MARYVILLE, Mo. (Oct. 15, 2019) - No. 9 Central Missouri traveled to Maryville looking to avenge an early season loss to the Bearcats and did just that. The Jennies swept the Bearcats in three (25-20, 25-14, 25-18) to even up the season series at one game apiece and move to 13-5 this season, 7-2 in the MIAA.
How it Happened
• The Jennies dominated the Bearcats in nearly every facet of the game. They hit .277 while NWMSU could only muster a 0.79 attack percentage.
• While UCM hit 44 kills to 13 errors, Northwest had 30 kills with 20 errors.
• UCM had a small blocking advantage, 8-4, and a service ace advantage of 4-3.
• Defensively, UCM picked up 63 digs to the Bearcats 48.
• The match didn't get off to a great start for the Jens as Northwest scored the first five points causing a UCM timeout. It didn't take long for the Jennies to get back into it though, scoring seven of eight and claiming a 7-6 lead. The Jennies still had a one-point lead, 14-13, midway through the set, when three straight kills, two from
Rylee Neigenfind and one from
Aubree Bell gave UCM their largest lead, 17-13 and forced a Bearcat timeout. Northwest clawed back, tying the set at 19, but couldn't retake the lead. Kills from
Hannah Engelken and
Sydney Lierz along with a service ace from Bell put UCM back on top, 22-19, and the Jens went on to win set one, 25-20.
• After the two teams started out trading points in set two, the Jens rattled off four straight to take a 7-3 lead and never looked back. They pushed their lead to 10, 16-6, on a Bearcat attack error and rolled to a 25-14 win to take a 2-0 lead in the match. UCM hit .342 in the frame.
• The Jennies again took an early lead in set three and maintained that to a sweep of the Bearcats. UCM scored four straight, taking a 6-4 lead and led the rest of the way. They pushed their lead to a set-high seven, 21-14, before going on to win 25-18, getting back-to-back kills from
Audrey Fisher and
Sydney Lierz to end the match. The Bearcats hit -.027 in the set with nine attack errors and three service errors.
Jennies Stat Leaders
•
Aubree Bell landed 12 kills and came up with 12 digs while hitting .321.
•
Hannah Engelken hit .526 with 11 kills and three blocks.
•
Ally Offerdahl passed out 32 assists with 15 digs.
•
Audrey Fisher scored three service aces to go along with kills and a block.
•
Abby Skrastins led the defense with 15 digs.
•
Sydney Lierz chipped in with eight kills and 10 digs.
For the Bearcats
• Morgan Lewis hit a team-best eight kills.
• Maddy Ahrens had 22 assists.
• Rachel Sturdevant picked up seven kills and nine digs.
• Hannah Koechl led NWMSU with 13 digs.
News and Notes
• The two teams have traded road wins this season.
• UCM is 28-2 all-time in Maryville.
• The Jennies have now won four straight matches for the first time this season.
• The last time these two teams met, Northwest hit .228 with 14 blocks. This time, it was .079 with just four blocks.
• Central Missouri moves to 3-6 this season when facing a ranked opponent. It is their first win over a ranked opponent on the road since beating No. 7 Washburn in October of last year.
•
Hannah Engelken reached 400 career kills.
Up Next
• The Jennies will stay on the road to take on another top-25 opponent. They travel to Topeka, Kan. to take on Washburn Friday, Oct. 18 before turning around to play Emporia State Saturday night.
