JOPLIN, Mo. (Sept. 27, 2019) - No. 14 Central Missouri Jennies Volleyball went on the road and took care of business in an MIAA matchup with Missouri Southern. Improving to 2-1 in the league and 7-4 overall, the Jens swept the Lions 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-16).
How it Happened
• The Jennies hit just 11 errors in the entire match, hitting .361 with 55 kills. The Lions hit for 38 kills with a .202 attack percentage.Â
• UCM's defense also came to play with 64 digs, more than 21 per set. The Lions picked up 49 digs.
• With so many rally points scored, not much was done off the serve. Each team landed three aces while the Lions committed three errors and the Jennies five.
• The Lions picked up three more blocks than the Jennies, 6-3.
• The Lions scored the very first point in set one. That was the only time they led in the entire match. Following the MSSU kill, the Jennies scored six straight with five kills and an
Abby Skrastins service ace. A brief rally midway through the set brought the Loins to within two on a handful of occasions, and they were still in the match down 18-16. That's when UCM put the hammer down with another 6-0 run to pull away for a 24-16 lead and went on to win set one 25-19.
• Set two was the closest of the three, but the Jennies maintained a lead throughout after scoring the first two points on Lion errors. UCM built up a 9-3 lead, but the Lions didn't go down quietly. A kill from
Aubree Bell gave the Jens their largest lead, 21-13, and UCM seemed to have things in control. The Lions though went on an 8-2 run and brought the lead down to two, 23-21. Still leading by two, 24-22,
Sydney Lierz finished it off with her eighth kill of the set.
• Leading 5-2 in set three is when Lierz took over. She scored four straight kills to push the lead to 9-2 and the Jennies cruised to a 25-16 win for the match. UCM landed 21 kills in set three including another eight from Lierz.Â
Jennies Stat Leaders
• It was Lierz's night with a game-high 19 kills while hitting .333 from the outside. She also added four digs.
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Hannah Engelken was also in double-figures with 10 kills and hit .381.
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Ally Offerdahl had a match with 43 assists, six kills and nine digs.
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Abby Skrastins dug out 21 attacks.
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Audrey Fisher put away nine kills and hit .412 with two blocks.
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Aubree Bell picked up 17 digs and seven kills.
For the Lions
• Morgan Nash scored a team-best 12 kills with nine digs.
• Shaylon Sharp chipped in 10 kills.
• Janelle Brehm added nine kills and Alicia Pickett five blocks.
• Emalee Lowe led the defense with 13 digs.
• Makenzie Fa'amausili-Cacoulidis passed out 33 assists.
News and Notes
• Coach
Flip Piontek remains unbeaten against Missouri Southern. The Jens are now 70-1-1 all time against MSSU.
• Coach Piontek is also perfect when his team hits at least .300, moving to 113-0. The Jens his a season-high .361.Â
• This is just the third match this season for UCM to end in three sets. They are 3-0 in those matches.
• This is the first time since September of 2018 the Jennies had at least 20 kills in a set.
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Sydney Lierz' 19 kills are a new career-high.
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Aubree Bell surpassed 400 career digs.
Up Next
• The Jennies have one more road match this weekend. They take on Pittsburg State tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m.
