Volleyball Season Gets Underway This Weekend

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Sept. 3, 2019) - Central Missouri Jennies Volleyball takes to the court this weekend for four games in the state of Florida to open up their 2019 season.

Opponents (2018 Record)
Valdosta State (15-18)
#1 Tampa (33-4)
RV Hillsdale (25-7)
RV Florida Southern (22-11)

When
Thursday-Saturday, Sept. 3-5
Thursday, Sept. 5 vs. Valdosta State - 6 p.m. CT
Friday, Sept. 6 at Tampa - 6 p.m. CT
Saturday, Sept. 7 vs. Hillsdale - 12:15 p.m. CT
Saturday, Sept. 7 at Florida Southern - 6:30 p.m. CT

Where
Thursday-Friday, Sept. 5-6 - Tampa, Fla.
Saturday, Sept. 7 - Lakeland, Fla.

How to Watch
• All four games will have live video over the Sunshine Conference Digital Network. The first two will be on the Tampa Spartans portal and the final two on Florida Southern. Links for video and live stats can be found at www.ucmathletics.com

First Serve
• Central Missouri finished the 2018 season at 25-8 for the second consecutive year. 
• They made it back to the NCAA Regional for the first time since 2015, but fell in the opening round to second-seed Minnesota-Duluth. 

Story Lines
• The Jennies jump right into it facing the 2018 National Champion Tampa Spartans in their second game of the season. Florida Southern was the NCAA runner-up in 2017. 

Quick Hits
Last Time Out
• Central Missouri made it back to the NCAA Central Region Championship for the first time since 2015. It was their 34th trip to the NCAA postseason in team history. The Jennies didn't make it out of the first round, falling to No. 2 seed Minnesota-Duluth 3-0 with two of the three sets decided between three points or less. 

Previously Against This Weekend's Opponents 
• This is the first time the Jennies will take on their season opening opponent, Valdosta State. It is also their first ever meeting with Hillsdale. UCM and Tampa have met 12 times previously, in what can be described as a one-sided rivalry. The Spartans have won 10 of 12 matchups including their last, a 3-2 win in 2015. The Jennies broke a 4-4 series tie with Florida Southern last season during the Peggy Martin Challenge with a 3-0 win. 

UCM in the Polls
• In the American Volleyball Coaches Association Preseason Poll, the Jennies opened up the year at No. 17. It is their 426th time ranked in the top-25, by far the most in Division II.  
• 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
• Aubree Bell is four digs away from 300. 
• Audrey Fisher needs nine more blocks for 200 in her career and five kills for 750.
• Rylee Neigenfind needs just one more block to reach 100 for her career.
• With six more kills Hannah Engelken will reach 250. 
• Ally Offerdahl will hit 50 service aces with three more.
• Hannah VanBuskirk is two digs shy of hitting 200. 

.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 110-0 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.

Top-25 Opponents
• Last season, the Jennies played 12 top-25 ranked teams among their 33 matches. They went 5-7 in those games. The start of 2019 doesn't get any easier for UCM. Five of the first six teams they are facing are ranked or receiving votes in the top-25, including No. 1 overall, and defending champions Tampa. 

Fresh Faces
• There are 17 on the Jennies roster for 2019 and almost half, eight are in their first year at UCM.
• The Jennies brought in help all over the floor with three outside hitters, Sydney Lierz, Grace Southern and Kersti Nix, two middles in Lenetta Lee and Jenna Schulte, one setter in Olivia Olson and two defensive specialists in Jackie Storm and Katelyn Moore.
• All eight are true freshman and can expect to see some time on the court.

All-Conference Returners
• Of the nine returners, six have made the All-MIAA team. The returners are led by AVCA All-American Audrey Fisher in the middle. 
• UCM has three outsides who have been tabbed All-Conference: Aubree Bell (First Team, 2017), Rylee Neigenfind (HM, 2018) and Hannah VanBuskirk (HM, 2017).
• Also up the middle for the Jens is sophomore Hannah Engelken, last year's MIAA Freshman of the Year.
• Junior Ally Offerdahl is a two-time Second-Team All-MIAA selection.

50 Years of Excellence 
• The 2019 season will mark the 50th in the storied history of Jennies Volleyball. All season long the Jennies will be celebrating that history with special events.
• Similar to the Silver Anniversary Team of 1994, the Jennies came out with a Gold Anniversary Team, adding 18 players from the past 25 years to the Silver Anniversary Team.
• The biggest event will be Oct. 12 during homecoming, when members of the 50 year team are invited back for a special celebration, including an on-court ceremony. 

Scouting the Opposition
Valdosta State
• Under first year head coach Kaleigh Zoucha, the Blazers finished 2018 at 15-18. They improved throughout the season with a 10-6 mark in the Gulf South Conference.
• The team is bringing back two seniors and five juniors from a year ago. That includes two of their top-three attackers from last year, Jessie Mooney and Kayla Widera who landed 277 and 221 kills respectively.
• Also back is the Blazer setter Tammy Reyes-Perez. She averaged 9.5 assists per set and also scored 152 points thanks in part to 44 service aces. 
• Senior Dariah Powell was a valuable piece a year ago leading the team with 3.37 digs per set. She also recorded 105 kills as a hitter.

Tampa Spartans
• Tampa was at the top of the Division II Volleyball world, winning the 2018 National Championship with a thrilling five-set win over Western Washington. They finished the year 33-4.
• The Spartans will be the favorites for the 2019 title as well, losing just one starter from last year's squad. Their top three hitters all return - Katie McKiel, Sorrel Houghton and Taylor Foster. McKiel was 5th in the NCAA with 523 kills. Houghton landed 489 and Foster hit .378 with 275 kills. McKeil also picked up 387 digs while Foster blocked 118 attacks.
• Also back for her senior season is libero Nicole Dominguez. She led the Spartans with 4.3 digs per set and put down 23 service aces.
• Sammy Mueller finished with 10.3 assists per set and will also be a senior in 2019. 

Hillsdale Chargers
• Hillsdale enjoyed a 25-7 season, riding that to a berth in the NCAA Midwest Regional Championship. The Chargers won the Great Midwest Athletic Conference with an undefeated 19-0 mark. They then ran through the Great Midwest Tournament, dropping only one set on their way to the title.
• One of the key returners for Hillsdale is libero Taylor Wiese. The setter averaged 5.7 digs per set last year and scored 40 service aces.
• Another specialist, setter Lindsey Mertz returns after 12.2 digs per set last year. She also helped on defense with 222 digs.
• The Chargers hit .264 as a team which was 10th in Division II. They were fifth in the nation in kills per set averaging 14.64. Allyssa Van Wienen landed 249 kills in 2018, third on the team. She is the top hitter back for Hillsdale. 

Florida Southern
• A year ago, the national runner-up Florida Southern Mocs started their season in Warrensburg at the Peggy Martin Challenge. Things didn't go well as they got off to a 1-3 start, including a three-set loss to the Jennies. They righted the ship after that, going 21-8 the rest of the way, making to the second round of the NCAA South Regional.
• The Mocs will have to transition in 2019 after graduating their leading hitter, setter and libero. Rachael Martin who finished with 329 kills and a .374 attack percentage is back for Florida Southern.
• Florida Southern will miss All-American Nicole Mattson. She led the nation in attacks and was fourth with 554 kills. Martin's 698 kills were less than half of Mattson's 1,734.