DENVER, Colo. – No. 25 Central Missouri Jennies (4-4, 0-0 MIAA) split a pair of matches, beginning with a loss to No. 25 West Texas A&M Lady Buffs (4-4, 0-0 LSC) by a final score of 1-3 (20-25, 15-25, 25-21, 19-25), before defeating No. 7 MSU-Denver Roadrunners (4-4, 0-0 RMAC) 3-1 (17-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-17) on Saturday, Sept. 5, in the final day of the Colorado Premier Challenge, inside Auraria Event Center, on the campus of MSU-Denver.
The Jens return to the court on Friday, Sept. 11, as they will take on the Illinois-Springfield Prairie Stars (1-5, 0-0 GLVC) at 1:00 p.m., in the opening match of the Holiday Inn Express Griffon Volleyball Invitational, from MWSU Fieldhouse in St. Joseph, Mo.
Match 1: No. 25 West Texas A&M 3, No. 25 Central Missouri 1 (20-25, 15-25, 25-21, 19-25)
Junior
Grace Wagers opened the scoring in the match that sparked a 3-1 UCM run, but the Lady Buffs would take the lead with a five-point victory in the frame. Wagers, a native of Stilwell, Kan., led the Jens with 10 kills, adding five blocks and two digs.
West Texas A&M doubled its advantage after two sets of play, but the Jens trimmed the deficit in the third, closing the frame on a 12-5 run, highlighted by three kills from sophomore
Sammy Klotz. The Hoyt, Kan. native ended the match with a career-high eight kills alongside senior
Shaye Koski (three digs and two blocks) and middle blocker
Kaelyn McDonald (UCM-best eight total blocks).
The Lady Buffs responded with a victory in the fourth, securing their fourth win of the year led by 20 kills from Skyler Massey.
Leavenworth, Kan. native
Ashlynn Jaccard posted six kills on 12 swings (.417 hitting percentage), with five blocks and two digs, while senior
Maya Fergerson posted four blocks and three kills. Fergerson, a native of Blue Springs, Mo., was selected to the Colorado Premier Challenge All-Tournament team for her efforts.
Freshman
Chloe Rauner recorded 20 assists, eight digs, two kills, and a block, plus
Bella Holcomb added 17 assists, three digs, and a pair of kills as the Jens out-blocked WTAMU by a margin of 13-11.
Libero
Ragin Corwin paced the Jens with 14 digs, adding three assists, while senior Kirsten Haper had seven digs and two assists and Aurora, Colo. native
Brenna Kelly collected six digs for good measure.
Match 2: No. 25 Central Missouri 3, No. 7 MSU-Denver 1 (17-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-17)
The Roadrunners took the opening set of the match, but Central Missouri answered with a four-point victory in the second, closing the frame out on an 8-4 run, highlighted by three kills from senior
Maya Fergerson. The senior paced the Jens offensively with a match-high 16 kills on 30 swings, good enough for a .400 hitting percentage.
With the score tied at 23 in the third, head coach
Caitlin Peterson called a timeout that followed with a service error on the Roadrunners, before Fergerson connected with her 12
th kill of the match off an assist from
Chloe Rauner (match-best 42 assists and nine digs overall), giving the Jens a 25-23 win in the frame and a 2-1 advantage in the match.
Central Missouri took a 19-13 lead in the fourth set thanks to a kill from middle blocker
Kaelyn McDonald (nine kills and two block assists overall), capping off a 13-4 run en route to winning the frame by a final score of 25-17, as the Jens earn their second victory over a top-10 team in 2026.
Central Missouri outhit the Roadrunners by a margin of .219 to .185 on the night, highlighted by 13 kills from senior
Shaye Koski, while middle blocker
Grace Wagers added seven kills, and junior
Ashlynn Jaccard had four kills in the winning effort.
Three Jens recorded double-digit digs, including a career-high 29 digs from libero
Ragin Corwin, while Aurora, Colo. native
Brenna Kelly had 12 digs, and freshman
Evynn Olsen collected 10 digs in the match.
