WALTHAM, Mass. – The receiving votes Central Missouri Jennies (2-2, 0-0 MIAA) defeated the receiving votes Grand Valley State Lakers (3-1, 0-0 GLIAC) by a final score of 3-2 (14-25, 25-23, 25-23, 17-25, 15-11) Saturday, August 29, in the final match of the Sandy Hoffman Memorial Tournament, inside the Dana Center, on the campus of Bentley University, in Waltham, Mass.
After taking the opening set of the match with a 25-14 victory, the Lakers began the second with a 4-1 run.
Later in the frame, with the score tied at 22, head coach
Caitlin Peterson called a timeout, as the Jens evened the match on a 3-1 run with kills from junior
Grace Wagers (nine kills overall) and Parkville, Mo. native
Shaye Koski (team-high 14 kills, three digs, and two blocks overall).
Central Missouri continued their winning ways in the third, closing the set out on a 5-2 run capped off by an attack error on the Lakers, making it a 2-1 Jens advantage.
Grand Valley State fought back to force a fifth set, but the Jens opened the frame with a 4-0 run and never relinquished, earning their second victory of the season, led by setter
Chloe Rauner's second consecutive double-double performance.
Rauner, a native of Omaha, Neb., recorded 46 assists, 14 digs, five kills on 14 swings (.357 attack percentage), and a team-high four blocks, while senior
Maya Fergerson (12 kills and five digs overall) and middle blocker
Bria Dawson (11 kills, three blocks, and three digs overall) ended the match in double figures and hitting percentages above .300 for good measure.
Defensively, the Jens had five players collect double-digit digs, including a team-high 21 from libero
Ragin Corwin, while
Kirsten Harper (career-best four service aces) and
Evynn Olsen had 13 digs, plus
Brenna Kelly added 11 digs in the winning effort.
The Jens return to the court on Friday, Sept. 4, as they take on No. 9 Wayne State College (Neb.) Wildcats (4-0, 0-0 NSIC) at 11:00 a.m. (CST), during the opening match of the Colorado Premier Challenge, in Denver, Colo.
