Women's Volleyball | 9/14/2012 2:30:00 PM
CONTUINING CONFERENCE PLAY
Emporia State continues MIAA play with a trip to St. Joseph, Mo. to take on Missouri Western on Saturday. The Hornets are looking to avoid their first 0-2 start to MIAA play since 2004.
LAST TIME OUT
Emporia State opened MIAA play with a 3-0 loss at #5 Washburn in the first edition of the Turnpike Tussle. Morgan Buckner hit .467 and had nine kills to lead all players, while Meg Schwartz had 12 digs as the Hornets fell to the Lady Blues in straight sets.
LAST SEASON VS. MISSOURI WESTERN
Emporia State and Missouri Western played a five set thriller in St. Joseph in their last meeting on Oct. 28, 2011. The Hornets won the first, third, and fifth sets to deal the Griffons their first home loss of the season. Katie Deutschmann led Emporia State with 13 kills and Meg Schwartz had 29 digs. The Hornets were excellent from the service stripe, with eight service aces. Deutschmann finished with 10 kills and 21 digs in Emporia State’s 3-0 victory over Missouri Western in Emporia on Sept. 23. Schwartz had 15 digs and Paige Vanderpool added another 13 digs along with eight kills. Carly Spicer hit a match high .545. The Hornets were in control of the match from the start, only falling behind twice.
SERIES RECORD
Emporia State leads the all-time series with Missouri Western 39-37. The Hornets have won nine straight matches over the Griffons since 2006, and are 19-2 since 2002.
THE?COACHES
Bing Xu is 178-67 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.
Cory Frederick is in his fourth season as head coach of Missouri Western. He has a career record of 43-59 with the Griffons.
SCOUTING?THE GRIFFONS
The Griffons are in the midst of a five-game home stand against MIAA foes. Missouri Western opened its MIAA schedule with a 3-1 loss to Northwest Missouri, they play Missouri Southern Friday. Sophomore Sarah Faubel leads the Griffons in kills, averaging 2.23 kills per game, and services aces with eight. Sophomore Amanda Boender has 30 total blocks, ranked fifth in the MIAA. Entering this week, Missouri Western ranked second in the MIAA with 16.56 per game and ranked fourth in assists and kills.
YOUR PLACE OR MINE?
Since 2001, Emporia State owns a 9-1 advantage over Missouri Western in matches played on the Griffons home floor, the only MWSU win came in 2002. Emporia State head coach Bing Xu is an undefeated in St. Joseph at 6-0, as his squads have only dropped four sets since his tenure began in 2005. Emporia State and Missouri Western did not play in St. Joseph in 2006, the only match that season was played at White Auditorium.
SOLID DEFENSE
Emporia State were holding opponents to a .113 hitting percentage entering conference play, the best in the MIAA. The Hornets were third in the MIAA in blocks, averaging 2.17 blocks per game and fourth in the MIAA with 16.17 digs per game. Meg Schwartz’s average of 5.38 digs per game ranked third entering MIAA play.
STELLAR SCHWARTZ
Meg Schwartz is averaging 5.25 digs per game in 2012, and has 168 digs so far this season. Her 12 services aces also lead the team. Schwartz has 1406 digs in 287 career games, and currently holds the Emporia State career record with 4.90 digs per game.
TOP PERFORMANCES AT MISSOURI WESTERN
The Hornets posted their fourth-highest kill total of 2011 during last season’s encounter at Missouri Western with 63 kills from 177 attempts. Emporia State’s eight service aces tied for the third-highest total of the season. Hunter Porter tied a season high, notching 11 kills and hitting .500, playing three games in the match.
UP?NEXT
Emporia State plays its first home match of the season on Sept. 21 when Central Oklahoma visits White Auditorium. The first serve is at 7 p.m.
