Jennies volleyball opened its 2018 season Thursday, kicking off the annual Peggy Martin Challenge with a three-game sweep of Drury.
In the only match of the night, the Jennies took three straight sets from the Panthers by scores of 25-21, 25-18, 25-18. The Panthers kept it close early in the first set only trailing by one, but the Jennies would go on a 5-2 run with four points coming off kills to take control.
Drury forced a Central Missouri timeout after four straight points cut the Jennies lead to 15-14. Out of the timeout, the Jennies regained control and pulled away to take the set. The Jennies had 17 kills in the first set with six coming from sophomore Audrey Fisher.
The second set started much like the first with the Jennies holding a 9-8 lead. Central Missouri went on a 10-2 run off seven attack errors by the Panthers. Drury was never able to get back into the set, and UCM senior Kylie Hohlen capped the set with her fourth kill of the match.
Junior Rylee Neigenfind prepares to land one of her 10 kills in the Jennies season opening sweep of Drury Thursday at the Multipurpose Building.
The Jennies opened up set three with a huge lead and would never look back. The Panthers pulled within four but couldn’t complete the comeback, giving the Jennies a sweep in their season opening match. Hohlen finished the match with a team-high 13 kills and 14 digs.
“I thought it went really well, especially coming off of a not-so-great weekend,” Hohlen said. “We played really well tonight and I’m super proud of everybody.”
Junior Rylee Neigenfind finished second on the team with 10 kills and posted a hitting percentage of .308. Neigenfind said the Jennies were confident after working hard in practice.
“I feel like we really improved on what we needed to in practice and came out ready to play,” Neigenfind said.
Fisher finished with nine kills after notching six in the first set to go with five blocks. Sophomore Ally Offerdahl picked up a double-double with 32 assists and 14 digs. Freshman Hannah Engelken made her Jennies debut picking up five kills and five blocks.
The Jennies face two top teams in the final two days of the Peggy Martin Challenge. Fourth ranked Florida Southern and No. 14 Arkansas Tech are two of the most difficult games on the Jennies schedule. Hohlen said the Jennies are excited to play good out of conference competition.
“We’re super excited to play good teams and just get out there and do the best that we can against teams that we’re not usually playing,” Hohlen said.
The Peggy Martin Challenge continues Friday and Saturday with the Jennies set for three more matches.
First up for the Jennies is No. 14 Arkansas Tech scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday followed by a 7 p.m. matchup with Truman State. The Jennies face 2017 national runner-up Florida Southern at 1 p.m. Saturday in the Multipurpose Building.
