October 11, 2022 - Emporia State fell in three sets against the eighth ranked Lopers.
In the first set, Nebraska-Kearney jumped out to a 9-3 lead before extending it further as they led the Hornets 15-5. With the Lopers leading 18-8, Emporia State would go on their largest run of the set to cut the deficit just five, trailing 18-13. Nebraska-Kearney would respond as they closed out the first set 25-16 to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
The second set started in similar fashion as Emporia State fell behind early with the Lopers leading 9-2. The momentum for Nebraska-Kearney continued as the Lopers created their largest advantage of the set with an 18-5 lead. The Hornets worked to trade points through the remainder of the set but could not close the gap as the Lopers took the second set 25-12 to lead 2-0 in the match.
Emporia State started off well in the third set in comparison to the first two of the match. After the Lopers secured the first two points of the set, Emporia State scored four straight points including a service ace from
Shelby Ebert and kills from
Orianna Clements and
Zuzanna Buchnajzer. A quick 5-1 run gave Nebraska-Kearney the lead back at 7-5 before
Leah Mach and
Ainslee Stepp added a kill each to tie the score at seven each. The set remained close for a period of points before a final run came from the Lopers. With the Hornets trailing 16-15, Nebraska-Kearney scored nine of the next ten points to take the set 25-16 and sweep the match over Emporia State.
The Hornets were led by
Orianna Clements and
Zuzanna Buchnajzer who had six and five kills respectively.
Riley Bernskoetter had 11 assists to lead the way for the Hornets. In defense,
Ainslee Stepp and
McKenya Sorrells each recorded three blocks while
Shelby Ebert led the way with 13 digs in the match.
Emporia State will travel to Northwest Missouri on Saturday, October 15 for a match against the #15 Bearcats. The match is scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m.
