ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – No. 18 Central Missouri Jennies (22-7, 18-2) swept the Emporia State Hornets (13-16, 7-13) by a final score of 3-0 (26-24, 25-11, 25-21) on Thursday, Nov. 16, in the 2023 MIAA Volleyball Tournament Quarterfinals from the St. Joseph Civic Arena in downtown St. Joseph, Mo.
With the score knotted at 22 in the opening set, the Jens took a 1-0 advantage on a 5-2 run finished by a freshman
Elinor Engel (eight kills and match-high three blocks overall) kill from MIAA Player of the Year
Olivia Olson (match-high 34 assists, six digs, and five kills overall). In the second leading 15-10, Central Missouri doubled their match lead on a 10-2 run highlighted by three service aces from redshirt senior
Sydney Lierz (team-high 11 kills on 22 swings for a .500 hitting percentage, six digs, and a match-high four service aces overall).
With the score tied at 15 in the final set, the Jens went on a 9-3 run taking advantage of three attack errors by Emporia State as UCM completed the sweep. On the night, the Jennies outhit ESU by a margin of .370 to .135 as middle blocker
Rachel Ziesman had nine kills on 13 attempts (.462 attack percentage), while redshirt senior
Kersti Nix added six kills on 15 swings (.400 hitting percentage) and opposite hitter
Emma Siron contributed five kills and three digs respectively.
Defensively, libero
Grace Winkelmann had a team-high 10 digs, plus defensive specialist
Jackie Storm collected six digs and junior
Arley Anderson added four digs and two assists in the winning effort.
No. 1 Central Missouri returns to the court on Friday, Nov. 17, as they take on No. 4 Missouri Western in the 2023 MIAA Volleyball Tournament Semifinals with first serve scheduled for 7:30 p.m. from the St. Joseph Civic Center in St. Joseph, Mo.
