WICHITA, KS - Newman returned home to host #4 UCM.  The Jets were filled with energy early as they hosted another top 5 opponent inside of Fugate Gymnasium.  The teams were hungry for another conference victory as the first half of conference play was winding down.

Newman dropped Saturday afternoon's match 3-1 and fell to 7-10, 3-8 MIAA while the Jennies earned another win advancing to 16-2, 9-1 MIAA.

In set 1 the Jets were crisp in their passing stopping every run the Jennies tried to get going.  The Jets had 13 kills in set 1 giving them a 25-20 victory.

Sets 2 through 4 shined a light on the youth of Jose Lugo's team.  The Jets struggled through some growing pains in the middle sets.  In sets 3 and 4, the Jets put too much pressure on each swing hitting 20 errors after just hitting 11 in the first two sets.  The Jennies, on the other hand, turned up the heat tallying 16 kills in the ultimate set.

Newman showed glimmers of hope early against a strong UCM team.  The strongest testament to the growth Jose Lugo's team is making is that the squad is taking sets from nationally ranked opponents.  Lugo is optimistic that his team can continue this growth pushing into the second half and win the games they should win while knocking off some other teams along the way.

Offensively, Salome Romp led the Jets in kills with 15, while Jenna DeVore and McKinzie Weaver split the load in assists.  It was Riley Daugherty cleaning up the most UCM attacks with 17, and she was trailed  by Paiton Haga who tallied 15 of her own.

The Jets are back in action in Fugate Gymnasium as they host Missouri Southern State on Tuesday, October 19 at 6 PM.