October 22, 2022 - Emporia State fell in three sets against #19 Central Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon from White Auditorium.
In the first set, Emporia State fell behind quickly as Central Oklahoma scored seven of the first eight points. The Hornets rallied as they were able to trim the Bronchos' advantage to just 13-11 halfway through the first set. Despite the strong push, Central Oklahoma was able to fend off the Hornets as they scored seven straight points to take a 20-11 lead on their way to clinching the first set 25-18.
Emporia State was unable to counter the Broncho attack for much of the second set. Central Oklahoma held a 4-3 lead early on against the Hornets before rattling off a massive scoring run. The Bronchos scored nine of the next ten points as they held a 13-4 lead. After the Hornets scored two of three to make the Central Oklahoma lead 14-6, the Bronchos scored ten consecutive points before closing out the set 25-8 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The third set began with Central Oklahoma leading 4-2 before Emporia State scored four of five to take the lead 6-5 over the Bronchos. Another scoring run for the Bronchos gave Central Oklahoma a 12-7 lead they would not relinquish throughout the remainder of the set. Emporia State trimmed the deficit to 14-12 but were unable to inch any closer as Central Oklahoma eventually closed out the set 25-21 to take the match in three sets.
Zuzanna Buchnajzer led the Hornets with eight kills while hitting .217 in the match.
Winny Harris recorded three blocks in the match and
Shelby Ebert led the Hornet defense with 14 digs.
Emporia State will return to White Auditorium on Wednesday, October 26 against Missouri Southern. The match is scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m.
