Women's Volleyball | 10/13/2022 8:45:00 PM
Game 22
Emporia State Hornets (4-17, 1-11 MIAA)
at #15 Northwest Missouri Bearcats (14-5, 8-3 MIAA)
Saturday, Oct. 15 • 6:00 p.m. • Bearcat Arena • Maryville, Mo.
Series Record: ESU leads 43-22
Last Meeting: NWMSU 3, ESU 0 (9/16/22)
The MIAA Network •
Live Stats •
Ticket Info •
Complete Notes in pdf
Up Next: at #10 Washburn
Tuesday, Oct. 18 • 6:00 p.m. • Lee Arena • Topeka, Kan.
TOUGH STRETCH CONTINUES
Emporia State continues their three match road trip as they travel to Northwest Missouri for a match against the #15 Bearcats on Saturday evening.
LAST TIME OUT
The Hornets traveled north to take on Nebraska Kearney in a midweek matchup. Emporia State struggled to gain their footing against the #8 Lopers as the Hornets fell in three sets as they were limited in attack. The Hornets were able to tally six blocks as
Ainslee Stepp and
McKenya Sorrells each recorded three total blocks in the match.
THE COACHES
Bing Xu is in his 17th season as head coach for Emporia State. He holds a record of 297-230 and has led the Hornets to five NCAA Tournament appearances. He is 17-11 against Northwest Missouri.
Amy Woerth is 175-120 in her 10th season at Northwest Missouri. She is 11-4 against Emporia State.
SCOUTING THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 4-17 this season and 1-11 in the MIAA. In attack, the Hornets are led by
Leah Mach, who has 214 kills on the season and averages 2.78 kills per set. Her average ranks 14th in the MIAA.
Orianna Clements joins Mach with more than two kills per set as she has totaled 156 kills on the season.
Shelby Ebert ranks fourth on the Hornets in kills with 120 on the season before rotated to libero for the last six matches. As a result,
Megan Stretton has returned to outside hitter and has 47 kills over the last six matches. At the setter position, the Hornets are led by
Riley Bernskoetter and
Ainslee Stepp who combine for 8.51 assists per set. Through the middle,
Winny Harris leads the way for Emporia State with 34 blocks on the season. Newcomers
Zuzanna Buchnajzer and
McKenya Sorrells have emerged for the Hornets. Sorrells leads the Hornets with a .200 hitting percentage and Buchnajzer ranks second with a .195 percentage on the season.
SCOUTING NORTHWEST MISSOURI
The Bearcats are ranked #15 in the nation are 14-5 and 8-3 in the MIAA. As a team, Northwest Missouri ranks second in the MIAA in hitting percentage with a mark fo .252 on the season. The Bearcats also rank in the top four of the conference in multiple offensive categories. Their attack is led by Jaden Ferguson and Payton Kirchhoefer who combine for 6.23 kills per set. Ferguson leads the Bearcats with 197 kills and is hitting .324 which ranks sixth in the MIAA. Alyssa Rezac ranks fourth in the MIAA in assists per set at 10.12 from the setter position as she has recorded 668 on the season.Throught the middle, Abby Brunssen makes a large impact on the defensive side of the net as she ranks third in the MIAA in blocks per with 1.08 as she has 53 on the season in just 49 sets played. Brunssen also posts a .224 hitting percentage.
SERIES HISTORY
Emporia State leads the series 43-22.
LAST TIME VS. THE BEARCATS
Earlier this season, Emporia State took on Northwest Missouri from White Auditorium at the back end of a stretch that included three ranked opponents in four matches to begin MIAA action. In the match, the Hornets managed to hold leads beyond the halfway point in each of the three sets but were unable to hold off late rallies from the Bearcats. Northwest Missouri was able to take the match in three sets but the Hornets were able to record a higher hitting percentage than the Bearcats throughout the three sets.
UP NEXT
Emporia State conclude their stretch of three consecutive road matches against top 15 opponents as they travel to Topeka for a midweek Turnpike Tussle match on Tuesday, October 18. Following the match against the Ichabods, the Hornets will return home for four straight matches for their final homestand of the season.
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 77 sets for the Hornets. So far this season, Ebert has recorded 120 kills for 1.56 per set. She has also recorded 35 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 six matches for the Hornets as she has tallied 116 digs in the six matches to lead the Hornets. On the season, Ebert ranks second in digs for Emporia State with 253 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 156 kills while averaging 2.03 per set. Clements has played in all 77 sets for the Hornets after playing in 94 of 97 last season. In defense, she has tallied 20 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 77 sets while recording 214 kills to lead the way for Emporia State. Her total ranks seventh in the MIAA while her average of 2.78 per set ranks 14th. 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 215 digs with an average of 2.79 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 77 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 329 on the season. Her average of 4.32 per set ranks ninth 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 47 kills in the last six 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 4.48 per set. In the match against Missouri Southern, Bernskoetter recorded a season-high 29 assists while also surpassing 1,000 career assists. She also makes an impact on the defensive side as she is fourth on the Hornets with 146 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 4.03. 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.
In the last match against Nebraska-Kearney, Stepp rotated on the outside for the Hornets as she recorded three kills while also recording her first three blocks of the season.
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.
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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 67 of 77 sets for the Hornets on the outside while recording 122 kills at a rate of 1.82 per set. Her total of 122 kills and average of 1.82 both rank second on the Hornets this season. In addition to her amount of total kills, Buchnajzer is second among all Hornets with a .195 hitting percentage. The impact of Buchnajzer on the outside is also felt on the defensive side of the net as she has recorded 23 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 season, Harris is leading the Hornets with eight solo blocks and 34 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 12 matches since her debut. Over the course of the last 12 matches, she has recorded 49 kills including a season high nine against William Jewell. On the defensive side of the net, she has recorded 26 blocks including a season high four against Missouri Southern. Sorrells also has three or more blocks in five 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 12 MIAA matches so far this season and in those 11 conference matchups, the Hornets have played six matches against 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 two matches take place against teams ranked inside the top 15 and three of the next four 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.
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