WARRENSBURG, Mo. – The No. 3-ranked University of Central Missouri Jennies came from two sets down to come back and defeat the No. 4-ranked Northwest Missouri State Bearcats in the 2021 MIAA Tournament championship, 3-2.
 
The Jennies won by set scores of 13-25, 20-25, 25-20, 25-18 and 15-10. The Jennies improved to 28-3 overall, while the Bearcats fell to 26-5 overall. The loss snapped Northwest's six-match winning streak.
 
Northwest opened up an 11-6 lead in the first set. Northwest kept the pressure on UCM as Avery Kemp posted seven kills in helping the Bearcats build an 18-12 advantage. The Bearcats continued to roll in the opening set and extended the lead to 22-13 on a pair of blocks and a kill by Jaden Ferguson. The Bearcats scored nine of the final 10 points, including the six straight to close out the opening-set win, 25-13. Northwest hit .378 with 19 kills and five errors, while UCM hit .065 with six kills and four attack errors.
 
Following an 11-11 tie, UCM used a 4-1 run to take a 15-12 lead and force a timeout from Bearcat head coach Amy Woerth. Northwest stormed out of the timeout to level the set at 15-15. Northwest took its first lead of the second set at 17-16 on a kill from Sophie McMullen. A 3-0 mini run by the Jennies put the home team back on top, 19-17. Two kills from Havel and another from Ferguson gave the Bearcats a 20-19 edge and forced UCM's Flip Piontek to take a timeout. Rachel Sturdevant put down a kill and UCM setter Ally Offerdahl was whistled for a bad set to put Northwest on top, 22-20. Payton Kirchhoefer and Sturdevant combined on a block and then UCM had a pair of hitting errors to give the set to the Bearcats, 25-20. Northwest hit .271 with 16 kills and three errors in the second set. UCM hit .089 with 10 kills and six attack errors.
 


The teams traded the first 12 points in the third set that left the score knotted at 6-6. UCM took a 9-6 lead only to see Northwest draw back even at 12-12. UCM used a 3-0 spurt to take a 17-14 lead that led to a Northwest timeout. UCM did not allow Northwest to draw closer and the Jennies posted a 25-20 win that cut the Northwest lead to 2-1.
 
The Jennies raced out to a 10-5 lead in the fourth set. Northwest regrouped and whittled away the lead to 10-9 behind kills from Kemp, Kirchhoefer and Ferguson. The Jennies withstood the Bearcat charge and opened up a 17-12 lead before a Northwest timeout. UCM could not be slowed down and the Jennies forced a fifth set with a 25-18 win in the fourth. UCM hit .300 with 14 kills and two attack errors in the fourth. Northwest's offense was stymied with a .167 hitting percentage that featured 16 kills and eight errors in the fourth.
 
UCM took a 7-4 lead in the decisive fifth set. UCM kept the pressure on Northwest and took an 11-7 lead when Woerth took her final timeout of the set. Northwest closed to within 13-10, but UCM scored the final two points to claim the set, 15-10.
 
Northwest will look to earn the program's second NCAA Tournament bid. The 2021 NCAA Division II volleyball selection show is set for Monday, Nov. 22, at 6:30 p.m. (CT) on NCAA.com.
 
NOTES: Northwest tallied 73 total kills, while UCM had 56 kills … Northwest had 26 attack errors … UCM had 18 attack errors … Northwest hit .230 in the match, while UCM hit .213 … Northwest had 93 digs … UCM had 90 digs … Northwest totaled six blocks … UCM recorded seven blocks … Northwest is 5-2 in five-set matches, with both losses coming to UCM in the Multipurpose Building … Northwest is 17-3 I road/neutral matches this season … Avery Kemp had a match-high 18 kills that also serves as a career-high for the freshman …  Alyssa Rezac dished out 52 assists and was credited with 20 digs … Kelsey Havel notched a double-double with 16 kills and 13 digs … Payton Kirchhoefer posted 17 kills … Hannah Koechl netted 24 digs.

2021 MIAA All-Tournament Team
Alyssa Rezac - Northwest Missouri State
Kelsey Havel - Northwest Missouri State
Payton Kirchhoefer - Northwest Missouri State
Audrey Fisher - Central Missouri
Ally Offerdahl - Central Missouri
Rylie Barnum - Central Missouri
Hannah Engelken - Central Missouri
Kelsey Gordon - Washburn
Faith Rottinghaus - Washburn
Maddie Squiers - Nebraska-Kearney
Fallon Stutheit - Nebraska-Kearney
Emersen Cyza - Nebraska-Kearney