OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – In support of breast cancer awareness, the Johnson County Community College volleyball team is hosting its annual "Pink Night" on Wednesday, September 18, when the Lady Cavaliers host Allen Community College at 6 p.m., inside JCCC Gymnasium.
JCCC student-athletes will be wearing pink uniforms and fans are encouraged to wear pink to the game to show their support of those fighting breast cancer.
About the Match
Johnson County enters tonight's KJCCC D-II match undefeated at 13-0 and ranked No. 2 in the country. The Lady Cavaliers are 5-0 on the season against ranked teams, and 3-0 against teams ranked in the top-10. In set play, JCCC has a mark of 39-7 and have swept eight of their 13 opponents.
The Lady Cavaliers 13-match win streak ties the eighth longest in team history. With a victory Wednesday night, the streak of 14 matches ties for the fourth longest. Their top three win streaks are 28, 26 and 20, all under the direction of head coach Jennifer Ei.
Allen comes in with a 10-3 mark and riding a four-match win streak. The Red Devils are 7-1 in September with their only setback coming against No. 1-ranked Cowley. In Allen's 10 victories, six have been sweeps and their set record in those 10 wins is 30-4. Overall their set mark is 33-13. Johnson County will be the second ranked team the Red Devils have faced this season.
JCCC holds a commanding lead in the all-time series with Allen, 74-8-1. In fact, the Lady Cavaliers have won 26 straight matches since the Lady Devils past a 3-1 win over JCCC on October 30, 2002. The two teams have only met six times in postseason play, with JCCC winning five of those matches. Allen's lone postseason win came in 1987.
About the Coaches
Johnson County head coach Jennifer Ei is in her 17th season at the helm and has compiled an impressive 469-133 for .787 winning percentage. She has led the Lady Cavaliers to national tournament appearances in 12 of her 16 seasons, with a national championship in 2020-21, runner-up finishes in 2008 and 2010 and third-place finishes in 2013, 2018, 2021 and last season. Her 12 tournament appearances tie for the most in Kansas Jayhawk Conference history with Barton legendary coach Ray Bechard. Also in those 16 seasons, Ei has had her team appear in 150 of 159 NJCAA Coaches Polls (94%), including 104 times in the top five and 17 weeks at No. 1.
Ei's Lady Cavaliers are also perennial powers in the KJCCC, winning 81 percent (139-31) of her conference matches, including a 3-0 start to the 2024 campaign.
The Allen Red Devils are led by second-year coach Maria Aikins. In her inaugural campaign, Aikins led her team to winning mark of 20-10 and finished 6-4 in conference play, good for a fifth-place finish. Aikin came to Allen after serving as an assistant coach at Hutchinson Community College and head coach at Hutchinson High School.
JCCC Notes
Through four weeks of the 2024 season, four JCCC athletes have garnered six KJCCC weekly honors. Freshman Taylin Stallbuamer was the named the KJCCC D-II setter of the week in each of the first three weeks, and after earning it a third time, was also selected the NJCAA D-II Offensive Player of the Week. Freshman defensive specialist Carlie Martin is a two-time recipient of the Defensive Player of the Week, earning the week two and three award, and sophomore hitter Kennedy Smalley was named the Offensive Player of the Week in second week.