Women's Volleyball | 9/15/2014 5:38:00 PM
Live StatsLive VideoTURNPIKE TUSSLE
Emporia State volleyball travels to Topeka to take on #5 Washburn for the first Turnpike Tussle match of the season on Tuesday.
LAST TIME OUT
Emporia State battled back from a 2-0 deficit to force their third straight five set match before falling 3-2 at Rockhurst on Thursday evening in Kansas City, Mo. It is the first loss of the season for the Hornets.
Emporia State struggled hitting early, hitting .064 in the first set and -.133 in the second as they fell behind 25-22, 25-15 after two sets. The Hornets came back to hit .371 in the third set, taking control with a 6-1 run to go up 20-15 before winning 25-18. Emporia State scored the final four points of the fourth set to break a 21-21 tie and win 25-21 to set up the fifth and deciding set. Rockhurst jumped out 4-0 only to see the Hornets force a tie at 6-6 on a kill by Carly Spicer before the Hawks scored the final nine points for the 15-6 win.
Spicer led the Hornets with 17 kills and 14 digs, her fourth double-double in five matches.She was joined in double figure kills by Shayla Cotman with 11 kills while Kelly Holden had 19 digs. Kimberly Bell had a team high 26 assists for the Hornets.
THE COACHES
Bing Xu is 215-87 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 4-15 against Washburn.
Chris Herron is 381-65 in his 13th seasons at Washburn and 456-94 in his 16th season as a head coach. He is 20-6 against Emporia State.
SCOUTING THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 4-1 on the season. They have played their last three matches to five sets, going 2-1 over that span. Carly Spicer is second in the MIAA in kills at 4.00 per set. She had career highs of 21 kills and 16 digs against Illinois-Springfield and has at least 13 kills in every match this season. She has recorded double-doubles in four of five matches in her first year playing the full rotation.
SCOUTING THE ICHABODS
Washburn is 8-0 on the season and ranked 5th in this week's AVCA National Poll. They have only lost one set in their eight matchs to opponents that are a combined 24-30 on the season. Marissa Cox is hitting .374 with 3.67 kills per set to lead the Ichabods.
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the 94th meeting between Emporia State and Washburn. The Hornets lead the all-time series 63-30, however the Ichabods have won nine straight dating back to 2009.
LAST TIME AGAINST WASHBURN
Despite holding leads in in all three sets, Emporia State Volleyball had its seven-match win-streak snapped in a three set loss to #11 Washburn in Topeka. The Hornets led 22-20 in the first set but the Ichabods came back for a 25-23 win. Washburn would win the next two sets 25-14 and 25-16 to earn the sweep. Paige Vanderpool had eight kills and 12 digs for the Hornets, while Sydney Hartman added 13 assists and 10 digs.
NEXT SERVE
Emporia State takes on Missouri Western and Northwest Missouri this weekend as they continue their five match road trip. The Hornets play the Griffons on Friday at 7 p.m. in St. Joseph, Mo. and head to Maryville, Mo. on Saturday for a 6 p.m. first serve against the Bearcats.
