MARYVILLE, Mo. – The Central Missouri Jennies (5-4, 2-0) defeated No. 18 Northwest Missouri Bearcats (5-5, 0-2) by a final score of 3-2 (25-17, 16-25, 25-17, 19-25, 17-15) on Saturday, Sept. 16, to conclude the opening weekend of MIAA play from Bearcat Arena in Maryville, Mo.
After splitting the first four sets of the match, the Jennies found themselves trailing 14-11 in the fifth. Beginning with a kill from reigning MIAA Offensive Athlete of the Week
Kersti Nix (match-high 23 kills, career-high 15 digs and four blocks overall), UCM ended the set on a 6-1 run to win the match. Two Jens had double-double performances in the winning effort including Nix and setter
Olivia Olson with a career-high 60 assists, 15 digs and four blocks.
Middle blockers
Grace Southern (match-high nine blocks and three digs) and
Rachel Ziesman (three blocks and three digs) added a career-high 14 kills each. Freshman
Elinor Engel had eight kills and four blocks, while outside hitter
Tiffany Little contributed five kills and two digs respectively.
Defensively, Central Missouri out-hit the Bearcats .198 to .164 on the afternoon as six Jens recorded double-digit digs including redshirt sophomore
Grace Winkelmann (team-high 23), outside hitter
Sydney Lierz (career-high 22), redshirt senior
Jackie Storm (14) and defensive specialist
Arley Anderson added 12.
The Jens return to the court on Tuesday, Sept. 19, as they take on the Rockhurst Hawks for their 2023 home opener, with first serve scheduled for 6:00 p.m. inside the Multipurpose Building in Warrensburg, Mo.
