Volleyball Continues MIAA Play at Home

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Sept. 20, 2018) - No. 13 Central Missouri Jennies finish their week with two MIAA matchups this weekend.

Opponents: Sept. 21 - vs. Emporia State (6-9, 1-2 MIAA)
                    Sept. 22 - vs. Washburn (15-0, 3-0 MIAA)

Where: Warrensburg, Mo. - UCM Multipurpose Building

When: Friday, Sept. 21 vs. Emporia State - 6 p.m.
           Saturday, Sept. 22 vs. Washburn - 2 p.m.

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. 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 was Tuesday against Lindenwood, a 3-0 win. They'll continue on to play Emporia State and Washburn this weekend.
• 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 more than 50 all-time wins against both Emporia State and Washburn. They are 51-7 all-time against the Hornets and 52-16 against Washburn. At home, the Jennies are 18-3 against Emporia State and 22-5 against Washburn. The Jennies last loss to Emporia State came at home in October of 2014. UCM and Washburn have had a heated rivalry of late, with the Jennies winning seven of the last 12 since 2011.
• 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. 

Quick Hits
Last Time Out
• Central Missouri got back on track with a 3-0 sweep of Lindenwood. The Jens hit .276 with 43 kills and seven blocks. Kylie Hohlen led UCM with 11 kills. Audrey Fisher scored 12.5 points with nine kills and four blocks. Ally Offerdahl picked up 32 assists and Abby Skrastins led UCM with 13 digs. 

Previously Against Emporia State/Washburn
• The Jennies swept Emporia State at home last season getting 13 kills from Aubree Bell and 11 from Audrey Fisher. The Jens hi .276 (same as their match Tuesday against Lindenwood). Washburn took the first set of their last match last year, but the Jens came back to win the next three in a 3-1 win. Bell, Fisher and Hannah VanBuskirk all had 10+ kills. 

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. There are still three unbeaten teams in the MIAA, Washburn, Central Oklahoma and Northwest Missouri. Washburn defeated previously No. 1 ranked Nebraska-Kearney 3-1. 

Individual Milestones
• Hannah Engelken needs six kills to reach 100 in her first season as a Jennie.
• Kylie Hohlen is now fifth all-time at UCM with 1714 digs. If she gets to 2,000, she will be just the fifth Jennie to ever reach that milestone. 
• Rylee Neigenfind is 19 kills away from reaching 200. 
• Ally Offerdahl will get to 500 digs with 21 more.
• Abby Skrastins is just two service aces away from 25.
• Hannah VanBuskirk needs 22 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 are tied for the lead in the MIAA defensively with 18.4 digs per set. And with 2.0 blocks per set, the Jennies are fourth 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 10.36 assists per set.
• Hannah Engelken is fourth with 1.06 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 1.06 blocks per set which is fourth in the MIAA. She also has 94 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 14 games, with Skrastins as the starting libero. She has 248 digs this season and is averaging 4.68 digs per set. Neigenfind is fourth on the team with 115 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
Emporia State Hornets (6-9, 1-2 MIAA)
• Emporia State is 6-9 this season but winners of four of their last seven. They've had one of the toughest starts to MIAA play having already played Washburn and Nebraska-Kearney, losing both matches 3-1. They defeated Fort Hays State 3-0 for their lone MIAA win. 
• Tatum Graves is the Hornets leader on offense with 180 kills and 3.10 kills per set. She also has 56 blocks this season to lead the team and seven service aces.
• As a team, the Hornets are hitting just .168 while opponents are up to .192 against them. Graves is hitting .338  but no other regular is hitting above .220.
• The Hornets utilize a pair of setters in Emma Dixon and Yuchen Du. Dixon leads the team with 5.91 assists per set and 343 total. Du is a jack of all trades who has 3.23 assists per set, 2.29 kills per set and 2.05 digs per set.
• Allie Maloney is the defensive leader with 4.36 digs per set. She is one of five players with more than 100 digs already this season. ESU has been vulnerable on the serve, allowing 88 service aces this season.
• Contrarily, they've scored jus 46 aces themselves, led by Maloney and Taylor Otting with 10.

Washburn Ichabods (15-0, 3-0 MIAA)
• Washburn is yet to drop a match this season at 15-0 and 3-0 in the MIAA. They defeated then-first ranked Nebraska-Kearney last weekend and have jumped into the national rankings at No. 21.
• The Ichabods are yet to go to five sets this season and have 10 3-0 sweeps.
• The big three in Topeka is Allison Maxwell, Erica Montgomery and Genna Berg. Maxwell is the reigning MIAA Hitter of the Week. She has a team-best 139 kills and 3.02 kills per set. Montgomery has 136 and Berg 129.
• As a team, the Ichabods are hitting .256 while opponents are barely over .100 at .104.
• The Ichabods 18.4 digs per set is tied with the Jennies for the league lead. Faith Rottinghaus leads the team with 4.72 digs per set. Washburn is also strong on serve reception, having allowed just 40 service aces in 15 matches.
• Another reigning MIAA Player of the Week is Shayla Conner. She's been the Specialist of the Week each of the last two weeks. She averages 9.38 assists per set and 3.23 digs per set with 37 kills, 18 service aces and 17 blocks.
• Washburn is landing 2.2 blocks per set. Maxwell leads the team with 44 total, but there are seven Ichabods who have more than 15 blocks already this season.