TAMPA, Fla. – The Central Missouri Jennies (0-1, 0-0) fell to No. 5 Tampa Spartans (1-0, 0-0) by a final score of 3-1 (15-25, 17-25, 30-28, 16-25) on Friday, Sept. 1, in the opening match of the Tampa Volleyball Classic from Bob Martinez Athletics Center in Tampa, Fla.
After falling behind two sets to none in the match, the Jens trailed 4-0 early in the third before tying the set at nine thanks to a pair of attack errors from Kalli Cors. The Spartans responded with a 7-1 run, but Central Missouri took their first lead at 20-19 with a 10-3 run of their own. Thanks to a pair of kills from setter
Olivia Olson (match-high 34 assists, team-best 11 digs and three kills overall) and freshman
Elinor Engel (7 kills overall), UCM took the third set by a final score of 30-28.
The Jennies were paced offensively by middle blocker
Grace Southern with nine kills and five blocks, while redshirt senior
Kersti Nix added eight kills and three digs. Defensively, UCM had three players with double-digit digs including
Grace Winkelmann and
Jackie Storm who each collected 10 respectively.
The Jens return to the court on Saturday, Sept. 2, as they take on No. 24 Gannon (10:00 a.m.) and Missouri S&T (4:30 p.m.) in the final day of the Tampa Volleyball Classic from Bob Martinez Athletics Center in Tampa, Fla.
