Women's Volleyball | 10/10/2019 9:25:00 PM

Games 16-17
Emporia State Hornets (5-10, 1-6 MIAA)
at Pittsburg State Gorillas (8-7, 2-3 MIAA)
Friday, Oct 11 • 6:00 p.m. • Pittsburg, Kan. • Lance Arena
Series Record: ESU leads 73-25 Last Meeting: at ESU 3, PSU 1 (11/2/2018)
at Missouri Southern Lions (8-8, 1-5 MIAA)
Saturday, October 12 • 2:00 p.m. • Joplin, Mo. • Young Gymnasium
Series Record: ESU leads 49-30 Last Meeting: ESU 3, MSSU 1 (10/6/2018)
Live Stats • Live Video • Complete Notes in pdf
Up Next: #10 Northwest Missouri
Friday, Oct 18 • 7:00 p.m. • Emporia, Kan. • WL White Auditorium

FOUR STATE AREA
Emporia State takes on Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State this weekend.

LAST ROTATION
Emporia State snapped a nine match losing streak with a 3-1 victory at Newman on Saturday afternoon.  The Hornets won 25-15, 21-25, 25-22, 25-14 in Fugate Gymnasium in Wichita, Kan. Emporia State got out to a 10-1 lead in the first set and never trailed.  The lead reached 12 points on three occasions before the Hornets settled for the 25-15 win. A 6-0 run gave Newman a 10-7 lead in the second set and were able to hold the momentum from that run to take a 25-21 victory to even the match at 1-1.There were six ties and four lead changes in the third set.  Emporia State ended the set on a 7-3 run and got back to back kills from Aliyah Bernard and Yuchen Du to take a 25-22 win and 2-1 match lead. The Hornets used an 8-0 run to turn a three point lead into a 20-9 lead in the fourth set.  Bernard had kills on three of the final four points of the match to give Emporia State a 25-14 victory and take the match 3-1. Yuchen Du had 17 kills on .289 hitting to lead three Hornets in double figure kills.  Middles Aliyah Bernard and Mikayla Simons each recorded 11 kills, Bernard on .417 hitting and Simons on .292 hitting.  Rylie Fornelli had a team high 21 digs while Emma Dixon and Riley Berskoetter combined for 50 assists.

THE COACHES
Bing Xu is in his 15th year as head coach for Emporia State. He holds a record of 286-179 and has led the Hornets to five NCAA Tournament appearances. He is 19-10 against Pitt State and 20-2 against Southern.
Jen Gomez is 39-68 in her fourth year at Pittsburg State and 241-203 in her 14th season as a head coach. She is 2-4 against Emporia State.
Kallie Mader is 11-33 in her second year at Missouri Southern. She is 0-1 against Emporia State.
SCOUTING THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 5-10, 1-6 in the MIAA and have played 11 of their first 15 matches away from White Auditorium. Eight of their 15 opponents were ranked or received votes in the AVCA National Poll. They are fourth in the MIAA in blocks per set.
 
SCOUTING PITTSBURG STATE
The Gorillas are 8-7, 2-3 in the MIAA. They are second in the league in digs. Morgan Henning is hitting .363 on the year to rank second in the MIAA.
SERIES HISTORY
The Hornets lead the all-time series 73-25.
LAST TIME VS. THE GORILLAS
Emporia State jumped out to an early 2-0 match lead and held on in a 25-13, 25-18, 19-25, 25-23 home win. The Hornets were led by Yuchen Du with 15 kills followed by Tatum Graves with 12. Taylor Otting and Emma Dixon each recorded double-doubles for the Honrnets. Otting recorded 11 kills and 11 digs while Dixon had 46 assists and 11 digs. Allie Maloney led all players with 27 digs followed by Jordan Evans with 22.

SCOUTING MISSOURI SOUTHERN
The Lions are 8-8, 1-5 in the MIAA. They are third in the MIAA in digs.
SERIES HISTORY
Emporia State leads the series 49-30 and has won 11 straight matches against Mo. Southern.
LAST TIME VS. THE LIONS
Emporia State scored a 16-25, 25-17, 25-17, 25-22 come from behind win in Joplin. Taylor Otting had 19 kills and 11 digs while Jordan Evans also recorded a double-double with 11 kills and 20 digs for the Hornets. Emma Dixon joined Otting and Evans with the third double-double for the Hornets as she recorded 25 assists and ten digs in the match.

UP NEXT
The Hornets return to White Auditorium for Homecoming weekend action against #10 Northwest Missouri and #13 Central Missouri.