Women's Volleyball | 10/10/2022 6:18:00 PM

Game 21
Emporia State Hornets (4-16, 1-10 MIAA)
at #8 Nebraska-Kearney (19-2, 9-2 MIAA)
Tuesday, Oct. 11 • 6:00 p.m. • Health & Sports Center • Kearney, Neb.
Series Record: UNK leads 45-10 Last Meeting: UNK 3, ESU 0 (9/9/22)
The MIAA Network • Live Stats • Ticket Info • Complete Notes in pdf
Up Next: at #15 Northwest Missouri
Saturday, Oct. 15 • 6:00 p.m. • Bearcat Arena • Maryville, Mo.

TOUGH TESTS AHEAD
Emporia State will travel north for a midweek match-up against the #8 Nebraska-Kearney Lopers for the first of three consecutive ranked match-ups on the road.

LAST TIME OUT
The Hornets played host to #25 Central Missouri and Missouri Western in a pair of matches from White Auditorium. Emporia State was able to capture the first set from the Jennies before falling four sets. In similar fashion, the Hornets jumped in front of the Griffons by taking the first set before Missouri Western responded by winning the next three.

THE COACHES
Bing Xu is in his 17th season as head coach for Emporia State. He holds a record of 297-229 and has led the Hornets to five NCAA Tournament appearances. He is 0-21 against Nebraska-Kearney.
Rick Squiers is 694-91 in his 23rd season at Nebraska-Kearney. He is 24-0 against Emporia State.

SCOUTING THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 4-16 this season and 1-10 in the MIAA. In attack, the Hornets are led by Leah Mach, who has 211 kills on the season and averages nearly three per set at 2.85. Her average ranks 13th in the MIAA. Orianna Clements joins Mach with more than two kills per set as she has totaled 150 kills on the season. Shelby Ebert ranks third on the Hornets in kills with 120 on the season before  rotated to libero for the previous five matches. As a result, Megan Stretton has returned to outside hitter and has 46 kills over the last five matches. At the setter position, the Hornets are led by Riley Bernskoetter and Ainslee Stepp who combine for 8.71 assists per set. Through the middle, Winny Harris leads the way for Emporia State with 32 blocks on the season. Newcomers Zuzanna Buchnajzer and McKenya Sorrells have emerged for the Hornets. Sorrells leads the Hornets with a .217 hitting percentage and Buchnajzer ranks second with a .193 percentage on the season.

SCOUTING NEBRASKA-KEARNEY
The Lopers enter the midweek match-up against the Hornets ranked eighth in the nation with a 19-2 record overall and a 9-2 record in the MIAA as they are tied for the top spot in the conference. As a team, the Lopers are leading the MIAA in hitting percentage while limiting opponents to the lowest in the conference. Nebraska-Kearney also ranks in the top four in the MIAA in kills, assists, blocks and service aces. Emerson Cyza leads the attack with 259 kills which ranks second in the MIAA. Fallon Stutheit and Bailee Sterling through the middle both rank in the top four in the MIAA in hitting percentage with Stutheit posting a .403 percentage to lead the MIAA and rank top 15 in the nation. At setter, Peyton Neff has 774 assists at 10.9 per set to rank second in the MIAA and 14th in the nation. In defense, Stutheit and Sterling both have recorded 50 or more blocks on the season and Jensen Rowse ranks sixth in the MIAA with 4.61 per set.

SERIES HISTORY
Nebraska-Kearney leads the series 45-10.

LAST TIME VS. THE JENNIES
Earlier this season, Emporia State played host to Nebraska-Kearney in the first MIAA match of the season with the Lopers ranked seventh in the nation. The Hornets were unable to gain their footing against the Lopers as Nebraska-Kearney defeated Emporia State in three sets. Emporia State was led by Shelby Ebert as she recorded 12 kills and a pair of blocks in the match. Ainslee Stepp and Riley Bernskoetter combined for 22 assists in the last matchup.

UP NEXT
Emporia State will continue the road trip as they will take on #15 Northwest Missouri on the weekend from Maryville, Missouri. Following the match-up against the Bearcats, the Hornets will travel up the turnpike for the second edition of the Turnpike Tussle this season against #10 Washburn.

EBERT EXPERIENCE
Shelby Ebert (Sr./Topeka, Kan.) has led the Hornets in sets played in the last two full seasons and is continuing the trend as she has played in all 74 sets for the Hornets. So far this season, Ebert has recorded 120 kills for 1.62 per set. She has also recorded 32 service aces this season which ranks second in the MIAA. After playing strictly outside hitter for the Hornets through the first half of the season, Ebert swapped jerseys to take on the libero role in the last five matches for the Hornets as she has tallied 103 digs in the five matches to lead the Hornets. On the season, Ebert ranks second in digs for Emporia State with 240 on the season.
Off the court, Ebert was named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll for 2021.

READY ORI NOT
Orianna Clements (Sr./Stillwater, Okla.) led the way for Emporia State last season with 189 kills and ranks second this season with 150 kills while averaging 2.03 per set. Clements has played in all 74 sets for the Hornets after playing in 94 of 97 last season. In defense, she has tallied 19 total blocks on the outside this season.

MACH SPEED
Leah Mach (So./Lincoln, Neb.) was third on the Hornets with 182 kills in her freshman season during 2021 and has surpassed that total this season. Mach has played in all 74 sets while recording 211 kills to lead the way for Emporia State. Her total ranks seventh in the MIAA while her average of 2.85 per sets ranks 13th. She posted a career-high 18 kills in the Emporia State four set victory over Southeastern Oklahoma before matching that total the next week against Fort Hays State. On the defensive side, Mach shows her all-around ability as she ranks third on the Hornets with 210 digs with an average of 2.84 per set while also recording 18 total blocks on the season.

STRETTON IN STYLE
Megan Stretton (Jr./Topeka, Kan.) has primarily played libero for the Hornets this season before transitioning to outside hitter in recent matches. After playing on the outside since arriving at Emporia State during the shortened spring season of 2021, Stretton has played in all 74 sets for the Hornets with 55 coming in the libero position. She leads the Hornets while ranking seventh in the MIAA in total digs with 320 on the season. Her average of 4.32 per set ranks eighth in the MIAA. Her season and career high of 28 digs came in a four set victory over Southeastern Oklahoma during the UCO-OC Tournament. Stretton has shown versatility in her short career with the Hornets as she ranked top four for Emporia State in both kills and digs last season. After playing the first 15 matches at libero, Stretton swapped places with Ebert and transitioned back to outside hitter as she recorded 46 kills in the last five matches.
Off the court, Stretton was one of eight Hornet players and five returners that earned MIAA Academic Honor Roll honors.

BURNING UP
Riley Bernskoetter (Sr./Jefferson City, Mo.) averaged over three assists per set in her freshman season before averaging over seven last season. This season she paces the Hornets in assists with 334 this season with an average of 4.51 per set. In the match against Missouri Southern, Bernskoetter recorded a season-high 29 assists while also surpassing 1,000 career assists. In addition to leading the Hornets' two-setter system, she makes a positive impact on the defensive side as ranks fourth on the Hornets with 143 digs on the season.
Off the court, Bernskoetter was named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll for the 2021 season.

STEPP TO SET
Ainslee Stepp (So./Kansas City, Mo.) has accompanied Bernskoetter as part of the two-setter system for the Hornets and also has recorded an average above four assists per set at 4.20. Stepp has tallied 298 assists for the Hornets. Similar to Bernskoetter, Stepp also recorded her season-high against Missouri Southern with 28 assists to bring the total between the two setters to a season-high 57 in the five set match.
Last season, Stepp tallied 259 assists with an average of 4.39 per set, including a career high 37 assists against Southern Nazarene.

FINDING DORI
Dorianne Lebron (Gr./Guayama, Puerto Rico) has played in 44 sets for Emporia State this season. Lebron has recorded 41 kills this season while hitting .135. Defensively is where Lebron shines for the Hornets as she is second on the Hornets with 25 total blocks while also ranking second with four solo blocks.
Last season, Lebron led the Hornets with 64 total blocks which ranked in the top 20 in the MIAA.

POLISH PRESENCE
Zuzanna Buchnajzer (So./Lodz, Poland) is in her sophomore season and first with the Hornets after transferring from Quincy. Buchnajzer has been an important rotation piece for Emporia State in her first season. She has played in 66 of 74 sets for the Hornets on the outside while recording 177 kills at a rate of 1.77 per set. Her total of 117 kills ranks fourth on the Hornets while her 1.77 average ranks third. In addition to her amount of total kills, Buchnajzer is second among all Hornets with a .193 hitting percentage. The impact of Buchnajzer on the outside is also felt on the defensive side of the net as she has recorded 22 total blocks which ranks fourth on the Hornets. She also ranks fourth in points per set.

WINNING HARRIS
Winny Harris (Jr./Atchison, Kan.) has become another emerging threat for Emporia State through the middle this season. Harris tied her then career high against #12 Washburn with eight kills on .636 hitting earlier this season. The Turnpike Tussle was followed by another ranked matchup against #10 Northwest Missouri and a five set victory over William Jewell completed a three game stretch where Harris recorded 24 kills while hitting .476. In the matchup against William Jewell, she set a new career high with nine kills while also adding a pair of blocks. On the defensive side of the net, Harris is leading the Hornets with seven solo blocks and 32 total blocks on the season.
Off the court, Winny was named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll for the 2021 season.

LONE STAR SORRELLS
McKenya Sorrells (Jr./Pflugerville, Tex.) is in her first season with the Hornets after transferring from Hill College where she led the team in solo blocks while being second in total blocks. She also ranked fourth in total kills. Sorrells has emerged recently for Emporia State as her first match played came against #6 Nebraska-Kearney and she played in all eleven matches since her debut. Over the course of the last 11 matches, she has recorded 47 kills including a season high nine against William Jewell. In the last six matches, Sorrells is hitting .277 through the middle. On the defensive side of the net, she has recorded 23 blocks including a season high four against Missouri Southern. Sorrells also has three or more blocks in four matches this season.

NEW STRAWN NEWCOMER
Caydence Doebele (Fr./New Strawn, Kan.) is in her first season with the Hornets as a middle hitter. Doebele has played in just over half of the total sets with 32 played on the season. She is averaging just under one per set with 28 on the season with a hitting percentage of .103. Her presence in her freshman has primarily been on the defensive side of the net as she has the third highest total on the Hornets with 20 total blocks on the season with three solo blocks through the middle. Her career high came against Southeastern Oklahoma to close out the UCO-OC Tournament as she had six total blocks including two solos. Doebele also tied her career high in the match with six kills which she has reached on three occasions this season.

TOUGH TEST
Emporia State has played 11 MIAA matches so far this season and in those 11 conference matchups, the Hornets have taken on five teams ranked inside the top 25 in the latest coaches poll. The schedule is not likely to lighten up on Emporia State as the next three matches take place against teams ranked inside the top 25 and four of the next five come against ranked opponents.

MIAA MAGNITUDE
In the latest AVCA Division II Coaches Poll, five MIAA teams are ranked in the top 25 with two teams ranked inside the top ten. As a conference, the MIAA has held three of the eight spots in the Central Region during the postseason including in 2021 when four MIAA teams made it to the NCAA Tournament. In addition to making the tournament, the MIAA has had a team make the national semifinals in each of the last three years with a team making the national championship in each of the last two full seasons.

CENTRAL REGION RECOGNITION
In addition to the recent success from the MIAA perspective in both the Central Region and nationally over the past few seasons, the entire Central Region has become a constant presence in the AVCA Division II Coaches Poll and more specifically the top ten. In the latest poll, the Central Region makes up 10 of the 25 schools and seven of the top ten teams in the nation. In addition to success in the regular season rankings, the Central Region has placed a school in the championship match in four of the last five full seasons.

IN THE CLASSROOM
Last year, and for the 11th straight year, the Hornet Volleyball team earned the USMC/AVCA Academic Honor which honors schools with that maintain a team GPA above 3.30. In addition to this honor, five returning members were named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll last year while eight of the nine returning players were named to the 2021 Emporia State Athletic Director Honor Roll.