Central Missouri State spikes Lady Lions' defensive efforts
Kristen Smith

Staff Writer

After playing a series of home games, Lady Lions Volleyball left Joplin on Oct. 19 and headed to Warrensburg to challenge Central Missouri State University.

The Lady Lions lost 3-0 to the Jennies for the second year in a row.

"We had a really good match and played really well as a team," said Cindy Fleming, freshman.

Winning the match marked the fourth win in the last two weeks for the Jennies who stand at 18-6 for the season. Southern fell behind in a three-game match against CMSU. Scores for the game were 30-21, 30-27, and 30-22. The Lady Lions currently stand at 10-13 for the season.

Sophomore Sara Jaynes held the game highs for Southern with 10 kills and 17 defensive digs.

"We passed really well," Fleming said. "They were hitting a lot of balls at us, and we dug really well and had really good defense."

Senior Amy Little was out of the match due to illness. The team knew ahead of time that Little would not be in the game and had time to prepare. Jaynes and Fleming stepped up for Little.

"One of our key players wasn't able to play," said senior Shannon Schultz. "Sarah and Cindy played for her and played really well."

During the second game, Southern was up but couldn't pull through against the Jennies.

"We didn't play bad, we just couldn't finish," Schultz said.

Despite the loss, the team felt it played well and there was nothing specifically that contributed to the loss.

"I don't think we were weak," Schultz said. "Central is really good and we played well as a team."

The Jennies face the Lady Lions again at noon on Saturday, Nov. 2 in Joplin.

"It will be a great match, and we are excited about them coming here," Schultz said. "We will have home court advantage."

Schultz said the team will be able to practice what it did wrong in the Oct. 19 match.

"We know their weaknesses," Schultz said. "They are good team, and we are able to beat them so it will be a good game."

Friday the Lady Lions will play Washburn University in Topeka, Kan. On Saturday, the women play Emporia State University in Emporia, Kan. The Lady Lions lost to Washburn and Emporia previously this season.