HORNET VOLLEYBALL WRAPS UP REGULAR SEASON AT HOME

Emporia State Hornets (14-16, 6-10 MIAA) vs.
#9 Central Oklahoma Bronchos (28-2, 14-2 MIAA)
Friday, Nov. 11 • 6:00 p.m. • Emporia, Kan. • William L. White Auditorium
Series Record: Series Tied 10-10 Last Meeting: at #11 UCO 3, ESU 0 (Oct. 21, 2016)
Pittsburg State Gorillas (6-22, 4-12 MIAA)
Saturday, Nov. 12 • 1:00 p.m. • Emporia, Kan. • William L. White Auditorium
Series Record: ESU leads 69-24 Last Meeting: at PSU 3, ESU 2 (Oct. 22, 2016)
Game Notes • Live Stats
Up Next: MIAA Tournament • Tuesday, Nov. 15 • TBA
 
FINAL COUNTDOWN
Emporia State finishes off the regular season hosting a pair of MIAA teams. First, on Friday, Nov. 11 at 6:00 p.m. the Hornets will take on #9 Central Oklahoma followed by a 1:00 p.m. game time against Pittsburg State on Saturday, Nov. 12.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Emporia State was swept by #16 Central Missouri (14-25, 16-25, 20-25) and won in straight sets against Lindenwood (25-14, 25-19, 25-16). Shayla Cotman and Josie Williams led with eight kills each against Central Missouri. Allie Maloney led with 17 digs against the Jennies. Against the Lions, Williams led all players with 14 kills on a season high .419 hitting percentage. Cotman followed with ten kills, tying a season high .556 hitting. Also earning a season high hitting percentage, Danika Burton hit .467 on eight kills.
 
THE COACHES
Bing Xu is 251-132 (.655) in his 12th year as the head coach at Emporia State and 129-80 (.617) in MIAA play. He has led the Hornets to five NCAA Tournaments and one MIAA Championship. Xu is 7-9 against the Bronchos and 16-9 against the Gorillas.
Edgar Miraku is 124-40 (.756) in his fifth season at Central Oklahoma. He is 9-2 against the Hornets.
Jen Gomez is 6-22 in her first season at Pittsburg State. She is 1-0 against the Hornets.
 
SCOUTING THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 14-16, 6-10 in the MIAA. The Hornets are fourth in the MIAA averaging 2.10 blocks per set. Burton is second in the MIAA with 1.12 blocks per set, behind first place with 1.14 blocks per set. Maloney is second in the MIAA at 4.98 digs per set. Williams comes in at ninth averaging 2.93 kills per set. The Hornets have an MIAA high 107 digs in a game against Washburn.

ABOUT #9 CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
Central Oklahoma is ranked ninth in Division II with a 28-2 record. The Bronchos are 14-2 in the MIAA. Central Oklahoma is eighth in the nation with a .269 hitting percentage. The Bronchos are second in the MIAA with both 13.99 kills per set and 1.40 aces per set. Katy Davis is fifth in Division II averaging 11.83 assists per set. Taylor Bevis is second in the conference with 4.03 kills per set while Dominique Lipari is third with 4.80 digs per set.
Playing their sixth nationally ranked team in the last 12 matches, Emporia State was swept (17-25, 19-25, 20-25) by #11 Central Oklahoma earlier this season. The Hornets were led by Taylor Otting with ten kills on .421 hitting off the bench. Allie Maloney had 14 digs while Kimberly Bell led with 14 assists.
This will be the 21st meeting between Emporia State and Central Oklahoma. The all-time series is tied at 10-10, the Bronchos winning nine straight since 2013.
 
ABOUT PITTSBURG STATE
Pittsburg State is 6-22 on the season, 4-12 in the MIAA. The Gorillas have a .144 hitting percentage and average 11.01 kills per set. Maggie Highberger leads Pittsburg State with 2.80 kills per set. Ashlen Schwartz leads the Gorillas with 3.77 digs per set.
Emporia State fell in five sets (25-15, 21-25, 23-25, 25-16, 4-15) at Pittsburg State in late October. Josie Williams had a double-double with 17 kills and 11 digs on a .234 hitting percentage. Otting followed with nine kills. Bell led with 19 assists. Maloney had 14 digs, Kelly Holden adding 11 digs. Emporia State had 8.5 team blocks compared to Pittsburg State's 3.0 blocks.
This will be the 93rd meeting between Emporia State and Pittsburg State. The Hornets lead the all-time series 69-24.
 
NEXT SERVE
With one spot left for the MIAA Tournament, Emporia State has to win at least one game this weekend to snag the final spot. The tournament begins Tuesday, Nov. 15 at sites to be determined.

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 .337 hitting percentage with 41 kills on 98 attempts and only eight 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 1.12 blocks per set, trailing first place with 1.14 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. At Lindenwood, Burton had a season high .467 hitting percentage with 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. At Lindenwood in a three set win, Cotman had a season high .556 hitting percentage with ten kills. 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 2.93 kills per set, good enough for ninth 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. Against Lindenwood, she earned a season high .419 hitting percentage with 14 kills. 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 16 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 .357 hitting percentage at Lindenwood with five kills. 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. She earned three aces again at Lindenwood. Dixon has seven double-doubles (assists/digs) on the season. 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 4.98 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 19 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.