DENVER, Colo. (Sept. 14, 2019) - No. 12 ranked Jennies Volleyball went toe-to-toe with two more ranked opponents Saturday afternoon at the Colorado Premier Challenge. The Jennies salvaged a split with a 3-2 win over No. 20 Texas A&M-Commerce after falling in four to No. 9 Tarleton State. The split gives UCM a 5-3 record after the first two weeks.
Game Two: Central Missouri 3, Texas A&M Commerce 2 (17-25, 25-23, 25-19, 15-25, 15-9)
How it Happened
• The Jennies took advantage of 33 Lion attack errors. They hit just just .108 while the Jennies were at .197.
• What kept the Lions in the game was serving. They had a 14-0 advantage in service aces and UCM committed seven more service errors, 11-4.
• Blocking and dig numbers were nearly identical. Both teams put back eight blocks and UCM had a slight lead in digs, 76-74.
• What started out as a close set saw Texas A&M pull away midway through. UCM led 8-7 before the Lions scored three straight for a 10-8 lead. Still leading by on, 14-13, the Lions scored five straight to take their largest lead to that point, 19-13. The Jennies were unable to comeback as TAMU-C took the opener, 25-17.
• The Jennies needed to hang on in set two to even the match at one-apiece. Tied up at five, the Jens scored three straight, helped out by a pair of Lion attack errors. UCM never trailed after that, but the Lions didn't make it easy. Leading 8-7, UCM opened up a four-point lead, 11-7 on three straight Commerce attack errors. The teams traded points for a while and nearing the end of the frame, UCM still had a four-point edge, 21-17. The Lions scored six of the next eight points though to tie the set at 23, but the Jens held on with a kill from
Ally Offerdahl and another Lion attack error for a 25-23 win.
• UCM trailed by three early on in set three, 10-8, but scored eight straight to take control. Two kills from
Hannah VanBuskirk and four Lion attack errors helped push the Jennies into the lead. Central Missouri was in control the rest of the way as they rolled to a 25-19 set win and took a 2-1 lead int he match. TAMU-K hit -.048 with 13 attack errors in the set.
• The Lions broke an eight-all tie in the fourth set with a 7-2 stretch to take a 15-10 lead, forcing a Jennies timeout. This time, UCM was unable to make up the deficit as the Lions tied the match with a 25-15 win.
• Central Missouri made quick work of the Lions in set five. Tied at two, UCM went on a 7-1 run to take a 9-3 lead and never looked back. Commerce got back to within three, 11-8, but UCM took advantage of two more Lion errors and
Audrey Fisher ended the match with her 11th kill.
Jennies Stat Leaders
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Sydney Lierz landed a game-high 15 kills along with three blocks.
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Audrey Fisher helped out with 11 kill and five digs.
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Hannah VanBuskirk added 10 kills.
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Ally Offerdahl passed out 47 helpers and had 17 digs.
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Abby Skrastins led the defense with 22 digs.
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Hannah Engelken totaled five kills and five blocks.
For the Lions
• Shelley Chapron had 13 kills along with five digs and two aces.
• Sydney Andersen matched Chapron with 13 kills.
• Natalie Sarbeck passed out 29 assists while Shelbi Sheppard added 17.
• Riley Davidson led the Lions with 15 digs.
Game One: Tarleton State 3, Central Missouri 1 (22-25, 25-27, 25-15, 25-27)
How it Happened
• In the three sets the Jennies lost, they were outscored by only seven points.
• The score was tied 23 times and there were 10 lead changes throughout the match.
• The Texanns outhit UCM .205-.195, but the Jens landed three more kills, 56-53.
• The Jens also scored more on the serve with 10 aces to the Texanns six and outblocked TSU 8-6.
• Central Missouri jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in set one, but were unable to hang out. Tarleton State used a 7-0 run to tie and take an 8-4 lead. The Texanns built their lead to as much as seven, 17-10 when the Jennies started to rally back. Trailing 19-13, UCM rattled off seven straight, tying on an ace from
Rylee Neigenfind and taking a 20-19 lead on a block from
Hannah Engelken and
Ally Offerdahl. Tied at 21 though, Tarleton State scored three straight for a 24-21 lead and took the opening frame 25-22.
• The second set again saw the Jennies take an early lead, this time 4-1. They led for much of the beginning of the set and a block from Engelken and Offerdahl gave UCM a 16-11 lead. A 4-0 stretch brought the Texanns to within one, 16-15 and forced a Jennies timeout, but coming out of the break, UCM maintained the lead. All tied a 20, the Jennies scored two straight with a TSU attack error and kill from
Abby Skrastins for a 22-20 lead. Still up two and at set-point, 24-22, the Texanns got a kill and a block to tie at 24 and force extra points. UCM got the advantage at 25-24, but Tarleton scored three straight kills to steal the set 27-25.
• Central Missouri never trailed in set three, jumping out to a 4-1 lead and cruising to a 25-15 set win to keep the match alive. UCM remained in control throughout the set, landing 16 kills and hitting .324.
• For the first time in the match, Central Missouri did not score the opening point. They did however gain an advantage with a 5-1 run and took a 7-3 lead. The fourth set was the closest of them all with 10 ties and four lead changes. After Tarleton came back and tied the match at 12, the Jennies scored five straight with three service aces from
Aubree Bell and two kills from
Hannah Engelken for a 17-12 lead. UCM still led by as much as five, 21-16, when Tarleton stormed back. Up four, 22-18, the Texanns scored six straight to claim a 24-22 lead. Facing match point, the Jennies got kills from Engelken and
Rylee Neigenfind to force extra points for the second time in the match. Tied at 25, a UCM attack error and TSU ace ended the match, 27-25.
Jennies Stat Leaders
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Hannah Engelken landed 14 kills and hit .344 with seven total blocks.
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Rylee Neigenfind also put down 14 kills and picked up a double-double with 14 digs.
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Ally Offerdahl filled the stat sheet with 49 assists, eight digs, three kills and three blocks.
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Abby Skrastins picked up 21 digs.
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Sydney Lierz and
Audrey Fisher had seven kills each.
For the Texanns
• Lauren Kersey had a game-high 16 kills and hit .303.
• Carmen Kinsey was also in double-figure kills with 12.
• Adriana Darthuy led TSU with 18 digs and also scored eight kills.
• TSU split setting duties. Kayla Brannon led the team with 25 and also had 12 digs. Amari Franklin added 19 assists and seven digs.
News and Notes
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Sydney Lierz' 15 kills against the Lions is a new career high. She landed 29 kills this weekend, 22 coming in the final two matches.
• In the loss to Tarleton, UCM outscored the Texanns 74-65, while in their win over Texas A&M Commerce, it was the Lions who led in points, 73-65.
• This was the Jennies 21st appearance in the annual Colorado Premier Challenge. They have a record of 50-32.
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Ally Offerdahl is nearing 3,000 career assists. This weekend she surpassed 2,900.
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Hannah Engelken's 14 kills against Tarleton State matched a career-high.
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Abby Skrastins has recorded 20 or more digs in three of her last four matches.
• Central Missouri has just one more nonconference game left this season, Tuesday, Oct. 1 at William Jewell.
Up Next
• The Jens will start MIAA play next week. They'll be in St. Joseph, Mo. for their MIAA opener at Missouri Western Friday, Sept. 20. They'll come back home for their home opener the next day, Saturday, Sept. 21 at 3 p.m. against Northwest Missouri.
