October 20, 2017-Emporia State saw their three match winning streak snapped as they fell in five sets at Missouri Western on Friday night in St. Joseph, Mo.
The Hornets never led in the first set on the way to a 25-17 loss before rebounding and winning the next two sets.
In a set that saw 16 ties and seven lead changes Emporia State fought off two set points in the second set. With the set tied at 26 Tatum Graves served back to back aces for a 28-26 win.
The Hornets never trailed in the third set as they went up 2-1 with a 25-20 victory. Graves was five of seven on attacks in the set as the Hornets hit .485 as a team.
Western used a 4-1 run to take control in the fourth set as they turned a 17-17 tie into a 21-18 advantage. Emporia State got back to within 24-22 before the Griffons closed out the set.
The Hornets could not battle back from a 7-3 deficit to start the fifth set as the Griffons won 15-10 to take the match.
Graves led the Hornets with 16 kills on .429 hitting with five aces and two blocks. It is the third straight match she has had at least 15 kills and she is hitting .419 in that span. Yuchen Du also had 16 kills and added 26 assists and five digs. They were joined in double figures by Karly Patton with 12 and Jamie Hauptman with 11 kills. Emma Dixon had a team high 35 assists while Allie Maloney added 22 digs.
The Hornets are back in action on Saturday night at Northwest Missouri. First serve from Bearcat Arena in Maryville, Mo. is set for 6:00 p.m.
