EMPORIA STATE VOLLEYBALL HOSTS MWSU AND NWMSU FOR HOMECOMING WEEKEND

COMING HOME
Emporia State returns to White Auditorium for Homecoming Weekend matches against Missouri Western and Northwest Missouri. Friday's match against the Griffons will be the Hornets Dig for the Cure match while Saturday is area Team Day.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Katie Deutschmann had a monster match for Emporia State as the Hornets swept Ft. Hays State on Tuesday in Hays, Kan. It was the Hornets second sweep of the season and just the fourth sweep they had been involved in this year.
The first set was the closest with 12 ties and six lead changes.  The Hornets led 16-11 only to see the Tigers roar back and take a 24-22 lead. Emporia State fought off two set points and scored the final four points of the set to take a 26-24 win.
The last two sets were fairly easy for the Hornets. Emporia State jumped out to an 8-0 lead and never trailed in a 25-15 set two win.  The third set started with two lead changes and four ties, the last at 6-6 when the Hornets went on a 6-0 run to take control. They would score the final four points, the last on a kill by Deutschmann, to take a 25-13 win.
Deutschmann finished with 16 kills on .438 hitting with six digs, three assists and two blocks. Courtney Haring had seven kills and six blocks for the Hornets. Despite just playing three sets, Kelly Holden extended her string of 20 dig matches to three and six of her last seven matches with 21 digs. Kimberly Bell had 22 assists while Sydney Hartman dished 16 for Emporia State.

THE COACHES
Bing Xu is 219-94 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 14-3 against Missouri Western and 16-1 against Northwest Missouri.
Marian Carbin is 25-16 in her second season at Missouri Western. She is 2-1 against Emporia State.
Amy Woerth is 36-45 in her third season at Northwest Missouri. She is 1-2 against Emporia State.
 
SCOUTING THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 8-8 on the season and 4-7 in the MIAA.  Six of the Hornets 16 matches this year have gone five sets with Emporia State going 3-3 in those sixmatches.  Only five of the Hornets 15 matches have been sweeps.
Carly Spicer is sixth in the MIAA in the latest conference rankings in kills and is averaging 3.63 per set.  She has at least ten kills 13 of 16 matches this season and has recorded double-doubles in nine matches in her first year playing the full rotation. She was held to just five kills and nine digs at Ft. Hays State after averaging 17.5 kills and 24.0 digs in two matches last weekend. She had a career high 25 digs to go with 17 kills and three blocks at Pittsburg State. 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 two matches this season.
Kelly Holden is sixth in the MIAA in digs and is averaging 4.52 per set. After getting nine digs in the first match of the year, she has recorded at least ten in the last 15 matches with a career high 25 in four sets at Southwest Baptist. She is averaging 5.31 digs per set over the last eight matches and has at least 20 digs in seven of her last eight matches.
Courtney Haring is averaging 0.98 blocks and 2.02 kills per set on a team best .265 hitting percentage.
Kimberly Bell is averaging 5.94 assists and Sydney Hartman 4.00 assists per set in the Hornets two-setter system.
 
SCOUTING THE GRIFFONS
Missouri Western is 15-4 on the year, 9-2 in the MIAA and in a five way tie for first place in the conference. Jessie Thorup is averaging a team best 3.77 kills per set on .323 hitting while Erica Rottinghaus adds 3.30 kills per set. Jordan Chohon is averaging 11.54 assists per set to lead the MIAA as the Griffons are leading the MIAA with a .272 team hitting percentage. Amanda Boender is averaging 1.04 blocks per set and has a .318 hitting percentage. Sarah Faubel averages 3.68 digs per set from the libero position.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST MISSOURI WESTERN
Emporia State was held to just .216 hitting while Missouri Western hit .374 in a 3-0 loss to the Griffons in St. Joseph, Mo.
Emporia State fell behind 3-0 to start the first set and would never lead in a 25-17 loss.  The second set was tied five times early before Mo. Western pulled away for a 25-22 win.  The two teams battled through eight ties and six lead changes in the third set.  The Hornets led 23-22 before the Griffons scored the final three points to secure the 25-23 victory.
Carly Spicer was the only Hornet in double figures with 14 kills on .542 hitting while Courtney Haring added six kills on .417 hitting with two blocks.
 
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the 81st meeting between Emporia State and Missouri Western. The Hornets lead the all-time series 41-39 and have won 11 of the last 13 matches.
 
SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
Northwest Missouri is 9-10 on the year, 6-5 in the MIAA. They are 2-6 away from Bearcat Arena. Miranda Foster is averaging a team best 3.45 kills per set while Sarah Dannettrell is averaging 10.15 assists per set.  Defensively Jackie Becker is averaging 0.91 blocks per set and Bailey Vance is averaging 3.90 digs per set.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST NORTHWEST MISSOURI
Down a set in the fourth, Emporia State battle back from a four point deficit to force a fifth set, but could not complete the comeback in a 3-2 loss at Northwest Missouri.
The Hornets trailed 20-17 in the first set before a 5-0 run gave them a 22-20 lead.  Josie Williams had three consecutive kills during the run.  The set had nine ties and five lead changes before Emporia State prevailed 26-24.
The Bearcats jumped out to an 8-4 lead in the second set and never looked back in a 25-17 win.  Northwest started the third set up 8-5 before the Hornets used a 6-2 run of their own to take an 11-10 lead.  The Bearcats scored the next five points, three coming off Emporia State errors to take a 15-11 lead on the way to a 25-18 win.
Down 13-9 in the fourth set, Emporia State used a 12-3 run to take a 21-16 lead.  The teams would play even over the final eight points as the Hornets won 25-20 to force the fifth set.
There were seven ties and two lead changes in the deciding set with neither team taking more than a three point lead.  Northwest led 13-10 when Emporia State answered with a 3-0 run to tie the score at 13 and force a Bearcat timeout.  Northwest scored the final two points to secure the win.
Carly Spicer led the Hornets with 21 kills and 18 digs for her second 20 kill outing of the season. Williams added 15 kills on .300 hitting with nine digs.  
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the 54th meeting between Emporia State and Northwest Missouri. The Hornets lead the all-time series 41-12 and had won 16 straight before the Bearcats win earlier this year.
 
NEXT SERVE
Emporia State will get back on the road next weekend. The Hornets will play at Central Missouri on Friday and then cross Missouri to play at Lindenwood on Saturday.