JOPLIN, Mo. – No. 25-ranked Central Oklahoma goes on the road for a pair of matches in the MIAA In-Season Tournament Thursday and Friday at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center on the Missouri Southern campus.
The Bronchos, 15-5 on the season and riding a five-match winning streak, take on Arkansas-Fort Smith (14-8) at 6 p.m. Thursday before meeting the host Lions (6-12) at 6 p.m. Friday. Both matches against the league rivals don't count in the MIAA standings.
"We've made a lot of progress in the last couple of weeks and need to continue on that path," head coach Edgar Miraku said. "It's all about working on ourselves and playing to the best of our ability."
UCO went 2-0 last week, capped by an upset of then-No. 13 and now-No. 15 Washburn. The Bronchos are tied for fifth in the conference standings at 4-2, with all five of those teams ranked in the top 25 nationally.
Sophomore Georgia Ahlert continues to lead Central's offense, having piled up 205 kills behind a .305 hitting percentage. She's had 10-plus kills in 15 of 20 matches this season and also has 36 total blocks.
Four other players have at least 100 kills – sophomore Myla Unterweger (194), freshman Kate Wells (140), sophomore Caroline Clayton (128) and rookie Taylor Fenton (106).
Unterweger is also second to Ahlert in double-digit kill matches with 11. She's added 116 digs and 27 total blocks.
Wells is far and away UCO's leader in both solo (17) and assisted (66) blocks, ranking fourth in the MIAA with a 1.26 per-set average. She's had nine matches with five-plus total blocks this fall.
Senior Riley Roberts directs the offense and is second in the league in assists per set (9.28). She has 640 on the season, having collected 40-plus in five outings, and was named MIAA Setter of the Week on Monday. Roberts also has 184 digs, 71 kills and 33 total blocks.
Senior Kaitlyn Parrott and sophomore Morgan Manning pace the back row defense.
Parrott returned from a four-match absence in the Washburn win and tops the team with 300 digs, a 5.26 per-set average that leads the MIAA. Manning has 262 digs, ranking 10th in the league with a 3.74 per-set standard.
Arkansas-Fort Smith is led by Lydia Pitts (229 kills, 254 digs) and Aspen Olson (144 kills, 68 blocks). UCO has a 5-4 series lead over the Lions, having won the last three meetings.
Missouri Southern is paced by Addyson Alvis (221 kills, 174 digs) and Grace Gardner (165 kills, 30 blocks). The Bronchos swept the Lions in a home MIAA meeting Sept. 24 to take a 32-9 lead in the series.
