Jennies’ season comes to an end with 3-0 loss to Truman

in Region finals

     The Central Missouri State University Jennies saw their 2005 season come to an end with a 3-0 loss to Truman State University in the South Central Region volleyball finals. It was the third time in the last four years the two teams have met in the championship game for the right to go to the NCAA-II Elite Eight.

The Jennies (26-10 and ranked No. 13 in the latest AVCA/NCAA Division II poll) fell 30-21, 30-28, 30-24. The Jennies hit just .152 while converting for 46 kills and also suffered six service errors. Truman, meanwhile, was able to overcome seven service errors of its own by putting down 51 kills and hitting .269. The Bulldogs (32-5 and ranked No. 7 in Division II) also had 11 team blocks (four solo, 14 assists) compared to five (zero and 10) for the Jennies.

Senior middle hitter Becky Haug and freshman outside hitter Brooke Butler paced the Jennies with 13 kills apiece. Haug also had three block assists. Senior setter Kaci Young contributed 40 assists, while sophomore libero Audrey Jensen had a match-high 27 digs. Katie Tarka and Ashlei Jandrey pitched in with 17 and 12 digs, respectively.

The Jens advanced to the regional finals (for the fourth year in a row) with a 3-1 win over the host and No. 1 seed North Alabama Lions on Friday. North Alabama came into the contest having lost just one match all season.

Central Missouri won the first two games 30-19 and 30-28 before falling 30-23 in game three. Game four, though, was all Jennies as the Cardinal & Black downed its host 30-14. It was defense that did it for the Jennies. Central Missouri had just two more kills (59-to-57) and had one fewer service ace (5-to-6). But the Jens collected 12 total team blocks (three solos and 18 assists) to just seven (zero and 14) for the Lions.

That defensive effort limited North Alabama (36-2) to a .128 hitting percentage, while CMSU hit .260. Haug led all hitters with 17 kills and 19.5 points (she also had five block assists), while Butler came through with 14 kills. Andrea Robertson was stellar at the net, as she had three block solos and four assists. Amber Yoder added nine kills and three block assists. Young set the attack and finished with 45 assists, five kills (in six attempts with no errors), and three block assists. Jensen was CMSU’s leading passer as she put up 22 digs (a match-high) with Brooke Henry and Tarka coming through for 18 and 13 digs, respectively.

Haug, Jensen, and Young all were named to the All-Tournament Team for their play at the regional. The Jennies entered the tournament as the No. 4 seed.