No. 3 Central Missouri (17-2, 10-1 MIAA) at No. 2 Washburn (19-2, 11-1 MIAA)
Thursday, Oct. 21 | 6 p.m. | Topeka, Kan. (Lee Arena)
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No. 3 Central Missouri vs. Emporia State (4-15, 2-10 MIAA)
Saturday, Oct. 23 | 7 p.m. | Warrensburg, Mo. (Multipurpose Building)
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Match Notes (PDF)
Scene Setter
• The third-ranked University of Central Missouri Jennies volleyball team is scheduled to travel to Topeka, Kan., for a 6 p.m. showdown at No. 2 Washburn Thursday, Oct. 21, inside Lee Arena before returning to the UCM Multipurpose Building for a 7 p.m. contest against Emporia State Saturday, Oct. 23.
• Central Missouri is coming off a 3-2, comeback win at Missouri Western Tuesday, Oct. 19, in St. Joseph.
How to Watch
• Live video and live statistics will be available for both matches. For links, please visit www.UCMAthletics.com.
Ticket Information
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Thursday at No. 2 Washburn: ALL TICKETS MUST BE PRE-PURCHASED ONLINE – THERE WILL BE NO WALK-UP SALES ON GAMEDAY AT LEE ARENA. Click here to purchase tickets.
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Saturday vs. Emporia State: Tickets may be purchased online by clicking
here, or at the UCM Athletics Ticket Box Office on the east side of the Multipurpose Building. Â
Last Time Out
• Third-ranked University of Central Missouri Jennies volleyball charged back from an early 2-0 deficit to win in five sets, 3-2, at Missouri Western in an MIAA match Tuesday, Oct. 19, at the MWSU Fieldhouse. The set scores were 23-25, 19-25, 25-19, 25-19 and 15-9.
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Audrey Fisher tallied a team-high 16 kills on 39 attempts with four errors for a .308 attacking percentage – her seventh consecutive contest with at least .300 hitting, while
Ally Offerdahl posted a season-best 48 assists, and
Rylie Barnum added a team-best 25 digs, pacing Central Missouri.
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Kersti Nix (15 kills),
Hannah VanBuskirk (12 kills),
Sydney Lierz (11 kills) and
Hannah Engelken (11 kills) also reached double figure kills in the match, with Lierz also posting 18 digs for her fourth double-double of 2021, and Engelken added a match-high five block assists, respectively.
• The Jennies outhit the Griffons (12-9, 4-8 MIAA), .222 to .190, including hitting a blistering .455 in the decisive fifth set, and bested Missouri Western in kills (70-58), assists (66-54), service aces (7-5) and blocks (9-8).
• The five-set triumph marked the second time this season UCM has rallied from down 2-0 to win in five, as Central Missouri rallied from a 2-0 hole to win 3-2 against Nebraska Kearney Oct. 8.
Jennies in the MIAA Statistics
• Entering Thursday, the Jennies rank second in the MIAA in opponent hitting percentage (.138), second in digs (18.75 per set) and blocks (2.18 per set), third in hitting percentage (.247), fourth in assists (12.91 per set) and kills (14.04 per set), and sixth in service aces (1.53 per set).
• Individually,
Hannah Engelken is third in the MIAA in blocks, averaging 1.04 blocks per set with 71 total blocks, while
Ally Offerdahl is sixth in assists with 9.53 assists per set on 659 total assists.
Audrey Fisher is fifth in hitting percentage at .346 and seventh in kills with 3.15 per set, and
Kersti Nix is ninth in kills with 3.12 per set.
Rylie Barnum is sixth in digs with 324 digs and 4.84 digs per set.
Individual Milestones
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Ally Offerdahl is sixth in program history in career assists with 4,602 and fourth in career assists per set at 10.73 entering Thursday's match at Washburn.
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Audrey Fisher is currently 10th in career hitting percentage at .340 in 429 career sets played. She's just one point shy of moving up to ninth.
.300 or Better
• Under Coach Piontek, Central Missouri 123-0 when they hit at least .300. While it hasn't happened often under Piontek, UCM is just 3-14 when surrendering a .300 attack percentage to their opponent. The Jennies have hit .300 or better in three matches this season.
UCM in the Polls
• The Jennies are one of four MIAA volleyball teams in the latest AVCA Top-25 Coaches' Poll released Oct. 18. Washburn is second, while UCM is third, Northwest Missouri is sixth and Nebraska Kearney is 16th. Central Oklahoma is receiving votes, respectively.
• In the MIAA preseason poll, the Jens were picked to finish fourth behind Nebraska-Kearney, Washburn and Northwest Missouri. They finished with 75 points.
Experience Throughout the Lineup
• Central Missouri welcomes back five of its starters from the 2019 team that posted an overall record of 23-10 and finished third in the MIAA at 15-5.
• The Jennies return six All-MIAA honorees from 2019 in 2021, including middle blockers
Audrey Fisher (first team) and
Hannah Engelken (honorable mention), outside hitters
Sydney Lierz (first team),
Aubree Bell (honorable mention) and
Hannah VanBuskirk (honorable mention), and setter
Ally Offerdahl (first team). Lierz was also the 2019 MIAA Freshman of the Year, while Engelken was the 2018 Freshman of the Year.
Welcome to Warrensburg!
• UCM welcomes four newcomers to the team in 2021 in freshmen
Grace Winkelmann (Rhineland, Mo.),
Tiffany Little (Parker, Colo.),
Arley Anderson (Kansas City, Mo.) and
Justine Bichelmeyer (Shawnee, Kan.). Winkelmann is the younger sister of former Jennies basketball and volleyball standout Shelby Winkelmann (2012-15).
Up Next
• The Jennies continue their three-match homestand at the UCM Multipurpose Building with a 6 p.m. contest vs. No. 6 Northwest Missouri Tuesday, Oct. 26.
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