WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Sept. 27, 2018) - Central Missouri Jennies Volleyball, with one win under their belt this week, will look to add two more this weekend in a pair of MIAA matchups.
Opponents: Sept. 28- at Missouri Southern Lions (2-13, 2-3 MIAA)
Sept. 29 - at Southwest Baptist Bearcats (4-14, 0-5 MIAA)
Where: Joplin, Mo. / Bolivar, Mo.
When: Friday, Sept. 28 at Missouri Southern - 6 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 29 at Southwest Baptist - 6 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/mules The game will also feature live stats which can be found at www.ucmathletics.com.
First Serve
• Central Missouri jumps back into conference action this weekend for a pair of road matches against Missouri Southern and Southwest Baptist.
• UCM continues to be ranked in the AVCA top-25. This week they fell four spots from No. 13 to No. 17. The Jennies have been ranked in all six polls of the 2018 season (preseason, five regular season) with a high spot of No. 9.
• The Jennies picked up a 3-0 win Tuesday night against William Jewell in their final non-conference game of the season.
Story Lines
• Central Missouri has just two combined losses against this weekend's opponents. They are 67-1-1 all-time against the Lions and 65-1 against Southwest Baptist.
• The Lions only win came back in 1995.
• The Bearcats defeated UCM in the first ever meeting between the schools, back in 1977. Since, the Jennies have won 65 straight.
• Coach Piontek has never lost to either the Lions or the Bearcats.
• Central Missouri has 37 straight 20-win seasons.
• On the road, the Jennies are 3-1 this season and 1-1 in the MIAA.
• A sweep this weekend will put the Jennies at 15-4 and 5-2 in the MIAA.
• Against opponents from Missouri the Jennies are 108-6 all-time with Coach Piontek on the bench. They are 6-1 against in-state rivals this season.
Quick Hits
Last Time Out
• Central Missouri picked up a win earlier this week when they went on the road and swept William Jewell 3-0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-16).
Audrey Fisher landed 14 kills. The Jennies hit a season-best .328 in the match with 46 kills and just seven attack errors.
Kylie Hohlen had 21 digs and eight kills.
Previously Against Missouri Southern/Southwest Baptist
• The Jennies ended the 2017 regular season with a pair of 3-0 wins against Southwest Baptist and Missouri Southern. UCM hit over .350 in both matches including a .519 attack percentage against the Bearcats.
Audrey Fisher was one of three Jennies with 10+ kills against the Lions and
Ally Offerdahl passed out 37 assists.
Kasey Hohlen led the Jennies against the Bearcats with 15 kills.
UCM in the Polls
• In the American Volleyball Coaches Poll, the Jennies fell four spots to No. 17 this week. They had been ranked as high as No. 9 and have appeared in all six 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
• Conference play picks back up this weekend after a handful of teams played Tuesday with all 12 teams in action.
• There are two teams still undefeated in the league, Washburn and Northwest Missouri are both 5-0. Nebraska-Kearney and Central Oklahoma stand at 4-1 while the Jennies and Pittsburg State are 3-2.
Individual Milestones
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Kylie Hohlen is now fifth all-time at UCM with 1762 digs. If she gets to 2,000, she will be just the fifth Jennie to ever reach that milestone. She is also three aces away from 100.
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Rylee Neigenfind is just one kill away from reaching 200.
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Ally Offerdahl will get to 200 kills with 22 more and 2,000 assists with 29 more.
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Hannah VanBuskirk needs eight digs to 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 108-0 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,
Kylie Hohlen and
Audrey Fisher are second and third in kills per set with 3.61 and 3.39. Fisher is also third in attack percentage at .366 and 10th with 1.00 blocks per set.
•
Ally Offerdahl is third in league matches with 10.39 assists per set.
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Abby Skrastins 4.67 digs per set in MIAA games is eighth-most in the league.
• Overall, the Jennies 18.33 digs per set is second in the league. They are also second in assists per set with 13.22 and opponent service aces per set at 0.63.
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 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.
Halfway Mark
• Last weekend officially marked the halfway point of the regular season. The Jennies have played 17 matches with 13 more scheduled. The Jens are 13-4, the same record they had at this point a year ago.
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.
Scouting the Opposition
Missouri Southern Lions
• Missouri Southern enters this match with a little momentum having won two of their last three MIAA matches. Though the Lions are just 2-13, they upset Missouri Western 3-2 at home last weekend and came back from down 2-0 to win three straight sets, each by just two points.
• Statistically, Missouri Southern is at the bottom of the MIAA in nearly every category. They don't have an individual ranked in the top-10 of any category.
• Janelle Brehm leads the team with 139 kills and 2.78 kills per set. She is the only Lions with more than 100 kills this season and to be averaging more than 2.0 kills per set.
• The Lions utilize a pair of setters. Kylee Kaaihue has gotten the bulk of the work and has 926 assists and 5.48 ssists per set. Morgan Nash is averaging 2.91 assists per set with 578 for the season.
• Defensively, Nash also leads the team with 3.57 digs per set and has eight service aces.
•Alicia Pickett has 40 blocks to lead the Lions.
• Kylie Kaaihue is the leader with 11 service aces.
Southwest Baptist Bearcats
• Southwest Baptist is in the middle of a six game losing streak and is yet to pick up a win in MIAA competition this season.
• Like the Lions, they rank near the bottom in the MIAA in most stat categories.
• The Bearcats do have some individuals ranked in the top-10 though. Dana Neal leads the team and is fourth in the MIAA with 0.43 service aces per set. Both she and Bailey Baumann have 24 aces this season. Baumann averages 0.39 aces per set and ranks seventh in the league.
• Baumann is also in the top-10 in the league in digs per set with 4.13. She leads the Bearcats with 256 this season.
• The Bearcats are near the top of the league in blocks per set with 2.02 as a team. Delanie Tipton leads the team with 57 total blocks and her 0.95 blocks per set ranks ninth.
• Makenzie Bouse is the primary setter for SBU. She's got 469 assists this season and her 7.56 assists per set are eighth.
• Offensively, Greysen Roster leads the team with 138 kills and 2.23 kills per set. She is also second on the team in hitting percentage at .215. Tipton has the second most kills with 113 and 1.88 kills per set.
