EDMOND, Okla. – The (Receiving Votes) Central Missouri Jennies (11-3, 3-1 MIAA) defeated the No. 1 Central Oklahoma Bronchos (17-1, 3-1 MIAA) by a final score of 3-1 (19-25, 25-16, 25-18, 25-20) Saturday, Oct. 4, inside Hamilton Field House in Edmond.
After dropping the opening set of the match, Central Missouri began the second frame on a 7-2 run with kills from
Emma Siron (14 kills and 11 digs overall),
Lauren Blake (five kills, career-best four blocks, and one assist overall), and
Kaelyn McDonald (career and team-high 16 kills and six blocks overall) before evening the match at one with a 25-16 set victory.
The Jens opened the third set on a 5-2 run, before claiming a 25-18 victory in the frame thanks to the 14
th kill of the afternoon from Siron, taking a 2-1 match lead.
With the score knotted at 15 in the fourth, Central Missouri took the lead for good thanks to block assists from
Kayla Baer (match-high 47 assists, 11 digs, three kills, and two blocks overall) and McDonald as the Jens picked up their first top-five road victory since defeating No. 2 Washburn in Topeka in October of 2021. Baer, a native of Wesley Chapel, Fla. collected her 1,000th assist at UCM in the winning effort.
Three Jens ended the match with double-digit kills offensively, including middle blocker
Rachel Ziesman's team-high 16 kills on 34 swings (.382 attack percentage), adding four blocks and two digs. Parkville, Mo. native
Shaye Koski contributed seven kills, three digs, and two blocks on the afternoon as UCM outhit the Bronchos by a margin of .291 to .200 in the match.
Defensively, UCM was paced in the back row by sophomore
Brenna Kelly's 19 digs, while libero
Grace Winkelmann collected 16 digs and five assists, and Blue Springs, Mo. native
Ragin Corwin added 13 digs for good measure.
The Jens continue MIAA play Tuesday, Oct. 7, as they take on the Missouri Southern Lions (6-9, 0-4 MIAA) during Cancer Awareness Night inside the Jerry M. Hughes Athletics Center in Warrensburg.
