October 13, 2018- Emporia State Volleyball defeated Missouri Western 3-1 on Saturday in White Auditorium. The Hornets hosted the Griffons for Dig Pink night in support of breast cancer awareness.
The Hornets took an early 7-3 lead in set one before the Griffons used a short run to tie the set at 10-10. The first set saw 11 tie scores and five lead changes before the Griffons took a 24-21 set lead. The Hornets would score the last five points of the set to take the 26-24 win and 1-0 match lead.
The Griffons came out aggressive in set two, taking an early 5-1 lead. The Hornets fought back to tie the set at 11-11 with a 4-0 run from trailing 11-7. There were six tie scores and three lead changes in set two before the Griffons took the 25-22 set win to tie the match at 1-1.
In set three, the Griffons took an early 4-1 lead before the Hornets fought back to tie the set at 9-9 en route to taking a 12-9 lead with a 6-0 run from trailing 9-7. There were four tie scores and just one lead change in the third set as the Hornets never relinquished the lead on their way to a 25-23 set win to regain the match lead 2-1.
The Hornets took an early 9-6 lead before a kill by Jordan Evans sparked a 7-0 run to extend their lead to 16-6 over the Griffons. The Griffons fought back into the set with three short runs to come within two points at 24-22 before a service error gave the Hornets a 25-22 set win and a 3-1 match win.
The Hornets were led by Taylor Otting who recorded a double-double with 19 kills and 14 digs. She was joined in double digits kills by Tatum Graves with 15, Aliyah Bernard with 11 and Jordan Evans with 10. Emma Dixon also recorded a double-double with 50 assists and 15 digs in the match while Allie Maloney led all players with 24 digs. Bernard led the Hornets with six blocks followed by Graves and Dixon with four each.
The Hornets will be back in action on Tuesday as they play host to Washburn in the Turnpike Tussle.
