Women's Volleyball | 9/24/2012 12:46:00 PM
HORNETS VISIT JETS FOR FIRST TIME
Emporia State volleyball takes a break from conference play to take on Newman at Fugate Gymnasium. The Hornets are riding a three-game winning streak into Tuesday’s game, the first time the two schools have met in Wichita.
LAST TIME OUT
Emporia State volleyball completed a sweep of Pitt State 25-17, 25-17, 25-13 at White Auditorium, led by 15 digs from Meg Schwartz and 12 kills by Katie Deutschmann. Brianna Kaiser and Morgan Buckner provided eight kills each in the straight set win, while Paige Vanderpool had seven kills, nine digs, and four service aces.
Buckner hit .409 and had 12 kills to lead the Emporia State volleyball team to a 25-18, 25-19, 25-16 sweep over Central Oklahoma in the home opener at White Auditorium. Vanderpool recorded a double-double with 10 kills and 13 digs hitting .269 for the evening. Courtney Haring led the Hornets with four total blocks and contributed nine kills. Deutschmann accounted for 26 assists and two service aces. Kaiser was the leader in digs with 19, while Schwartz added another 12.
LAST TIME VS. NEWMAN
#12 Emporia State defeated Newman 25-17, 25-20, 25-16 in Emporia on Sept. 7, 2010. Paige Vanderpool recorded seven kills and five digs. Meg Schwartz had 14 digs in the sweep of the Jets.
SERIES HISTORY
This is the third meeting between Emporia State and Newman. The Hornets have won both matches against the Jets, both in Emporia.
THE?COACHES
Bing Xu is 181-67 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.
Tessa Jones is in her second season as head coach of Newman. She has a career record of 8-29.
SCOUTING?THE JETS
Newman took on St. Edward’s on Saturday in Austin, Texas, losing in straight sets 25-14, 26-24, 25-6. Katelyn Schmidtberge led the Jets with seven kills, Tori Anderson and Gabby Loxterman tied for the lead with 10 digs. Newman won its last match at Fugate Gymnasium, held on Sept. 15, defeating NAIA opponent Southwestern 3-0. The Jets have also defeated Oklahoma Panhandle State and Kentucky Wesleyan.
HORNETS IN NON-CONFERENCE
Newman will be the ninth non-conference opponent Emporia State plays this season. The Hornets have a 5-3 non-conference record, all held at neutral sites. Newman is the only non-conference opponent Emporia State plays on its home floor in 2012. Four of the five wins by the Hornets have been in straight sets. The Hornets will play four more non-conference matches this season, at the Lady Blues Classic in Topeka, Kan. on Oct. 5-6. Last season, the Hornets had a 8-5 record in non-conference play with four straight set victories.
HITTING OPTIONS
Emporia State has four players averaging over two kills per game on the season, led by Brianna Kaiser who is averaging 2.63. Katie Deutschmann 2.34 ranks second, ahead of Morgan Buckner’s 2.32. Paige Vanderpool is the fourth Emporia State player averaging more than two kills a game with 2.10. All four players averaged at least two kills per game during the Hornets weekend homestand and Courtney Haring averaged 2.33 kills per game in those two matches.
ON A STREAK
The Hornets are on a three match win streak, all against MIAA opponents. During the three match win streak, Emporia State has not dropped a set and have defeated opponents by an average of six points per set. The Hornets began the season on a four game win streak, dropping only one set at the Pitt State Classic.
UP?NEXT
Emporia State returns to MIAA play versus #1 Nebraska- Kearney on Friday, Sept. 28 at the Health and Sports Center. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. On Saturday, Emporia State visits Fort Hays State for a 3 p.m. match.
