Women's Volleyball 9/14/2022 10:48:00 AM

UCO Heads North For Two League Matches

Unbeaten Central Oklahoma continues Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association play this weekend when the Bronchos head north for a pair of road matches.

UCO, 12-0 overall and 2-0 in the league, travels to Hays, Kan. Friday for a 6 p.m. meeting with Fort Hays State (5-5, 0-2) before moving on to Kearney, Neb. to face No. 8-ranked Nebraska-Kearney (10-1, 1-1) at 2 p.m. Saturday.

"It's a big road trip for us," head coach Edgar Miraku said. "We've made a lot of positive strides so far, but this will be our hardest test yet. Fort Hays is always tough and Kearney once again has one of the best teams in the country, so we'll have to be at our best."

The Bronchos return home next week to host No. 2 Washburn and Emporia State on back-to-back days.

ABOUT THE BRONCHOS: UCO opened conference play last weekend, sweeping Pittsburg State and beating Missouri Southern in four sets to reach 12-0. It's the third-best start in school history, trailing just 2015 (15-0) and 2016 (13-0).

The Bronchos were receiving votes in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) top-25 poll, coming in the equivalent of No. 32.

Freshman Sydney Huck led the way in those two wins, hitting .326 with 42 kills, 29 digs and six blocks in earning MIAA Hitter of the Week honors for the second straight time.

Huck leads the MIAA and ranks ninth nationally in kills per set (4.55), with her 191 kills currently second-best in NCAA Division II. She's also eighth nationally in both points per set (5.26) and attack attempts (463) while having added 114 digs, 21 blocks and 18 service aces.

Huck has had 20-plus kills in five matches already this season, including a current streak of four straight.

Rookie Lindsey Houran was named MIAA Setter of the Week for the second consecutive time after racking up 93 assists (13.29/set) in the wins over PSU and MSSU. She added 26 digs and nine kills, hitting .450.

Houran tops the league and is 11th in Division II in assists per set (11.27) and she leads the country in total assists with 507. She's had 40-plus assists in seven of UCO's 12 matches, including five of 50-plus.

Sophomore Jaedynn Evans made it a clean sweep for the Bronchos by claiming MIAA Defensive Player of the Week honors for the second straight time. She had 55 digs last week, averaging 7.86 per set.

Evans tops Division II in both total digs (297) and digs per set (6.60). She's had 20-plus digs in eight consecutive matches and has eclipsed the 30-dig mark in five of those.

Sophomores Mallorie Koehn and Jenna Karp also have more than 100 kills for the Bronchos.

Koehn has 110 (2.68/set) and Karp 107 (2.43/set), with both having knocked down 10-plus kills in five matches. Karp is hitting a team-best .338, which ranks sixth in the MIAA.

UCO ranks in the top three nationally in four team categories – attack attempts (first, 1,898), kills per set (second, 14.38), assists (second, 17.98) and digs (third, 18.91).

ABOUT THE TIGERS: Fort Hays State opened its conference schedule last week with a pair of tough road losses, falling in four sets to No. 2 Washburn and in five to Emporia State.

The Tigers are led by Riley Tinder (114 kills, 18 aces), Gracie Rains (79 kills) and Emily Ellis (51 kills, 32 blocks).

UCO has a 22-8 lead in the series and is riding a 10-match winning streak.

ABOUT THE LOPERS: Perennial national power Nebraska-Kearney started its MIAA slate with a win over Emporia State before dropping a five-set thriller to No. 2 Washburn in suffering its first loss of the season after a 10-0 start.

The Lopers lead the conference in both hitting percentage (.288) and opponent hitting percentage (.118).

Fallon Stutheit is hitting a league-leading .471 with 80 kills and 26 blocks to lead UNK. Emerson Cyza has a team-high 115 kills, while Bailee Sterling is hitting .385 with 76 kills and 29 blocks.

The Lopers have a big 19-5 advantage in the rivalry with UCO and have won seven of the last eight meetings.

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Players Mentioned

#6 Jaedynn Evans: DS/LIB; 5' 7"; Sophomore

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

#4 Mallorie Koehn: OH; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#1 Lindsey Houran: S; 5' 8"; Freshman

#14 Sydney Huck: OH; 5' 10"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#6 Jaedynn Evans
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: DS/LIB

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

#4 Mallorie Koehn
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: OH

#1 Lindsey Houran
: 5' 8"; Freshman
: S

#14 Sydney Huck
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: OH