Women's Volleyball | 10/16/2012 12:57:00 PM
HORNETS FACE JENNIES AND BEARCATS
Emporia State heads to Warrensburg to take on #7 Central Missouri on Wednesday before returning to White Auditorium to play Northwest Missouri on Saturday.
LAST TIME OUT
Paige Vanderpool recorded a double-double with 12 kills and 12 digs as the Emporia State volleyball swept Southwest Baptist 25-20, 25-14, 25-17 in Bolivar, Mo. With the win, the Hornets extend their current win streak to six matches and have not lost to Southwest Baptist since 1987. Emporia State hit .302 for the match, and held Southwest Baptist to a .109 percentage for the night.
LAST TIME VS. OPPONENTS
The Emporia State volleyball team fell behind early and could not recover in a 3-0 loss to #7 Central Missouri on Nov. 8 in Emporia. Paige Vanderpool led the attack for ESU hitting .417 with 11 kills and five assists. Meg Schwartz had a match high 23 digs.
Emporia State got 13 blocks as they rolled to a 3-1 win over Northwest Missouri in Maryville on Oct. 29. Morgan Buckner led the way for the Hornets tieing a career high with 15 kills while hitting .440. Courtney Haring also tied a career high with 13 kills and added eight blocks.
SERIES RECORDS
Central Missouri leads the all-time series with Emporia State 45-5.
Emporia State leads the all-time series with Northwest Missouri 39-11 and have won the past 12 matches in the series.
THE?COACHES
Bing Xu is 186-69 in his eighth year as head coach at Emporia State. Xu has led the Hornets to the NCAA Division II Regional Tournament in five of the last seven seasons. In 2008 he led Emporia State to its first MIAA Championship.
Flip Piontek is in his fourth season as Central Missouri head coach with an overall record of 102-19.
Amy Phelps is in her first season as interim head coach of Northwest Missouri and has a record of 11-11.
SCOUTING?THE OPPONENTS
Seventh-ranked Central Missouri lost a five set thriller to then #4 Washburn at home in its last match, ending a 13 match winning streak. Bradye Peniston is UCM’s leading hitter, averaging 3.28 kills per set and ranks second in the MIAA with a .350 hitting percentage. Julia Bates ranks second in the MIAA averaging 10.36 assists per set and is a two-time All-American. As a team, the Jennies are third in the conference in kills and hitting percentage.
Northwest Missouri lost to Pittsburg State on Oct. 14 in five sets at home. Brooke Bartosh and Abby Graves each had 22 kills in the loss. Northwest Missouri has recorded 136 service aces, best in the MIAA. Freshman setter Dallas Gardner is tied for the individual lead, with 80 aces in 33 sets. The Bearcats are led by libero Tori Beckman, who tops the MIAA averaging 5.53 digs per set. Bartosh is the Bearcats’ leading hitter, averaging 3.20 kills per set.
DIG ‘UM UP
Defense will be on display as this week’s slate of matches features three of the MIAA‘s top liberos. Emporia State’s Meg Schwartz, who ranks second in the MIAA with 5.30 digs per set in conference matches, this season faces UCM’s Annie Reilly, who is averaging 5.16 digs per set in MIAA matches, in addition to Tori Beckman of Northwest Missouri, who tops the rankings at 6.27 digs per game. As a team, Emporia State has held MIAA opponents to .150 hitting percentage.
THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Emporia State’s match versus Northwest Missouri is the first match at home since September 22, when the Hornets defeated Pittsburg State in three sets. The Hornets have won both of their home matches this season. Six of Emporia State’s final eight matches are at home, including showdowns with top five opponents in #3 Washburn and #5 Nebraska-Kearney.
UP?NEXT
Emporia State takes on #3 Washburn in the second edition of the Turnpike Tussle at White Auditorium on October 23. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
