EMPORIA STATE VOLLEYBALL HITS ROAD FOR FINAL TIME

Emporia State Hornets (13-15, 5-9 MIAA) vs.
#16 Central Missouri Jennies (18-8, 7-6 MIAA)
Friday, Nov. 4 • 6:00 p.m. • Warrensburg, Mo. • UCM Multipurpose Building
Series Record: UCM leads 48-6 Last Meeting: #13 UCM 3, at ESU 0 (Nov. 6, 2015)
Lindenwood Lions (11-14, 5-8 MIAA)
Saturday, Nov. 5 • 6:00 p.m. • St. Charles, Mo. • Robert F. Hyland Arena
Series Record: ESU leads 5-0 Last Meeting: at ESU 3, LWU 2 (Nov. 7, 2015)
Live Stats • Game Notes
Up Next: #9 Central Oklahoma • Friday, Nov. 11 • 6:00 p.m.
Emporia, Kan. • William L. White Auditorium
 
SHOW ME STATE SHOWDOWN
Emporia State travels to Warrensburg, Mo. to take on #16 Central Missouri on Friday, Nov. 4 at 6:00 p.m. for their ninth nationally ranked team in the last 17 matches. They will then be in St. Charles, Mo. to face Lindenwood on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 6:00 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Emporia State picked up a pair of five set wins against both #16 Northwest Missouri and Missouri Western at home. The Hornets defeated their first nationally ranked team since a win against then #19 Central Missouri in 2014. Taylor Otting led with 28 kills in the two games, including a season high 17 kills against Missouri Western. Jamie Hauptman added 25 kills over the weekend. Emma Dixon averaged a double-double, totaling 43 assists and 26 digs.  Allie Maloney had 51 digs in the two games while Julia Joseph earned a carer high 17 digs against Missouri Western.
 
THE COACHES
Bing Xu is 250-131 (.656) in his 12th year as the head coach at Emporia State and 128-79 (.618) in MIAA play. He has led the Hornets to five NCAA Tournaments and one MIAA Championship. Xu is 5-14 against the Jennies and 5-0 against the Lions.
Flip Piontek is in his eighth season with Central Missouri . Piontek is 10-3 against the Hornets.
Ron Young is in his 15th season at Lindenwood with a record of 363-204 (.432). Young is 0-5 against Emporia State.
 
SCOUTING THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 13-15, 5-9 in the MIAA. The Hornets are fourth in the MIAA averaging 2.10 blocks per set. Emporia State is fifth in the conference averaging 16.65 digs per set. Burton is second in the MIAA with 1.16 blocks per set. Maloney is second in the MIAA at 5.00 digs per set. Williams comes in at tenth averaging 2.88 kills per set. Hauptman was named this week's MIAA Hitter-of-the-Week.

ABOUT #16 CENTRAL MISSOURI
Central Missouri is ranked 16th in Division II with a 18-8 record, 7-6 in the MIAA. The Jennies have a .237 hitting percentage and average 13.83 kills per set, both good enough for third in the MIAA. Kourtney Thompson is fourth in the conference with 10.37 assists per set. Cheyanne Lyons is sixth in the conference averaging 3.21 kills per set.
Emporia State was swept (25-27, 19-25, 12-25) by #13 Central Missouri last season to fall to 9-16, 4-11 in the MIAA. Shayla Cotman led with ten kills while Kelly Holden had 12 digs. Hauptman added another eight kills on the night. Kimberly Bell had 14 assists.
This will be the 55th meeting between Emporia State and Central Missouri. The Jennies lead the all-time series 48-6, five of those losses coming to Xu.
 
ABOUT LINDENWOOD
Lindenwood is 11-14 on the season, 5-8 in the MIAA. The Lions come in at seventh in the MIAA with 15.69 digs per set. Alex Dahlstrom is fourth in the MIAA averaging 0.33 assists per set. Megan Hellwege sits fifth in the conference at 4.64 digs per set. Also coming in at fifth, Allyson Clancy averages 10.26 assists per set.
Emporia State defeated Lindenwood at home last season in a five set thriller (23-25, 25-16, 19-25, 25-22, 15-9) to improve to 10-16, 5-11 in the MIAA. Cotman and Josie Williams each had nine kills, Cotman on a .444 hitting percentage. Burton added another eight kills, Hauptman with seven kills. Holden had 30 digs to lead the Hornets. Burton had a career high 11 blocks with ten block assists and one solo block.
This will be the 6th meeting between Emporia State and Lindenwood, all five previous meetings going to the Hornets.
 
NEXT SERVE
Emporia State will host #9 Central Oklahoma on Friday, Nov. 11 at 6:00 p.m. and Pittsburg State on Satruday, Nov. 12 at 1:00 p.m. for their final regular season games.

FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS
Setter Kimberly Bell (Sr./Allen, Texas) transferred to Emporia State after her freshman year at Texas Woman's where she had 605 assists and 244 digs as a freshman. Bell had a season high 32 assists in a five set win against Missouri Western. She earned a career high 17 digs in a four set match win against Dallas Baptist. She tied her career high 17 digs against Newman at home. Bell had a career high four kills against Southern Nazarene at the MIAA-GAC Challenge, also earning a career high four aces against East Central at the same tournament. Bell has a .363 hitting percentage with 39 kills on 91 attempts and only six errors. She has eight double-doubles (assists/digs) on the season.
 
BURNIN' UP
Middle hitter Danika Burton (Sr./Coffeyville, Kan.) is in her second year with the Hornets after transferring from Coffeyville CC. Burton is second in the MIAA with 1.16 blocks per set, trailing first place with 1.18 blocks per set. She had a season high 12 kills on a .435 hitting percentage against Dallas Baptist. Burton earned a season high nine total blocks versus St. Edward's and a career high two solo blocks against Fort Lewis. Burton also had nine block assists in a five set loss to #17 Washburn. She had two solo blocks at #11 Central Oklahoma. Against Missouri Southern, she had a season high .500 hitting percentage on eight kills. She also had a career high eight digs against Southwest Baptist. While at Coffeyville CC, Burton was named All-Jayhawk Conference Honorable Mention.
 
CAUGHT RED-HANDED
Middle hitter Shayla Cotman (Sr./Wichita, Kan.) leads Emporia State with 16 solo blocks on the season. At home against #17 Washburn, Cotman had a season high 14 kills on a .407 hitting percentage. Against Missouri Western in a five set win, Cotman had a career high eight block assists. Cotman has hit five for nine two times this season, for season highs .556 hitting percentages. She has been named to both the Wasburn Invitational and the MSU Hampton Inn-Vitational All-Tournament teams. She was named to the All-MIAA Second Team during her junior (2015) season.
 
GOTTA KNOW WHEN TO HOLD 'EM
Defensive specialist Kelly Holden (Sr./Allen, Texas) will be a key part of Emporia State's defense in her senior season with the Hornets. Holden had a season high 20 digs against #17 Washburn in a five set loss at home. She tied a career high four assists against Drury University at the Washburn Invitational. For the fifth time in her career, Holden tied a career high three service aces against Cameron University. In her junior season (2015), Holden had 13 matches with 20 or more digs.
 
WHERE THERE'S A WILL THERE'S A WAY
Outside hitter Josie Williams (Sr./Hutchinson, Kan.) leads the Hornets with 2.88 kills per set, good enough for tenth in the MIAA. After tying her career high 19 kills against Southern Nazarene, a record dating back to her freshman year in 2013, Williams beat her own record the next day against Southwestern Oklahoma with 20 kills. She had a .393 hitting percentage against Missouri Southern for a season high. Williams tied her career high five block assists (and total blocks) against #17 Washburn. She leads the Hornets with 11 double-doubles (kills/digs) on the season. This season, she has 15 games with ten or more kills and seven games with 15 or more kills. Williams had 13 matches with ten or more kills during the 2015 season and seven matches with ten or more digs. Williams was named MIAA Honorable Mention as an outside hitter during her junior season.
 
TOMORROW
Middle hitter Logan Morrow (Jr./El Dorado, Kan.) will play in her first season with the Hornets after transferring from Cowley CCC. Morrow had a season high eight kills in a five set win off the bench against MWSU. She has a season high .217 hitting percentage against MWSU. During her sophomore season at Cowley CCC, Morrow had 276 kills on a .251 hitting percentage with 78 blocks.
 
TOO TALL TATUM
Middle hitter Tatum Graves (So./Shawnee, Kan.) is in her second season as both an Emporia State volleyball player and a Lady Hornet basketball player. Graves had a career high .625 hitting percentage against University of Mary. She tied a career high six block assists against Midwestern State, having a career high eight total blocks against them. Graves tied a career high two aces against Midwestern State at the Washburn Invitational. At Oklahoma Baptist, Graves earned a career high seven digs. She had a season high 11 kills in a five set win against #16 NWMSU in late October.
 
OMAHA!
Outside hitter Jamie Hauptman (So./Omaha, Neb.) was named MIAA Hitter of the Week for the week of Oct. 31 after averaging 2.78 kills per set on .328 hitting due to a pair of five set wins against #16 Northwest Missouri and Missouri Southern. Hauptman had a career high 15 kills in a five set win against Fort Lewis at the MSU Hampton Inn-Vitational, tying that career high at Oklahoma Baptist at the MIAA-GAC Challenge. At the same tournament, she had a career high five block assists (and total blocks) in a win against Dallas Baptist. She tied her career high five blocks in a five set win at home against Missouri Western. Hauptman tied a career high .500 hitting percentage against Missouri Southern on Sept. 30.
 
JULIE AND JULIA
Outside hitter Julia Joseph (So./Wichita, Kan.) will help lead the Hornets in her sophomore season. Joseph recorded a career high ten kills in a win against Fort Lewis at the MSU Hampton Inn-Vitational. She tied a career high 17 digs in a five set win against Missouri Western. Joseph had a season high .263 hitting percentage at Pittsburg State. Also against Dallas Baptist, Joseph tied a career high, for the fourth time, 3 block assists (and total blocks).
 
THE HEART OF DIXIE
Setter Emma Dixon (Fr./Wichita, Kan.) is a 5-9 freshman for Emporia State during the 2016 season running a 6-2 offense with senior setter Kimberly Bell. Dixon had a monster night against #17 Washburn on Oct. 4, earning season highs with both 31 assists and three aces. She earned a season high 16 digs in a five set win against #16 Northwest Missouri. Dixon leads the Hornets with 23 aces. Dixon was homeschooled and played for the Wichita Volleyball Academy club team. She qualified for the Juniors National Tournament in 2016.
 
MORE MALONEY
Libero Allie Maloney (Fr./Winfield, Ill.) is a 5-6 freshman for the Hornets, currently in second in the MIAA with 5.00 digs per set. Maloney had 27 digs in a three set home win against Missouri Southern on Sept. 30 to average 9.00 digs per set. She then beat her season high with 38 digs in a five set loss to #17 Washburn on Oct. 4, a few days later. Maloney nearly missed a double-double at Pittsburg State in a five set loss with 14 digs and a season high nine assists. Against Southwest Baptist at home on Oct. 1, Maloney had a season high three aces. Maloney has 18 games with 15 or more dig,  11 games with 20 or more digs and six games with 25 digs and up. In 2014, Maloney was named to the AVCA Phenom List playing for the club team Sports Performance.
 
SWIFTLY
Outside hitter Taylor Otting (Fr./Topeka, Kan.) is a 5-9 freshman from Hayden high school. Otting earned a season high 17 kills in a five set win against Missouri Western at home. Against #11 Central Oklahoma, Otting had a season high .421 hitting percentage. Otting earned a season high ten digs against Midwestern State. Otting had a season high three blocks at Washburn and against Missouri Western. She led Hayden high school to a state championship title in 2015 and was named to Kansas Volleyball Association's 4A-Div. II First Team All-State.