Jennies move on to semifinal

(WARRENSBURG, Mo.) – In their 24th consecutive trip to the NCAA regional, the University of Central Missouri advanced to the semifinal with a 3-1 win over conference rival Missouri Southern in the first round (30-17, 25-30, 30-19, 30-21). The opening round win was the sixth season in a row the Jennies have advanced.
            After the loss in the MIAA Tournament semifinal, the Jennies (28-6) made some changes, the biggest one being senior libero Katie Tarka moving to outside hitter. Coach Martin’s move paid off as Tarka rolled off a career-high 22 kills, leading all attackers on the day. She also continued to help on the defensive end with 19 digs. Audrey Jensen moved to libero and picked up a match-high 25 digs. Being UCM’s best hitter all season, Jillian Ohrman tallied 20 kills and hit .421 while Andrea Robertson was effective with a.429 percentage and 11 kills. Freshman Lauren Nuckolls chipped in with 17 on the day as well. Freshman setter Caitlin Pankratz also tallied 50 assists.