Women's Volleyball 9/16/2021 7:56:00 AM

Bronchos Open MIAA Season On The Road

Surging Central Oklahoma heads to Kansas to open Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association play this weekend with a pair of matches.

The Bronchos – 7-1 on the season and winner of five straight – go to Pittsburg, Kan. Friday for a 6 p.m. meeting with Pittsburg State (6-2) before moving on to Wichita, Kan. Saturday for a 3 p.m. contest against Newman (4-2).

"We've made a lot of progress since the start of the season, but we still have a long way to go," said head coach Edgar Miraku, who is 207-69 in his 10th year at the helm. "Our conference is incredibly strong and we have to be at our best every time we step on the court.

"I like the way this team has worked and they're eager to keep getting better. We're looking forward to starting the conference schedule to see how we stack up."

ABOUT THE BRONCHOS: UCO has dropped just two sets in its five-match winning streak, with all of those wins coming last week. The Bronchos beat East Central in a mid-week road match to get things started, then went 4-0 in the Broncho Invitational over the weekend.

Courtney Lane, Lauren Jenkins, Mallory Hendrix and Jenna Karp were all named to the all-tournament team for the Broncho Invitational and Hendrix was also named MIAA Setter of the Week for her performance in the five matches.

Lane is off to a great start this season, having knocked down 121 kills already. The sophomore standout has had double-digit kills in all eight matches – highlighted by a career-high 21 against Western New Mexico last weekend -- and is averaging an MIAA-leading 4.17 per set.

Lane has added 89 digs, 13 total blocks and eight service aces in scoring a conference-high 137.0 points.

Jenkins is second on the team in kills with 73 and her team-best .341 hitting percentage ranks ninth in the league. Karp has 56 kills and a team-leading 36 total blocks, with her 1.24 per-set average ranking second in the MIAA.

Katie Le has had at least 13 digs in every match and has 158 for the season, a 5.45 per-set average that is third-best in the league.

ABOUT THE GORILLAS: Pittsburg State has won its last five matches and is 6-2 on the season.

Meg Auten (89 kills, 12 aces), Claire Sandvig (54 kills) and Brianna Richard (271 assists, nine aces) lead the Gorillas.

UCO owns a big 21-6 lead in the series, but PSU has taken the last two meetings (four-set wins at home and on the road in 2019).

ABOUT THE JETS: Newman, 4-2 for the season, plays at Missouri Southern Friday night before hosting the Bronchos.

Salome Romp (97 kills), Riley Daugherty (84 kills, 107 digs) and Kaylie Kovach (40 kills, 20 blocks) pace the Jets.

Central has a 7-1 advantage in the series and has won the last six meetings.

UP NEXT: UCO returns home Sept. 24-25 for its first two home MIAA matches of the season, hosting Fort Hays State Friday night and Nebraska-Kearney Saturday afternoon.

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Players Mentioned

#9 Mallory Hendrix: S/RS; 5' 10"; Freshman

#10 Lauren Jenkins: OH/RS; 6' 0"; Junior

#11 Courtney Lane: OH; 6' 0"; Sophomore

#2 Katie Le: DS/LIB; 5' 4"; Freshman

#7 Jenna Karp: MB; 6' 0"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#9 Mallory Hendrix
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: S/RS

#10 Lauren Jenkins
: 6' 0"; Junior
: OH/RS

#11 Courtney Lane
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: OH

#2 Katie Le
: 5' 4"; Freshman
: DS/LIB

#7 Jenna Karp
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: MB