NCAA-II Central Region Quarterfinals
No. 1 Central Missouri (28-3) vs. No. 8 Arkansas Tech (22-7)
Thursday, Dec. 2 | 5 p.m. | Warrensburg, Mo. (UCM Multipurpose Building)
Scene Setter
• Top-seeded and No 1-ranked University of Central Missouri Jennies volleyball is scheduled to open play in the NCAA-II Central Region Tournament Thursday, Dec. 2, at 5 p.m. in Warrensburg at the UCM Multipurpose Building against eighth-seeded Arkansas Tech.
• The Jennies are 28-3 after winning their 14th MIAA tournament title with a thrilling, five-set win over then No. 4-ranked Northwest Missouri Nov. 20.
• Central Missouri is making its 36th NCAA tournament appearance in program history.
• The Jennies are the host of the eight-team, Central Region tournament, which runs Dec. 2-4 at the Multipurpose Building. It's the first time UCM has hosted the regional since 2011.
How to Watch
• Free, live video of all matches in the NCAA-II Central Regional will be available at
TheMIAANetwork.com/UCMMULES.
MIAA Champs!
• Jennies volleyball captured both the MIAA regular season and tournament titles in 2021. UCM has won 25 MIAA regular season championships and 14 MIAA tournament crowns. The conference championships this season mark the first time Central Missouri has swept both the regular season and tournament titles since 2013.
• Thirteenth season UCM head coach
Flip Piontek has won six MIAA regular season and three MIAA tournament titles.
Fisher, Offerdahl, Engelken Receive AVCA All-Region Accolades
• The awards keep rolling in for University of Central Missouri Jennies volleyball as
Audrey Fisher and
Ally Offerdahl were both named to the American Volleyball Coaches' Association (AVCA) All-Central Region Team and
Hannah Engelken was tabbed AVCA Honorable Mention All-Central Region, it was announced Wednesday, Dec. 1.
• The three AVCA All-Region accolades are the most for UCM volleyball since 2015.
• It is Fisher's third career AVCA All-Region nod, and Offerdahl and Engelken's inaugural All-Region honor.
Four Jennies Voted D2CCA All-Central Region, Fisher Player of the Year
• The 2021 MIAA Player of the Year
Audrey Fisher has been voted the 2021 D2CCA Central Region Player of the Year by the region's sports information directors, it was announced Wednesday, Dec. 1.
• Fisher also garnered first team all-region accolades. Four of her teammates were also tabbed All-Central Region, as
Ally Offerdahl,
Hannah Engelken and
Kersti Nix all were voted to the second team.
• Fisher is a repeat selection from 2019 (second team), while Offerdahl, Engelken and Nix are all first-time honorees.
Eight Jennies Receive All-MIAA Honors
• Eight University of Central Missouri Jennies volleyball student-athletes received All-MIAA honors for their performances on the volleyball court during the 2021 MIAA conference season, the conference office unveiled Tuesday, Nov. 16.
• Redshirt senior
Audrey Fisher and head coach
Flip Piontek earned the conference's highest honors. Fisher was voted the MIAA Player of the Year while Piontek garnered MIAA Coach of the Year accolades.
• Fisher,
Hannah Engelken,
Ally Offerdahl,
Sydney Lierz and
Kersti Nix all were named First Team All-MIAA while
Rylie Barnum and
Hannah VanBuskirk received Second Team All-MIAA honors, and
Aubree Bell was received Honorable Mention All-MIAA honors.
• The Jennies tied Washburn for the most All-MIAA honors with eight.
Last Time Out
•
Hannah Engelken and
Audrey Fisher combined for 29 kills and seven blocks helping third-ranked University of Central Missouri Jennies volleyball win their 14th MIAA Volleyball Tournament Championship in program history with a five-set victory over No. 4-ranked Northwest Missouri State Saturday, Nov. 20, at the UCM Multipurpose Building. The set scores were 13-25, 20-25, 25-20, 25-18 and 15-10.
• The tournament title was the first since 2015 for UCM and the third under Central Missouri head coach
Flip Piontek.
• Engelken tallied a team-high 17 kills on 40 attempts with just two errors for a .375 attack percentage and made three block assists while Fisher hit .308 with 12 kills on 39 swings and zero errors and had one block solo and three block assists.
•
Ally Offerdahl added a team-high 44 assists, and
Jackie Storm posted team and career-highs in both digs (25) and service aces (4).
Arley Anderson also compiled a career-best in the contest with 17 digs and a pair of service aces, and
Rylie Barnum had 21 digs.
• Fisher, Engelken, Offerdahl and Barnum were all named to the All-Tournament Team.
Jennies in the MIAA Statistics
• Entering the weekend, the Jennies lead the MIAA in blocks (2.32 per set), rank second in opponent hitting percentage (.148) and digs (18.92 per set), third in hitting percentage (.254), and fourth in assists (12.82 per set), kills (14.02 per set) and service aces (1.52 per set).
• Individually,
Hannah Engelken leads the MIAA in blocks, averaging 1.16 blocks per set with 131 total blocks and seventh in hitting percentage at .333, while
Ally Offerdahl is fifth in assists with 9.59 assists per set on 1,084 total assists.
Audrey Fisher is eighth in kills with 3.19 per set, fourth in hitting percentage at .375 and fifth in blocks at 0.97 per set with 110 total blocks, and
Kersti Nix is ninth in hitting percentage at .291 and seventh in kills with 2.86 per set.
Rylie Barnum is fourth in digs with 591 digs and 5.28 digs per set, and
Aubree Bell is 12th in service aces with 0.28 per set and 28 total service aces.
Individual Milestones
•
Ally Offerdahl is sixth in program history in career assists with 5,038 and fourth in career assists per set at 10.63 entering the weekend.
• In the latest NCAA Division II national statistics, Offerdahl is second in the Division II active career leaders assists list with her 5,038 career assists.
• Fisher is currently seventh in career hitting percentage at .348 in 474 career sets played. She's just three points shy of moving up to sixth.
• Offerdahl is the sixth Jenny in program history to reach the 5,000 career assists mark.
.300 or Better
• Under Coach Piontek, Central Missouri 126-0 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 five matches this season.
•
Audrey Fisher has hit .300 or better in 25 of Central Missouri's 31 matches this season.
•
Hannah Engelken is hitting at least .300 in four of her last five matches.
UCM in the Polls
• The Jennies are ranked No. 1 in the most recent AVCA Division II Coaches' Poll released Nov. 22. It's the first time Central Missouri is ranked at the top of the poll since 1996 and the 12th time in program history.
• Other Central Regional participants in the AVCA poll include Northwest Missouri (4), Washburn (6), St. Cloud State (7), Winona State (10), Nebraska Kearney (12) and Concordia-St. Paul (15). Arkansas Tech 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.
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