Kearney, Neb. – In the thick of the MIAA season, the 9th-ranked Nebraska-Kearney volleyball team has three matches over a five-day period starting Friday.

The Lopers (19-3, 5-2) host Southwest Baptist and Missouri Southern State on back-to-back days this weekend and then visits Fort Hays State Tuesday night.

SBU (14-8, 4-5) comes to down Friday at 7:00 p.m. Live stats are available as is an America One broadcast.

The Bearcats, which went 10-23 in 2012, are having one of their best seasons in recent history and are coming off a five-set win over Central Oklahoma Tuesday night.

On a roster stocked with freshmen and sophomores, a balanced attack is led by 6-1 sophomore middle Nikki Madoch (2.53 kills per set & .259 attack pct.), junior outside/right side Mackynzi Gibson (2.12 kps) and 6-2 senior middle Jordan Nedbalek (2.11 kps & .324 attack pct.).

SBU ranks first in the MIAA in blocks per set (2.73) and is fourth in digs (17.73). That helps them hold the opposition to a .142 hitting efficiency, fourth best in the league.
 
Nedbalek (1.38 blocks per set), Madoch (0.96) and 6-0 sopho­more right side McKinley Chelsey (0.96) lead at the net with 5-7 sophomore Hannah Blount at a team-best 5.22 digs per set.
 
Last fall in Bolivar, UNK swept SBU (-2, -14, -16).
 
Under first-year head coach Rachel Kirkman, Southern broke a 38-match losing streak when it beat Ouchita Baptist (Ark.), 3-2, on September 6th.
 
Heading into a Friday night match at Hays, they also own wins over South Dakota Mines, Union (Tenn.) and Arkansas-Monticello.

MSSU stops by Saturday at four for "Think Pink" night. KGFW will broadcast the match; live stats and an America One broadcast are as well.
 
Junior middle/outside Katie Politte (6-0) has some of the top offensive numbers in the MIAA, currently at 3.44 kills per set. She also provides 2.29 digs and 0.54 blocks per set and is tied for the team lead in aces with 21.
 
Next, sophomore right side Payton Graves (6-1) is at 2.16 kps and a team-high .259 attack percentage with 5-9 true freshman Mikayla Avery ranking first in digs at 2.79 ps.
 
UNK swept MSSU (-10, -15, -11) last fall in Joplin.
 
The Tigers have rebounded from a 0-9 start to be at 10-12 (1-7). Six of those victories have come against three NAIA schools in Friends (Kans.), Lindenwood-Belville (Ill.), McPherson (Kans.).

FHSU and UNK meet Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. Live stats and an audio broadcast are available.
 
Junior right side Taylor Mares (6-0), senior outside Madison Schwartz (5-11) and sophomore right side Mallory Flagor (6-0) each average just under 2.50 kills per set with 6-1 senior middle Jenna Ulrich at a solid 1.54 blocks per set, tops in the MIAA.
 
In a sweep of Hays (-18, -8, -16) on September 17th, UNK hit .351 and got 11 kills from senior outside Ashley Leitner and nine from senior middle Katie Sokolowski. The pair also combined for just two errors in 36 swings.
 
The Tigers saw Ulrich have six kills, hit .417 and record two block assists.

Also for UNK, senior middle Ellie Pesavento is closing in on a milestone. Recording eight kills in the last two matches, Pesavento now has 979 in her career. She'll be the 24th Loper, and the fifth middle since 2000, to reach 1,000 career kills.

As usual, Pesavento has been efficient, as she currently is second in the league (.362) in attack percentage to Haley Thompson of UCM (.370). For her career, she comes in at .349, fourth best in Loper lore.

Running a UNK offense that ranks high in the Division II national stats is sophomore Erin Seele. She has hit over .400 in each of the last two matches, pushing her season total in that area to 11. Her best effort came vs. Chadron State (.704; five kills in seven swings with no errors)
 
Next weekend, UNK heads South to face Pittsburg State and Central Oklahoma