November 5, 2016 - The Emporia State had their highest hitting percentage of the season at .324 en route to a straight set win (25-14, 25-19, 25-16) over Lindenwood on Saturday night.
There were six tied scores in the first 22 points of the first set before Emporia State began maintaining a steady lead after a kill from Julia Joseph to put the Hornets up 12-11. Emporia State finished the set on a 13-3 run to take it 25-14 over Lindenwood. The Hornets had only two errors in the first set for a .300 hitting percentage, holding the Lions to a .097 hitting percentage.
Emporia State jumped out to a 6-1 lead early in the second set, letting Lindenwood get within only three points the entire set. After two sets, the Hornets had only six hitting errors, the Lions compiling 16 hitting errors.
In the third set, the two teams battled back-and-forth until an 8-3 run by the Hornets forced a Lions timeout at a 11-6 Emporia State advantage. Lindenwood fought back, getting within two points a few times, but would not tie the game up again due to a 5-1 run by the Hornets, sealing the deal on the way to a 25-16 win. Emporia State had a .425 hitting percentage in the third set with 19 kills.
Josie Williams led all players with 14 kills on a season high .419 hitting percentage. Shayla Cotman joined in double digits with ten kills, tying a season high .556 hitting percentage. Danika Burton added eight kills, also having a season high hitting percentage at .467 hitting. Kimberly Bell led with 19 assists followed by Emma Dixon with 14 assists. Allie Maloney had 11 digs against the Lions. Cotman led with five blocks while Tatum Graves had four blocks. Emporia State had nine team blocks compared to Lindenwood's two team blocks.
The Hornets will finish the regular season at home taking on the Bronchos and the Gorillas. Emporia State will host #9 Central Oklahoma on Friday, Nov. 11 at 6:00 p.m. followed by a 1:00 p.m. game time against Pittsburg State on Saturday, Nov. 12.
