October 21, 2022 - Emporia State fell against Newman on Friday night in four sets from White Auditorium.
In the first set, the two teams traded points with the score settling at 4-4 early on. Newman rattled off a 6-1 scoring run to give them a lead they would not relinquish for the remainder of the set. The Hornets scored four straight points in the middle of the set to cut the Jets lead to 17-15 thanks to kills from
Megan Stretton,
Zuzanna Buchnajzer and
Leah Mach before a service ace from Stretton brought the Hornets within two points. Emporia State was unable to inch any closer as Newman closed out the set 25-19 to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
The second set included multiple scoring runs from both teams with the Hornets striking first. Emporia State began the set with a 5-2 advantage early on. Newman then rallied with five consecutive points to take back the lead 7-5 before the Hornets scored three of the next four as the set was tied 8-8. The lead would change hands multiple times through the middle of the set before the Jets scored six of seven points to flip a two point deficit to a 22-19 lead. A final rally from the Hornets proved crucial as they scored four of the next five to take a 24-23 lead. Newman was able to stifle a pair of set points for the Hornets before a kill from
McKenya Sorrells and another service ace from Stretton clinched the set for Emporia State 27-25 as they tied the match 1-1.
Both teams went back to trading points to open the third set and the Hornets held a 13-10 lead halfway through the set. After the deficit was trimmed to 15-13, Newman scored nine consecutive points to take control of the set as they led 22-15. Following a point from the Hornets, the Jets clinched the set 25-16 to take a 2-1 lead over Emporia State.
Emporia State was unable to counter Newman's momentum as it carried over into the fourth set. The Jets jumped out to a 10-4 advantage early in the set and the Hornets were unable to trim down the Jets' lead throughout the set. Newman held off any rally by Emporia State as they took the fourth set 25-16 and clinched the 3-1 victory in the match over the Hornets.
Megan Stretton led the Hornets with 14 kills as she hit. 225 in the match.
Zuzanna Buchnajzer and
McKenya Sorrells had eight and seven kills respectively as they both hit at least .200 in the match.
Ainslee Stepp and
Riley Bernskoetter combined for 41 assists in the match as Stepp paced the pair with 23.
Winny Harris had three blocks through the middle while
Shelby Ebert led the way with 22 digs.
Emporia State will return to the court at White Auditorium on Saturday, October 22 as they take on #19 Central Oklahoma. The match is scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m.
