Jennies Seek Region Title, Recognition

Nov 8, 2006, 12:25

Dave Kopp

All-Region middle hitter Jillian Ohrman (Photo by Dave Kopp)

WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- It happens so regularly, it’s almost as if it’s part of the schedule. The fact is, however, the University of Central Missouri volleyball squad is adding to a string of remarkable accomplishments.

The 15th ranked Jennies are heading to their version of The Big Dance, a.k.a. the NCAA Division II Volleyball Championships for an incredible 24th straight season.

“I’m always excited about going into the postseason, but sometimes I feel bad for these kids because they don’t get more credit for what they do,” UCM head coach Peggy Martin said. “Because of the tradition of Jennies volleyball, everybody expects them to be here year after year and that puts a lot of pressure on kids. Year after year, they handle it so well.

“Everybody else is excited about Missouri Southern is there for the first time ever and getting a lot of press on that. West Florida is getting there for the first time ever and Pitt State is going for the second time ever. Here, our kids are going for 24 in a row and it doesn’t feel, yearly, this team gets the credit it deserves for being there. I wish they’d get the credit for what they’ve done and how hard they’ve worked over the year.”

Four-time All-Region libero Katie Tarka (Photo by Dave Kopp)

Central Missouri is seeded third and will face one of those first timers - Missouri Southern - in the first round Thursday.

“It’s kind of a new start,” junior middle hitter Jillian Ohrman said. “Everything from here on is what we’ve worked so hard for. Nothing in the past counts, it’s all ahead of us. We’re going to be prepared mentally and physically to go into this and do what we can.”

“I like our seeding and the schedule we have is very, very good,” Martin said. “Our kids have to be very, determined and I think we can win the whole thing. But, it’s going to take a monumental effort. Truman, at Kirksville, they’re playing so well. It’s going to take a monumental effort for anyone to beat them. For us to win three matches in a row will be very tough. Can we do it? Yes.”

Outside hitter Brooke Butler is second on the team in kills. (Photo by Dave Kopp)

The Jennies swept the Lions in the first round of the MIAA Tournament last week and also won their only regular season meeting Sept. 30 at Joplin. However, Martin and the players know they cannot afford to look past MSSU.

“Remembering back to the first time we played them, it was not an easy match,” senior libero Katie Tarka noted. “Sometimes, it’s easier to look past a team you just killed. We just have to remember that if we want to keep playing, we’ve got to beat them first. We just have to be determined to win every ball, win every point and win every game.”

“Our kids are smart enough they know we can’t do that,” Martin added. “It helps us to play the first match of the day, so we’re not watching other teams play and thinking about who we play next because we don’t play anybody next if we don’t respect our opponent. Missouri Southern has really turned their program around in a year’s time and they’re playing very, very well. They’ve had a week to prepare for us while we’ve been playing in a conference tournament. That benefits them, but I think our kids respect them enough that they’ll be ready to play.”

Second Team All-MIAA middle hitter Andrea Robertson (Photo by Dave Kopp)

Since giving Martin her 1,000th career victory at Northwest Missouri State Oct. 21, the Jennies have won only two of five matches., not exactly the kind of momentum a team would like to have going into a postseason tournament.

“I’ve been trying to preach to our kids that we need to be like the St. Louis Cardinals, who limped into the playoffs and won it all,” Martin said. “I think their determination to get to 1,000 is what we have to get back. We’ve just got to get that determined to play our best volleyball. We went 2-3 after that, but the three teams we lost to were high caliber teams.

Setter/defensive specialist Ashlei Jandrey (Photo by Dave Kopp)

“At some point in the season, everybody is going to hit a little bump in the road. I think that’s happened for all of us with the exception of Truman. Everybody’s had a down week and our down week happened to come at the end of the season. But, we’re playing pretty tough competition on their court. Still, we do need to get that sense of urgency, that sense of determination and we’re going to get it now.”

As she prepares her team for the postseason, Martin likes what she sees.

“I’ve seen an amazing amount of resiliency,” she said. “Maybe it’s just youth, that they come back so strong. We’ve had two good practices this week. They were very disappointed in their performance at Topeka, but we’ve got to learn that that match is history. I think that will help us.”

The Jennies and Missouri Southern get things started at 12 noon Thursday at Truman State in Kirksville, Mo.