3-1. 

Individual Milestones
• Hannah Engelken needs 13 kills to reach 100 in her first season as a Jennie.
• Kylie Hohlen is now fifth all-time at UCM with 1708 digs. If she gets to 2,000, she will be just the fifth Jennie to ever reach that milestone. 
• With one more block, Rylee Neigenfind will reach 50 in her career. 
• Ally Offerdahl will get to 500 digs with 29 more.
• Abby Skrastins is just two service aces away from 25.
• Hannah VanBuskirk needs 29 kills to get to 400. 

.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 107-0 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
• As a team, the Jennies lead the MIAA defensively with 18.84 digs per set. And with 1.95 blocks per set, the Jennies are third in the league.
• Audrey Fisher is in the top-10 in both hitting percentage and kills per set.
• Ally Offerdahl is fourth in the league with 10.34 assists per set.
• Hannah Engelken is third with 1.08 blocks per set. 

Not So Fresh Faces
• Last year, for first-year players made a big impact for the Jennies. This year, they're back at it again, leaving little room for true freshman to see court time. The exception to that is Hannah Engelken who has started all 13 games in the middle. She has provided a presence on defense, leading the team with 1.08 blocks per set which is third in the MIAA. She also has 78 kills this season.
• While they aren't freshman, juniors Rylee Neigenfind and Abby Skrastins are seeing more playing time than ever before. They have both started all 13 games, with Skrastins as the starting libero. She has 235 digs this season and is averaging 4.70 digs per set. Neigenfind is fourth on the team with 109 kills and has five double-digit kills matches.

Quest For a Triple Double
• Ally Offerdahl has come close on numerous occasions to achieving a triple-double with kills, assists and digs. She has nine 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. 

Scouting the Opposition
Lindenwood Lions
• Lindenwood started the season 8-1 but have since dropped three straight matches including two last weekend to start MIAA play to Missouri Western and Northwest Missouri.
• The Lions are outhitting their opponents .250-.168. Sadie Kosciuk has been a big reason for that with a .335 attack percentage with 93 kills.
• Bailey Dvorak and Alexa Pressley lead the team with 109 kills each. They also both have more than 50 digs on the season.
• Allyson Clancy is the Lions primary setter. She has 400 assists and averages 10.26 assists per set. She is also second on the team with 13 service aces and averages 1.92 digs per set and has 23 blocks on defense.
• Jenna Garrett has picked up 14 points for the Lions on service aces. They've landed 63 total aces this season while allowing just 37. Garrett's 95 digs are also second on the team.
• Sara Wagenknecht leads the back row with 152 digs and 3.80 digs per set. She has double-digit dig matches in three of her last four and also has eight service aces.
• Kosciuk also leads the team with 54 blocks. The Lions 2.5 blocks per set are the most in the MIAA.