Women's Volleyball | 10/19/2022 5:21:00 PM
Games 24-25
Emporia State Hornets (4-19, 1-13 MIAA)
vs. Newman Jets (7-17, 2-12 MIAA)
Friday, Oct. 21 • 7:00 p.m. • White Auditorium • Emporia, Kan.
Series Record: ESU leads 9-3
Last Meeting: NU 3, ESU 1 (9/24/22)
vs. Central Oklahoma Bronchos (20-4, 10-4 MIAA)
Saturday, October 22 • White Auditorium • Emporia, Kan.
Series Record: UCO leads 19-11
Last Meeting: UCO 3, ESU 0 (9/23/22)
The MIAA Network •
Live Stats •
Ticket Info •
Complete Notes in pdf
Up Next: Missouri Southern
Wednesday, Oct. 26 • 6:00 p.m. • White Auditorium • Emporia, Kan.
FINAL HOMESTAND
Emporia State returns home to start their final homestand of the season as they will take on Newman and #19 Central Okla. before finishing up during Homecoming Week at ESU.
LAST TIME OUT
The Hornets took on #12 Washburn on Tuesday night in the Topeka edition of the Turnpike Tussle. Emporia State fell in three sets and were led by
Ainslee Stepp and
Leah Mach who each recorded seven kills.
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THE COACHES
Bing Xu is 297-232 in his 18th season at ESU and has led the Hornets to five NCAA Tournament appearances. He is 9-3 against NU and 8-19 against UCO.
Marisa Compton is 7-17 in her first season at NU. She is 1-0 against ESU.
Edgar Miraku is 239-82 in his 11th season at UCO. He is 18-3 against ESU.
SCOUTING THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 4-19 this season and 1-13 in the MIAA. In attack, the Hornets are led by
Leah Mach, who has 227 kills on the season and averages 2.70 kills per set. Her average ranks 16th 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 eight matches. As a result,
Megan Stretton has returned to outside hitter and has 51 kills over her last seven matches played. At the setter position, the Hornets are led by
Riley Bernskoetter and
Ainslee Stepp who combine for 8.38 assists per set. Through the middle,
Winny Harris leads the way for Emporia State with 38 blocks on the season. Newcomers
Zuzanna Buchnajzer and
McKenya Sorrells have emerged for the Hornets. Sorrells leads the Hornets with a .197 hitting percentage and Buchnajzer ranks second with a .187 percentage on the season.
SCOUTING NEWMAN
The Jets are 7-17 on the season and are one game ahead of the Hornets in the MIAA standings. In attack, Newman is led by Riley Daugherty who has 286 kills on the season and is averaging 3.08 per set. Through the middle, Ozioma Ajekwu is hitting .256 while also leading the MIAA in blocks with 103 total on the season.
SERIES HISTORY
Emporia State leads the series 9-3.
LAST TIME VS. THE JETS
Earlier this season, Emporia State traveled to Newman to take on the Jets. The Hornets took the first set before falling in four sets.
SCOUTING CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
The Bronchos are 20-4 on the season and 10-4 in the MIAA while also being ranked #19 in the latest coaches poll. Sydney Huck leads the UCO attack with 374 kills and a 4.40 kills per set average which both lead the MIAA. Setter Lindsey Houran also leads the MIAA with 11.86 assists per set. As a team, the Bronchos lead the MIAA in assists and total kills while ranking top three in multiple others.
SERIES HISTORY
Central Oklahoma leads the series 19-11.
LAST TIME VS. THE
Earlier this season, Emporia State took on Central Oklahoma in Edmond in a match the Bronchos took in three sets.
Leah Mach led the Hornets with 14 kills on a .294 hitting percentage.
UP NEXT
Emporia State will remain home for their final two matches from White Auditorium during homecoming week. The Hornets will play host to Missouri Southern on Wednesday, October 26 before Senior Night against Pittsburg State on Thursday, October 27.
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 84 sets for the Hornets. So far this season, Ebert has recorded 120 kills for 1.43 per set. She has also recorded 38 service aces this season which currently leads 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 eight matches for the Hornets as she has tallied 148 digs in the eight matches to lead the Hornets. On the season, Ebert ranks second in digs for Emporia State with 285 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 77 of 81 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 84 sets while recording 227 kills to lead the way for Emporia State. Her total ranks seventh in the MIAA while her average of 2.70 per set ranks 16th. 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 224 digs with an average of 2.67 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 80 of 84 sets for the Hornets with 55 coming in the libero position. She leads the Hornets while ranking ninth in the MIAA in total digs with 337 and in digs per set at 4.21. 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 has recorded 51 kills in the last seven matches played.
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 377 this season with an average of 4.49 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 160 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 as she is recording nearly four assists per set at 3.89. Stepp has tallied 315 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.
Over the last three matches, Stepp has rotated on the outside for the Hornets and against Northwest Missouri, Stepp recorded six hills on 14 attempts for a .429 hitting percentage.
FINDING DORI
Dorianne Lebron (Gr./Guayama, Puerto Rico) has played in 46 sets for Emporia State this season. Lebron has recorded 41 kills this season while hitting .126. Defensively is where Lebron shines for the Hornets as she is second on the Hornets with 26 total blocks while also being tied for 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 74 of 84 sets for the Hornets on the outside while recording 141 kills at a rate of 1.91 per set. Her total of 142 kills and average of 1.91 both rank third on the Hornets this season. In addition to her amount of total kills, Buchnajzer is second among all Hornets with a .192 hitting percentage. The impact of Buchnajzer on the outside is also felt on the defensive side of the net as she has recorded 24 total blocks which ranks fourth on the Hornets.
Against #15 Northwest Missouri she recorded a career high 14 kills in her third match of double-digit kills this season.
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 10 solo blocks and 38 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 since the beginning of MIAA action for Emporia State as her first match played came against #6 Nebraska-Kearney and she played in all 14 matches since her debut. Over the course of the last 14 matches, she has recorded 56 kills including a season high nine against William Jewell. On the defensive side of the net, she has recorded 28 blocks to rank second on the Hornets, 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 34 total sets this season. She is averaging just under one kill per set with 29 on the season with a hitting percentage of .100. Her presence in her freshman campaign has primarily been on the defensive side of the net as she has 20 total blocks on the season. 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.
XU TWO
Grace Xu (Fr./Emporia, Kan.) has played in 17 sets this season for the Hornets, with 11 coming over the last four matches. Xu has primarily rotated at setter and has 50 assists for an average of 2.94 per set. Against #15 Northwest Missouri, she also rotated briefly on the outside as she recorded a pair of kills on four attacks.
TOUGH TEST
Emporia State has played 13 MIAA matches so far this season and in those 13 conference matchups, the Hornets have played seven matches against teams ranked inside the top 25 in the latest coaches poll. The remaining schedule will continue to remain difficult as two of the next three matches come against top 20 opponents and the regular season finale comes against Central Misssouri who is currently receiving the most votes outside the top 25.
MIAA MAGNITUDE
In the latest AVCA Division II Coaches Poll, four MIAA teams are ranked in the top 25 with two teams ranked inside the top ten and Central Missouri receiving the most votes outside the top 25. 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 9 of the top 25 schools and eight of the top 13 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.
