Volleyball Starts NCAA Play This Week

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Dec. 3, 2019) - Central Missouri Jennies Volleyball is in the NCAA postseason for the 35th time in their storied history. The NCAA Regional gets underway this week for the seventh-seeded Jennies.

Opponent
#2 Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs (24-6, 16-4 NSIC)

Where
Kearney, Neb.

When
Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 5-7
Quarterfinals - Thursday, Dec. 5, 2:30 p.m. vs. Minnesota-Duluth
Semifinals - Friday, Dec. 6, 5/7:30 p.m.
Championship - Saturday, Dec. 7, 7 p.m.

First Serve
• Central Missouri finished the regular season and 15-5 in the MIAA before going 2-1 last week in the MIAA Championship Tournament. 
• The Jennies are the No. 7 seed in this weekend's NCAA Central Region Tournament against the No. 2 seed Minnesota-Duluth. This is a rematch of a year ago where No. 7 UCM took on No. 2 Minnesota-Duluth in Kearney, Neb. 
• Central Missouri has been ranked in the AVCA top-10 for the last seven weeks. This week they moved up to No. 9 in the rankings. 

How to Watch
• This weekend's matches will have live video that will be available on the Jennies BlueFrame portal page at www.themiaanetwork.com/ucmmules. Live stats for each match can be found at www.ucmathletics.com

Story Lines
• In NCAA postseason play, the Jennies have an all-time record of 39-38 (including two third-place regional matches). The Jennies last NCAA win came in 2013, 3-2 over Nebraska-Kearney after falling behind 2-0. 
• The Jennies and Bulldogs have met three times in postseason play. In 1980, Minnesota Duluth defeated the Jens 2-0 in the AIAI-II Regional Tournament, in 2012 a 3-2 win for Duluth and at the tournament last year, the Bulldogs won 3-0.
• Each of the last four seasons, the Jennies run in the MIAA Tournament has come to an end at the hands of Nebraska-Kearney. This year, the Jennies moved on to the MIAA Championship game, in their previous three years, the Lopers won the semifinals. 
• All time against Minnesota Duluth the Jennies are 11-5. Their last meeting came in this same game a year ago. The Jennies were swept losing two sets by a combined five points. 
• Central Missouri is back in the NCAA Tournament for a second straight year. This is their 35th all-time appearance at an NCAA Regional.
• Seven of the eight teams at the Central Region site are ranked in the AVCA top-10 with only Oklahoma Baptist, the GAC tournament winner, unranked. 

Quick Hits
Last Time Out
• Central Missouri went 2-1 at the MIAA Tournament. Their win over Washburn likely saved their season. The Jennies got on top of UNK 1-0 in the MIAA Championship match, but fell 3-1. 

Previously Against Minnesota Duluth
• In a bit of deja vu, this is an exact repeat of teams, seeds, and site as a year ago. The Jens will hope for a different result as the Bulldogs won 3-0. Hannah Engelken had 10 kills in the match. After dropping set one 25-15, the Jens kept things close in sets two and three at 25-22 and 26-24.

UCM in the Polls
• In the American Volleyball Coaches Association Preseason Poll, the Jennies moved up to No. 9. It is their 437th time ranked in the top-25, by far the most in Division II, and seventh straight week in the top-10.
• The Jennies ranked seventh in the final NCAA Central Region rankings. They moved up one spot ahead of Wayne State which boosted them into the regional.
• In the MIAA preseason poll, the Jens were picked to finish third behind Washburn and Nebraska-Kearney. They finished with 83 points and two first place votes. 

Individual Milestones
• Ally Offerdahl is now in the UCM all-time top-10 in assists with 3,774. Offerdahl needs four more to get into ninth place and 84 more to reach 4,000. 
• Audrey Fisher needs 30 more blocks to get to 300.
• Sydney Lierz is 15 kills shy of 300 and 11 digs shy of 200.
• Rylee Neigenfind is 19 digs away from 400.
• Hannah VanBuskirk is one block away from getting to 100 for her career

.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 120-0 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 better than .300 in 10 matches this season.

Top-25 Opponents
• Last season, the Jennies played 12 top-25 ranked teams among their 33 matches. They went 5-7 in those games. Things haven't been much different in 2019. Eight of the first 10 teams they faced were ranked or receiving votes in the top-25, including No. 1 overall, and defending champions Tampa. The Jennies are 4-9 this season against ranked opponents. The Jennies will take on No. 6 ranked Minnesota-Duluth in their quarterfinal round game. Seven of the eight teams in the regional are ranked in the AVCA top-10.

MIAA Leaders
• In MIAA only games, the Jennies have the best attack percentage in the league at .249. They are also third in kills and assists. 
• Audrey Fisher is still leading the league in hitting percentage at .363. She is also fourth in the league in service aces with 35 aces, one shy of the league lead.
• Hannah Engelken also sees her name twice in the top-10. She is third in the league in blocks per set with 0.94 and shares the MIAA lead with 114 total blocks. Her .270 attack percentage is also in the top-20 at 13th.
• Sydney Lierz ranks 14th with 2.66 kills per set overall and seventh in MIAA games with 3.22. 
• In MIAA games, Ally Offerdahl's 11.00 assists per set are third in the league. She is also in the MIAA top-20 in digs per set with 3.15.
• Abby Skarstins is fourth in digs in conference games with 5.54 and fifth overall with 5.25. 

Jennies in the Postseason
• Central Missouri has been in 35 NCAA Postseasons.
• They are 39-38 all-time in NCAA games with their last win coming in 2013.
• The Jennies are back in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season, giving UCM some tournament experience. A year ago only Kylie Hohlen had played in an NCAA game which came back in 2015.
• The Jennies are 0-3 against Minnesota Duluth in the postseason. 

First in a Decade
• Central Missouri put up impressive blocking numbers last week vs. Washburn, blocking 19.5 attacks, their most since blocking 20 vs. Harding in 2006. Hannah Engelken is also the first Jennie with 10+ blocks in a match since Jacquelyn Williams had 10 in 2007.

Scouting the Opposition
Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs (24-6, 16-4 NSIC)
• Minnesota-Duluth was the Northern Sun Conference Champions with a 16-4 mark. They fell in the Northern Sun conference tournament though to Concordia-St. Paul in the semifinal round, 3-2.
• For the season, the Bulldogs went 24-6 overall and were 8-2 in neutral site games. The Bulldogs enter the Central Region Tournament having lost three of their last four matches. 
• Four from Minnesota-Duluth made the NSIC First Team. Kate Berg who is fourth in the league with 4.19 kills per set was one of the four. As was setter Emily Balts who leads the Northern Sun with 12.07 assists per set.
• Abby Thor also made the first team. She has 283 kills and 93 blocks this season while hitting .338.
• As a team, the Bulldogs hit .248. They have four with more than 200 kills this season. In addition to Berg and Thor, Meredith Sutton has 275 and Hanna Meyer 218.
• Minnesota Duluth allows more blocks per set than any team in the Northern Sun. Teams average 2.18 blocks per set against the Bulldogs. UMD only puts back 1.66 blocks per set themselves. 
• Keena Seiffert leads the Bulldogs back row with 523 digs and 4.93 digs per set. She was another All-NSIC First Team selection and is third in the league in digs.
• The Bulldogs keep the ball in play without many service aces. They allow the second-fewest per set in the NSIC, 0.92 and land just 1.31 aces per set themselves. 
• Madison Gordon is the team leader when it comes to service aces with 32.