Joplin, Mo. – The Missouri Southern volleyball team will play a pair of midweek games this week as the Lions travel to Central Oklahoma tomorrow and Central Missouri on Thursday.
First serve at both places will be set for 6 pm. Live video and live stats will be available for both matches and links can be found in the story link section above.
Southern had a productive week, taking a set from Newman, before nearly taking the match from Missouri Western, forcing extra-points in the winner-take-all fifth set with the Griffons. The Lions then held their own at home against Northwest Missouri, going to extra points in the opening frame.
Armyni Perales has been the go-to hitter for the Lions recently and has a team-high 160 kills on the season.
Sophie Mader has 618 assists and is averaging 7.82 per set on the season, while also ranking second on the team with 175 digs.
Brooklynn McCain leads the team with 294 digs and a season average of 3.72 per set. McCain averaged 4.42 digs per set this past week.
Amelia Neels averaged 1.25 blocks per set this past week and is second on the team with 35 blocks, while
Kierson Maydew leads the Lions with 45 of her own on the season.
Central Oklahoma (16-6, 9-5 MIAA) has split its last six matches. The Lions and Bronchos played on September 28 in Joplin where UCO won the match 3-1. The Bronchos are led by Courtney Lane who is averaging 3.61 kills per set this season. Amanda Desch is averaging 6.76 assists per set, while Katie Le is averaging 5.76 digs per set. Jenna Karp has 91 blocks on the year and is averaging 1.17 per set.
Central Missouri (19-2, 12-1 MIAA) defeated Washburn this weekend and moved up to No. 2 in the latest Division II national rankings. The Jennies have won nine matches in a row, including the previous matchup with the Lions on Oct. 2. UCM is led by Audrey Fisher and Kersti Nix who average 3.13 and 3.11 kills per set, respectively. Ally Offerdahl directs the offense and is averaging 9.53 assists per set, while Rylie Barnum has a team-high 4.89 digs per set. Hannah Engleken has 81 blocks on the season, averaging 1.08 per set.
After this week, the Lions will have a midweek game at Northwest Missouri on Nov. 3, before playing host to Emporia State and Washburn on Nov. 5 and 6.
