OFF ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Emporia State begins a three game road trip that will take them from one corner of the MIAA to the other. The Hornets will play at Southwest Baptist on Friday night and Pittsburg State on Saturday night before heading to Ft. Hays State on Tuesday. 
 
LAST TIME OUT
Carly Spicer had 18 kills and 11 digs for her seventh double-double in 13 matches, but it was not enough as Emporia State fell in four sets to Central Oklahoma.  The Bronchos won 25-18, 18-25, 25-18, 25-17 on Saturday night in White Auditorium.
Central Oklahoma jumped out to a 5-1 lead to start the match and Emporia State would not get closer than three points the rest of the way in 25-18 loss in the first set.  The Hornets had the quick start in the second set, also getting out to a 5-1 lead and not letting the Bronchos get closer than three point on their way to a 25-18 win and a split going into the intermission.
The third set was the most competitive of the night with eight ties and four lead changes. The last tie was at 18-18 before UCO ran off the final seven points for another 25-18 win.  Emporia State led 7-4 in the fourth set after back to back to back blocks by Shayla Cottman and Katie Deutschmann.  The Bronchos answered with a 6-1 run to take the lead for good on the way to a 25-17 clinching win.
Spicer had 18 kills on .235 hitting to go with her 11 digs.  She was the only Hornet in double figures in kills although Cotman had eight kills on .33 hitting with five blocks while Deutschmann had nine kills on .400 hitting with three blocks. Kelly Holden added 19 digs and Kimberly Bell had a team high 30 assists.

THE COACHES
Bing Xu is 217-93 in his tenth year as the head coach at Emporia State.  He has led the Hornets to five NCAA Tournament appearances and has won at least 18 matches in each of the last seven seasons. He is 14-0 against Southwest Baptist and 12-7 against Pittsburg State.
Caira Dortch is 6-10 in her first season at Southwest Baptist. This is her first match against Emporia State.
Jenny Mueller is 5-11 in her first year at Pittsburg State. This is her first match against Emporia State.
 
SCOUTING THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 6-7 on the season and 2-6 in the MIAA.  Five of the Hornets 13 matches this year have gone five sets with Emporia State going 3-2 in those five matches.  Only three of the Hornets 13 matches have been sweeps, a 3-0 win over Ohio Valley and a 3-0 losses at nationally ranked Washburn and Neb.-Kearney.
Carly Spicer is sixth in the MIAA in the latest conference rankings in kills at 3.70 per set.  She has at least ten kills 11 of 13 matches this season and has recorded double-doubles in seven matches in her first year playing the full rotation. She tied her career high with 21 kills and added 18 digs at Northwest Missouri, her second match this season with at least 20 kills and 15 digs. She has failed to reach double figures in either kills or digs in just one match this season, getting six kills and seven digs at Neb.-Kearney.
Kelly Holden is sixth in the MIAA in digs at 4.30 per set. After getting nine digs in the first match of the year, she has recorded at least ten in the last 12 matches with a career high 24 against Missouri Southern. She is averaging 5.20 digs per set over the last five matches.
Kimberly Bell is averaging 5.74 assists and Sydney Hartman 3.92 assists per set in the Hornets two setter system.
 
SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
Southwest Baptist is 6-10 on the year, 1-7 in the MIAA and have dropped five straight conference matches. Kalyn Sotomayor is averaging 2.48 kills and 0.74 blocks per set for the Bearcats. Kelsey Fankhauser is averaging 9.20 asssists while Hannah Blount averages 5.00 digs per set.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST SOUTHWEST BAPTIST
Emporia State defeated Southwest Baptist  3-1 in White Auditorium last season.
Emporia State clawed back to win a tight 29-27 first set. They followed up with a 25-21 second set victory. The Bearcats flip-flopped that score in the third set winning 25-21. The Hornets won the match with a 25-19 victory in the fourth set.
Paige Vanderpool had 14 kills for the Hornets while Courtney Haring added 13 kills on .524 hitting with five block assists.
 
SCOUTING THE GORILLAS
Pittsburg State is 5-11 on the year, 2-6 in the MIAA. They have played nine five set matches this year, going 4-5 in them. Madi Mosier is averaging 3.58 kills per set on .294 hitting to lead the Gorilla offense. Ashlen Schwartz is averaging 3.88 digs while Hayley Hansford is dishing 9.71 assists per set.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST PITTSBURG STATE
Emporia State closed out the home portion of the 2013 schedule with a 3-1 victory over Pittsburg State. The Hornets won the first set 25-15 before the Gorillas squeaked out a 26-24 win in set two.  Emporia State closed out the match with a pair of 25-17 wins in set three and four.
Carly Spicer led the Hornets with 14 kills on .538 hitting with five assists, a dig and three blocks. She was joined in double figures by Courtney Haring with 13 kills, Paige Vanderpool with 12 and Brianna Kaiser with ten kills.  Vanderpool had a double-double in her last regular season game in White Auditorium with 11 digs to go with her 12 kills.  Kelly Holden had a match high 20 digs while Sydney Hartman had 28 assists.
 
SERIES HISTORIES
This will be the 45th meeting between Emporia State and Southwest Baptist. The Hornets hold a 44-1 lead in the all-time series with the lone loss coming in 1987 in five sets.
This will be the 90th meeting between Emporia State and Pittsburg State.  The Hornets have a 67-22 advantage in the all-time series, but the Gorillas have won three of the last four matches in Pittsburg.
 
NEXT SERVE
Emporia State travels to Ft. Hays State for a midweek match-up on Tuesday.  First serve from Gross Memorial Coliseum is set for 6:00 p.m.