To look at the UCO volleyball season to this point from another perspective, it could be said that the Bronchos have pitched a one-hit shutout.
Prior to the conference portion of the slate for Central, the team is now 13-0 on the year. And UCO, ranked No. 7 nationally, is riding a streak of 10 consecutive matches in which it has swept its opponents.
In fact, UCO has lost only one set all season long.
Nearly perfect.
Considering the one-hit side of the analogy would lend to thinking of the defense. But that’s not all for this team.
If the game was a shutout, it was also one in which the Bronchos won by a score of about 21-0.
As a team, UCO has a hitting percentage of .284 and is keeping opponents to just .087. The Bronchos are posting 14.26 kills per set, while getting there with 13.21 assists per set.
Central is getting even more points by attacking off the serve and sending through 1.74 service aces per set.
And each of those numbers is either No. 1 or No. 2 in each category in the MIAA, a league which is one of the tops in the country.
UCO is seventh ranked, but is joined in the latest AVCA Division II Top 25 (and even top 15) this week by No. 4 Nebraska-Kearney, No. 12 Central Missouri and No. 14 Washburn.
It is hard to imagine Central being able to keep up this incredible pace when league play starts. But still, it should be recognized what the Bronchos have done through the opening portion of the schedule.
UCO begins conference competition on the road at Central Missouri on Friday and then plays at Lindenwood on Saturday, the start of an 18-match MIAA season.