Box Score Kearney, Neb. – The 13th-ranked Central Missouri Jennies used 10 team blocks and hit .301 to sweep 10th-ranked Nebraska-Kearney (-17, -19, -30) Friday night in Edmond, Okla.
 
This was an MIAA Tournament semifinal match. The second-seeded Jennies (29-4) advance to play top-seed and No. 14 Central Oklahoma (29-3) tomorrow night for the title. UCO beat 15th-ranked Washburn (27-5) in four sets this afternoon.
 
UNK (29-6) will have to wait until Monday at 6:30 p.m. Central to see if it qualifies for the NCAA Tournament. The top eight teams from the Central Region make the 64-team event; the Lopers came into the weekend ranked sixth.
 
To beat Kearney for the second time this season, the Jennies got off to strong starts in each of the first two sets. In fact, UCM never trailed as they held UNK to a negative .030 (9-10-33) percentage in the first set and a .150 mark in the second.
 
The low percentages came due to the Jennies work at the net. They had four team stuffs in set one and added three more in the second. Overall, four different UCM players had at least three blocks.
 
A back and forth third set featured 19 ties and five lead changes with UNK having four set points. However, UCM fought off each one and eventually ended things on the strength of a service error and an unforced Loper attack error.
 
"That is unfamiliar to what we've seen all year. For whatever reason, we weren't ready to play and compete at a high level," said UNK head coach Rick Squiers. "UCM was good but we errored and didn't give ourselves a chance. It's disappointing to see our team play like that when we've done anything but that for the last two months."
 
Senior outside hitter Carly Sojka, the MIAA Player of the Year, tallied a team-high 15 kills, eight digs, three block assists and two aces. Next, junior outside Cheyanne Lyons was at 10 kills, a team-high six blocks and hit .290.
 
Three other Jennies had between five and eight kills with senior libero Annie Reilly digging up 22 balls and having six assists.
 
UNK, hitting .131 and having three team blocks, was led by sophomore outside Kaitlynn Thomas (Yutan). She had a match-high 18 kills, just four off her career-high, and hit .484.
 
Greeley junior Skyler Erickson (10) was the only other Loper to reach double digits in kills. Senior setter Erin Seele (Johnstown, Colo.) did end with 32 assists, nine digs, two blocks, one ace and hit .300.
 
"We have a good group of players who've fought their tails off all year. This was just one of those days where we didn't have it," said Squiers.