September 8, 2018- Emporia State Volleyball opened day two of the MIAA/GAC Challenge with a 3-0 loss to Arkansas Tech in Edmond, Okla. The Hornets defeated Southeastern Okla. State in their final match of the tournament to finish 3-1 on the weekend.
vs. ATU
Arkansas Tech took the lead early and never allowed the Hornets to gain the lead throughout the first set as the Golden Suns took the 1-0 lead with a 25-19 set win. The Hornets took the early lead in set two at 3-1 but the Golden Suns made a quick run to take the lead at 7-6 and would not relinquish it on the way to a 25-21 set two win. Set three was close the whole way to a tie score at 13-13 before the Golen Suns made a 5-1 run to lead 18-14. The Golden Suns held on to their four point lead to win the set 25-21 and the match 3-0.
The Hornets were led by Tatum Graves with 13 kills followed by Yuchen Du with 11. Emma Dixon led the Hornets with 23 assists while Allie Maloney had 13 digs.
vs. SEOSU
The Hornets trailed for the first few points of the first set but recovered quickly and took a four point lead at 10-6 which they would hold onto through a 25-19 set one win. The score came to a tie at 6-6 in set two before the Hornets made a 6-1 run to jump ahead 12-7. The Hornets would not allow the Savage Storm closer than four points the remainder of the set en route to a 25-18 set win. With a 2-0 lead in the match, the Hornets scored the first three points in the third set and would never trail on their way to a 25-22 set win to take the match in straight sets.
The Hornets were led by Tatum Graves with 19 kills on a .421 hitting percentage. Emma Dixon led the Hornets with 19 assists while Yuchen Du followed closely with 18. Allie Maloney led the Hornets with 21 digs while Taylor Otting added 15.
The Hornets will be back in action on Friday, September 14 as they take on Nebraska Kearney to open MIAA conference play in White Auditorium.
