September 14, 2018- Emporia State Volleyball fell 3-1 on Friday to #1 Nebraska Kearney in the MIAA opening match and Hornets home opener. The Hornets forces four sets against the Lopers with a comeback win in set one.
The Hornets kept it close in set one to a score of 10-12 before the Lopers took an 8-2 run to extend their lead to 20-12. Scoring back and forth to a Lopers lead of 24-19, the Hornets made a late 5-0 run to tie the set at 24-24. The Hornets held their momentum into the final points of the set to win 27-25 in set one and take just the seventh set of the season from the #1 Lopers.
The Lopers came out firing on all cylinders in set two taking a 7-0 run to turn a 7-6 lead into a 14-6 lead. The Hornets were unable to recover in the set as the Lopers went on to tie the match at 1-1 with a 25-12 set two win. The Hornets regained momentum early in the third set to get a three point lead at 12-9. With the Hornets leading 19-15 late in the set, the Lopers made a 7-2 run to tie the set at 22-22 and would finish the set with the final four points to take the match lead 2-1.
The Lopers used their momentum from set three to gain an early lead at 11-6. The Hornets were unable to regain service possession long enough to bring the score closer than four as the Lopers went to win the set 25-15 and the match 3-1.
The Hornets were led by Taylor Otting who recorded a double-double with 13 kills and a career high 28 digs in the match. Tatum Graves followed with nine kills while Yuchen Du added seven along with a double-double with 17 assists and 13 digs. Emma Dixon led the Hornets with 26 assists.
The Hornets are back in action on Saturday, September 15 as they play host to Fort Hays State at White Auditorium.
