KEARNEY, Neb. – The Central Missouri Jennies (15-8, 10-4 MIAA) defeated the No. 6 Nebraska-Kearney Lopers (22-3, 12-3 MIAA) by a final score of 3-2 (28-26, 18-25, 14-25, 25-22, 15-7) inside the Health & Sport Center on Friday, Oct. 21.
After the Lopers took a 25-24 lead in the first, head coach
Caitlin Peterson called a timeout that sparked a 4-1 run as UCM took an early 1-0 lead. Nebraska-Kearney responded by winning the next two sets and held a slim lead in the fourth at 16-15.
The Jens quickly responded with a 7-1 run, including three kills from
Kersti Nix (11 kills, four blocks, four digs overall) gave UCM the lead forcing a fifth set. In the fifth, Central Missouri began the set on a 7-3 run which proved to be too much for the Lopers.
The Jennies were led by sophomore
Tiffany Little's double-double performance (18 kills, 10 digs) while middle blocker
Rachel Ziesman added 14 kills and five blocks. Redshirt sophomore
Grace Southern contributed 12 kills and four blocks in the victory.
Defensively, UCM was led by libero
Grace Winkelmann's team-high 20 digs and defensive specialist
Rylie Barnum had 15 digs respectively. Redshirt sophomore
Chandler Vaughan had a team-high 28 assists, five digs, and two blocks while setter
Olivia Olson added 21 assists, four kills, and three blocks.
The Jennies return to the court Saturday, Oct. 22, as they take on the Fort Hays State Tigers inside the Gross Memorial Coliseum beginning at 6:00 p.m.
