Jennies Survive in Five vs. Chargers

LAKELAND, Fla. (Sept. 7, 2019) - Central Missouri was rolling throughout two and a half sets in what looked to be a sure-fire victory Saturday afternoon against Hillsdale. The Chargers though made a furious comeback to force a fifth set, but the Jennies regrouped and picked up a 3-2 win (25-16, 25-20, 18-25, 16-25, 15-1). The win puts the Jens at 2-1 on the season.

Play-by-Play
• Central Missouri landed 15 more kills than Hillsdale, 62-47, and out-hit them .188-.133.
• Errors again played a role for UCM. They committed 26 attack errors, 12 service errors, seven block errors and allowed seven aces and nine blocks.
• The opening frame set the stage for a tight match. The teams were tied at 11-11 before the Jennies went on a 7-2 run to take an 18-13 lead. Four different Jennies landed kills during the rally. UCM remained in control the rest of the way, taking the opening set 25-16. Ally Offerdahl earned set point with a service ace.
• Central Missouri went up 2-0 in what was a similar set to the first. The frame was again tied 11-11 when the Jennies made a run. They scored three straight and seven of the next eight. The Jens led by as many as eight, 23-15 before the Chargers scored four straight to close the gap. A kill from Rylee Neigenfind and a Charger service error ended the set, giving the Jens a 2-0 lead.
• The Jennies were looking like they were on their way to a sweep leading 15-9 in set three. Things quickly changed though with a 9-0 Charger run to give them the lead. Hillsdale closed the set on a 16-3 run to stay alive with a 25-18 win.
• Hillsdale kept the momentum going in set four. They never trailed in the set, ultimately tying the match with a 25-16 win. Kills from Aubree Bell and Sydney Lierz gave the Jennies some momentum and pulled UCM to within two, 10-8, but the Chargers used a 7-2 run to pull away and led comfortably the rest of the set. 
• UCM woke up for game five, taking a 3-1 lead an never looking back. A kill from Fisher broke a four-all tie and the Jens led the rest of the way. Up by two, 12-10, an attack error and kills from Neigenfind and Bell put the match away for the Jennies.

Jennies Stat Leaders
• Audrey Fisher hit a blistering .452 with 16 kills on 31 attempts.
• Rylee Neigenfind collected a double-double with 14 kills and 15 digs.
• Hannah VanBuskirk helped the offense with 11 kills.
• Ally Offerdahl fell a few kills shy of a triple-double. She filled her stat line with 48 assists, 16 digs, seven kills and three aces.
• Abby Skrastins helped on the defensive side with 30 digs. She also added eighth assists. 
• Hannah Engelken and Aubree Bell each landed six kills. Bell also picked up 14 digs while Engelken had three blocks.

For the Chargers
• Allyssa Van Wienen led the Chargers with 13 kills.
• Karoline Shelton was a kill-shy of a double-double with nine kills and 18 digs.
• Lindsey Mertz passed out 34 assists to go along with 12 digs.
• Madie Schider had a game-high tying 30 digs. 

News and Notes
• This was the Jennies first ever match with Hillsdale. Coach Piontek moves to 4-1 when taking on a team from Michigan.
• Neigenfind's 15 digs are a new career-high. Bell's 14 matched a career-high.
• Ally Offerdahl surpassed 50 service aces for her career.
• The Jennies have gone to five sets in each of the last two matches. They had a season-high 93 digs this afternoon, while just 66 in five sets last night at Tampa.

Up Next
• The Jennies have one more match tonight, taking on host Florida Southern.