September 11, 2021 – In the first set of the day against Southwest Minnesota State, the Hornets fell behind early after a quick 8-1 start by the Mustangs. The hot start set the tone for the first set as the Mustangs went on to win the first set 25-9.
Emporia State responded well at the beginning of the second set taking a quick 3-1 lead, however Southwest Minnesota State responded with five straight points. While the Hornets improved from the first set, including making the match 18-16 late in the set, they were unable to match the Mustangs as they began to pull away and eventually won the set 25-16.
Another strong start to a set for the Hornets was shown as they took an early lead 6-5 over the Mustangs. This quick start was yet again met with a response from the Mustangs as they went on a 14-2 scoring run to take a 19-8 lead over the Hornets. The remainder of the set was even but Southwest Minnesota State pulled out the set 25-13 to clinch the three set victory.
Dorianne Lebron and
Leah Mach led Emporia State with six and four kills respectively.
Ainslee Stepp had 10 assists for the Hornets and
Rylie Fornelli led the way with 21 digs.
In the second match of the day, Emporia State started out on top 4-1 after four consecutive errors from the Aggies. The Hornets continued to maintain their lead throughout the set and never allowed Cameron to get within one point. Emporia State tallied 15 kills on their way to a first set win over the Aggies.
Similar to the response from Emporia State in the first match of the day, the Cameron Aggies started out hot and took a 5-1 lead over the Hornets. The deficit was made even larger as Cameron took a 15-8 lead over Emporia State. From this point forward, the Hornets showed excellent resilience and outscored the Aggies 10-3 in order to tie the set at 18 points each. The Hornets continued this and went on to win the second set 25-22.
The early parts of the third set went back and forth and was tied 6-6. At this point, Emporia State ripped off six straight points and continued on their run to open a 20-13 lead. The Aggies were able to trim the Hornet lead to as little as two points but the Hornets managed to hang on and complete the three set sweep of the Aggies.
Shelby Ebert led the way for the Hornets with 17 kills on a .283 hitting percentage.
Winny Harris and
Dorianne Lebron added 8 and 7 kills respectively.
Riley Bernskoetter paced the offense with 35 assists and
Rylie Fornelli led the team with 19 digs.
The Hornets will travel to Kearney, Nebraska to open MIAA play and take on the Lopers on Friday, September 17
th before returning to Hays to take on the Tigers on Saturday, September 18
th.
