Kearney, Neb. - The 4th-ranked Nebraska-Kearney volleyball squad ends the regular season when No. 6 Central Missouri comes to town Friday night and then No. 3 Washburn hosts the Lopers Saturday night.

Both matches start at 6:00 p.m.

On Friday, the match will be carried live on KGFW AM 1340 with Dave Jenner on the call. Pre-game starts about five minutes before first serve with UNK head coach Rick Squiers doing a short post-game interview.

Fans can also watch both matches via America One Sports (for a price) with live stats available as well (UNK .... Washburn).

These matches have MIAA regular season, MIAA Tournament and NCAA Tournament implications.

Pairings for the eight-team MIAA tourney will be released late Saturday night; that event begins Tuesday (Nov. 13th) at campus sites. UNK could by anywhere from the first to the fourth seed.

The Lopers enter a pivotal weekend having won 30 straight sets. Kearney leads the MIAA in six key statistical categories, including kills (14.49), digs (20.90) and hitting percentage (.266).

Individually, senior DS Kaleigh Anderson (Lincoln SW) needs 19 digs to reach 1,000 for her career with junior middle Katie Sokolowski (Kearney Catholic) hitting an MIAA-best .400.

Central Missouri Jennies (23-4, 15-1)
UCM, who last visited Kearney in the 1980's, has won seven in a row after an impressive 3-1 victory at # 13 Truman State. That ended the Bulldogs 16-match win streak.

Having made the last 29 NCAA Division II Tournaments, UCM has lived on the edge a bit this fall as they are 5-3 in five set matches. The five wins came against # 12 Colorado School of Mines, # 15 Indianapolis, Lock Haven (Pa.), Lewis (Ill.)  and at home vs. Truman. 

The five set losses were at home to Washburn, at 23 Metro State and to 7 Tampa. UCM's other loss came in three sets to # 10 West Texas A & M.

The Jennies rank third in the MIAA in kills (14.09) and assists (12.86) while being fourth in hitting percentage (.236), fifth in blocks (2.03) and eighth in digs (16.49).

Individually, 6-0 senior middle Bradye Peniston ranks third in the league in hitting percentage (.346) and fourth in kills (3.34) with 5-9 freshman outside Carly Sojka second on the team in kills at 2.89. She is coming off a 20 kill, 16 dig effort at Truman.

Of note, sophomore outside Aubri Renshaw is 15th in the MIAA in kills (2.56) but no longer listed on the UCM roster. A transfer from Washburn, she played in 81 sets this fall.

Defensively, true freshman Annie Reilly is fourth in digs (4.93). She graduated from St. James Academy in Overland Park, Kans., the same high school that produced Loper sophomore Molly O'Brien.

Washburn Lady Blues (29-1, 14-1)
The Lady Blues have won 15 in a row after a four set loss to the Lopers back on September 29th.

During this win streak, Washburn has slipped by Harding (Ark.) and UCM in five sets while taking three other matches in four sets.
   
Hosting Lindenwood Friday night, the Lady Blues rank behind UNK in most statistical categories; kills (14.22), hitting percentage (.265), opponent hitting percentage (.111) and assists (13.30).

Six-foot senior Jessica Fey (Crete) is second in the MIAA in attack percentage (.392) with 6-0 sophomore middle Marissa Cox (.338) and senior Jessica Kopp (.276) also in the Top 15.

In the loss to UNK, Fey hit .040 with six kills and five errors in 25 swings. Cox had 11 kills and hit .240 with Kopp at a team-best 15 kills and a .286 efficiency.  
    
Defensively, junior libero Courtney Churchman and junior setter Abby Wittman each dug up 22 balls in that match with Fey and one of two WU players with four blocks.