Volleyball Splits Opening Day in Colorado

DENVER, Colo. (Sept. 13, 2019) - Central Missouri Jennies Volleyball began the 24th annual Colorado Premier Challenge with a split of ranked opponents. UCM defeated No. 13 Barry 3-2 (22-25, 25-12, 25-17, 21-25, 15-8), before coming back and falling in four to No. 5 Lewis (18-25, 26-24, 22-25, 23-25). The split puts UCM at 4-2 before their final two games in Colorado tomorrow afternoon.

Game One: Central Missouri 3, Barry 2 (22-25, 25-12, 25-17, 21-25, 15-8)
How it Happened
• The final numbers between the two teams were incredibly similar despite set scores that might indicate otherwise. The Jens outhit the Bucs .262 to .227 landing just four more kills, 61 to 57.
• Defensively, the Jennies put back one more block, 11-10, while Barry recorded four more digs, 64-60.
• One glaring disparity came on the serve. The Jennies landed 11 service aces to the Bucs two, while Barry committed 12 service errors, four more than UCM's eight. All totaled the Jennies scored 23 points off of serves with the Bucs scoring just 10.
• The opening frame saw lots of jockeying for position early on in the match. Neither team could gain an upper hand until the latter portion of the set. After UCM made it a one-point game, 16-15, on a kill from Aubree Bell, the Bucs rolled off four straight points to take their largest lead, 20-15. A brief rally was able to bring the Jennies to within two, 22-20, but Barry kept UCM at bay for a 25-22 opening set win.
• Set two was another story. This one was all Jennies. They got on top 3-0 and never trailed en route to a 25-12 win to tie the game at one. UCM scored seven out of eight at one point to push their lead to 11-3. This one was never in question with the Jennies rolling to a 13-point win.
• The third set started out the same as the second with UCM scoring the first three points. But Barry battled back and took their first lead at 6-5. The set remained close and midway through things were tied at 10. That's when the Jennies pulled away scoring five straight for a 15-10 lead. Aubree Bell had two kills and Jackie Storm a service ace in the run. The Jens were able to cruise from there, scoring six of the final seven points for a 25-17 win.
• With UCM looking to put Barry away in four, the Bucs battled hard in a tight set. At various points the set was tied at 2, 7, 11, 15, and 19. Barry was down two, 19-17, when they scored two straight to tie and then continued with four more for their largest lead, 23-19. Central Missouri got back to within two with a kill from Bell and a Barry attack error, but the Bucs scored the final two to tie the match and force a fifth set.
• After things started slowly with the score tied at three, Central Missouri rattled off four straight to take a 7-3 and never trailed again in the final frame. Audrey Fisher landed back-to-back service aces during the 4-0 run. Up 12-8, the Jennies put the match away scoring the final three points getting kills from Fisher and Ally Offerdahl.

Jennies Stat Leaders
• Aubree Bell led UCM with 17 kills and 10 digs.
• Audrey Fisher scored 22 points with 16 kills, three service aces and four blocks. She hit .517 for the match.
• Hannah Engelken was also in double-figure kills with 10 and totaled six blocks.
• All Offerdahl picked up another double-double with 46 assists and 11 digs. She also put back three blocks and landed five kills and a service ace.
• Abby Skrastins led UCM on defense with 20 digs. She also passed out eight assists and scored two aces.
• Jackie Storm chipped in with seven digs and three aces.
• Rylee Neigenfind scored seven kills and dug out nine Buccaneer attacks.

For the Buccaneers
• Megi Buvinic had a double-double with 16 kills and 14 digs.
• Audren Rose led the Bucs with a game-high 27 digs.
• Bianca Pasca handed out 43 assists.
• Kishara Gordon landed 13 kills and hit .417 while Kristina Filimonova scored 12 kills.

Game 2: Lewis 3, Central Missouri 1 (18-25, 26-24, 22-25, 23-25)
How it Happened
• Central Missouri fought hard all game, but came up just short in a number of close sets against Lewis. Three of the four sets were determined by three points or less.
• The Jennies offense struggled committing 38 attack errors while Lewis totaled 15 blocks. 
• UCM hit just .057 for the match. Lewis was slightly below .200 at .196.
• The match started out as well as it could for UCM as the Jennies scored the first four points. Fisher and Neigenfind each had kill and UCM put back two blocks. But from that point, Lewis outscored UCM 25-14. After getting to within one, 5-4, the Jennies responded with another 4-0 run for a 9-5 lead. UCM was able to keep that lead as the teams went back-and-forth, but a 4-0 stretch for the Flyers gave them their first lead, 16-15. They scored 9-of-10 and extended their lead to 23-16 before taking the set and the lead, 25-18.
• Set two was another battle of runs until the end. Lewis started strong and with five straight points, took a 6-3 lead. The Jennies hit back with four straight of their own with two kills, a block and an ace for a 7-6 lead. Tied at eight, Lewis regained the lead scoring four straight points. Central Missouri kept at it though, scoring seven-of-eight to tie at 17 and take a one-point lead, 18-17. The teams began trading points after that. The Jens had set point at 24-23, but a Lewis kill forced extra points. UCM finished the frame with back-to-back blocks. Hannah Engelken was involved in both and UCM tied the match with a 26-24 win.
• Though the final two sets were close, that would be the only set win for the Jennies. They raced out to a 7-4 lead in set three, but couldn't hold on. Lewis scored four straight and a 13-5 run gave them a 17-12 lead. Down 23-17, things looked bad for UCM, but they scored five straight to get to within one, 23-22. They were helped out by three Flyer attack errors and kills from Neigenfind and Hannah VanBuskirk. But the comeback fell short as Lewis stopped the rally with consecutive points to win the frame.
• Set four played out similar to the third. The teams were tied at 11 with neither able to get an upper hand. Lewis took a small lead, 15-13 and turned it into a big one, 19-13 with four straight points. But UCM was right there to answer again. They responded with their own 4-0 run to get to within two, 19-17. Then down by three, 21-18, the Jennies regained the lead with another 4-0 run. Two kills from Fisher and one from Neigenfind put UCM ahead. Tied again at 23, the Flyers ended the match at 25-23 with a block and a kill. 

Jennies Stat Leaders
• Audrey Fisher scored 13 points with nine kills, two aces and three blocks. She also picked up five digs.
• Rylee Neigenfind was the only Jennie in double-figure kills with 11.
• Abby Skrastins dug up 18 attacks.
• Ally Offerdahl was one dig behind Skrastins and dished out 38 assists.
• Hannah Engelken recorded nine kills.

For the Flyers
• Ava Venema hit game-high 14 kills.
• Alexandra Preuss had a double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs.
• Jamie Poppen had a game-high 19 digs.
• Mikah Freppon passed out 37 assists to go with nine digs.

News and Notes
• Audrey Fisher hit her 300th career kill and picked up dig number 150.
• Abby Skrastins has surpassed 750 career digs.
• The Jennies 11 blocks vs. Barry are a season-high.
• Aubree Bell's double-double vs. Barry was her second of the season. Ally Offerdahl now has a double-double in all six games.
• Lewis got some revenge on UCM as it was UCM who won at this tournament 3-2 over the Flyers. 
• Central Missouri landed 18 service aces in two matches and their 11 against Barry are a new season-best.

Up Next
• The Jennies have two more games to go in Colorado coming up tomorrow afternoon. They take on No. 9 Tarleton State at 12:30 p.m. CT and No. 20 Texas A&M Commerce at 3:30 p.m. CT