No. 7 Jennies Take on No. 12 Northwest Missouri in Maryville Friday

No. 7 Central Missouri (8-1, 1-0 MIAA) at No. 12 Northwest Missouri (7-1, 0-0 MIAA)
Friday, Sept. 17 | 6 p.m. | Maryville, Mo. (Hughes Fieldhouse)
Live video: MIAA Network (Pay-Per-View)

Match Notes (PDF)

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This Week
• Seventh-ranked University of Central Missouri Jennies volleyball will continue MIAA play with a road match against conference rival and No. 12-ranked Northwest Missouri State Friday, Sept. 17, at 6 p.m. at Hughes Fieldhouse in Maryville, Mo.
• UCM is coming off a 3-0 sweep of Missouri Western in its 2021 home and conference opener Tuesday, Sept. 14, at the UCM Multipurpose Building.
 
How to Watch
• Live video and live statistics will be available for the match at Northwest Missouri State. For links, please visit www.UCMAthletics.com.
 
Last Time Out
• Audrey Fisher had 12 kills and Ally Offerdahl added a double-double with 34 assists and 14 digs, leading the No. 7 Jennies to a 3-0 sweep over Missouri Western in its 2021 home and MIAA opener Tuesday, Sept. 14, inside the UCM Multipurpose Building. The set scores were 25-15, 25-14 and 25-20.
• Fisher reached double-figure kills for the fourth straight match with her dozen kills, while Offerdahl posted her team-best fifth double-double of 2021 with her match-best 34 assists and 14 digs.
• Hannah Engelken added a match-high six block assists, and Rylie Barnum matched Offerdahl's team-best 14 digs. Barnum and Sydney Lierz both had a match-best two service aces, with Lierz also adding four block assists, respectively.
•UCM outhit MWSU, .183 to .044, and posted a 41-26 advantage in kills, 7-1 advantage in service aces and bested the Griffons in blocks, 8-6.
 
MIAA Leaders
• Entering the weekend, the Jennies rank first in the MIAA in blocks at 2.30 per set, second in opponent hitting percentage (.122), fourth in kills (13.90/set), assists (13.03/set) and digs (18.13/set), and fifth in hitting percentage (.246).
• Individually, Hannah Engelken is the MIAA leader in blocks through four matches, averaging 1.40 blocks per set with 42 total blocks, while Ally Offerdahl is third in assists with 10.63 assists per set on 319 total assists. Kersti Nix is fourth in kills with 3.63 kills per set and 109 total kills.
 
Individual Milestones
• Ally Offerdahl is eighth in program history in career assists with 4,273 going into Friday's match at Northwest Missouri.
• Audrey Fisher needs just two more blocks to get to 300 for her career.
• Fisher is currently 10th in career hitting percentage at .340 in 391 career sets played. She's just one point shy of moving up to ninth.
 
.300 or Better
• Under Coach Piontek, Central Missouri 121-0 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 hit better than .300 in 10 matches in 2019.
 
UCM in the Polls
• The Jennies are one of four MIAA volleyball teams in the latest AVCA Top-25 Coaches' Poll released Sept. 13. Nebraska Kearney is this week's number one team, while Washburn is third, the Jennies seventh and Northwest Missouri 12th.
• 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
• UCM is idle until a trip to Emporia, Kan., to take on the Emporia State Hornets Thursday, Sept. 23, at 6 p.m.