Women's Volleyball | 10/5/2022 5:01:00 PM
Games 19-20
Emporia State Hornets (4-14, 1-8 MIAA)
vs. #23 Central Missouri Jennies (11-6, 6-2 MIAA)
Friday, Oct. 7 • 6:00 p.m. • White Auditorium • Emporia, Kan.
Series Record: UCM leads 57-6
Last Meeting: UCM 3, ESU 0 (10/23/21)
vs. Missouri Western Griffons (5-12, 2-7 MIAA)
Saturday, Oct. 8 • 7:00 p.m. • White Auditorium • Emporia, Kan.
Series Record: MWSU leads 46-45
Last Meeting: ESU 3, MWSU 1 (11/13/21)
The MIAA Network •
Live Stats •
Ticket Info •
Complete Notes in pdf
Up Next: at #5 Nebraska-Kearney
Tuesday, Oct. 11 • 6:00 p.m. • Health & Sports Center • Kearney, Neb.
FIVE OF SEVEN
Emporia State returns home for a pair of matches against Central Missouri and Missouri Western. The match against the #23 Jennies is the first of five in the next seven against ranked opponents.
LAST TIME OUT
The Hornets concluded a six game road trip as they took on Fort Hays State in a midweek matchup. The Tigers used scoring runs in the first and third sets to control the match as the Hornets fell in three sets.
THE COACHES
Bing Xu is in his 17th season as head coach for Emporia State. He holds a record of 297-227 and has led the Hornets to five NCAA Tournament appearances. He is 5-23 against UCM and 18-10 against MWSU.
Caitlin Peterson is 11-6 in her first season at UCM.
Jessica Fey is 19-28 in her second season at MWSU. She is 1-1 against the Hornets.
SCOUTING THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 4-14 this season and 1-7 in the MIAA. In attack, the Hornets are led by
Leah Mach, who has 195 kills on the season and averages nearly three per set at 2.95. Her average ranks tenth in the MIAA.
Orianna Clements joins Mach with more than two kills per set as she has totaled 134 kills on the season.
Shelby Ebert ranks third on the Hornets in kills per set with 1.82 as she rotated to libero for the previous three matches. As a result,
Megan Stretton has returned to outside hitter and has 30 kills over the last three matches. At the setter position, the Hornets are led by
Riley Bernskoetter and
Ainslee Stepp who combine for 8.85 assists per set. Through the middle,
Winny Harris and
Dorianne Lebron are tied for a team high 24 blocks on the season. Newcomer
Zuzanna Buchnajzer currently ranks fourth on the team with 102 kills with a .194 hitting percentage on the season.
SCOUTING CENTRAL MISSOURI
The Jennies are 11-6 and 6-2 and are currently ranked #23 in the country. As a team, Central Missouri leads the MIAA in total blocks while also ranking in the top five in both kills and hitting percentage. The Jennies are led by Kersti Nix who is tied for second in the MIAA with 236 kills and ranks third in kills per set. In defense Jenna Schulte and Grace Southern rank in the top three in blocks with Schulte leading the MIAA with 86 blocks this season.
SERIES HISTORY
Central Missouri leads the series 57-6.
LAST TIME VS. THE JENNIES
Last season, the Hornets fell in three sets against the Jennies who came to White Auditorium ranked #3 in the nation.
SCOUTING MISSOURI WESTERN
The Griffons are 5-12 and 2-7 in the MIAA. The Missouri Western attack is led by Danielle Moje who has 161 kills on the season with 2.64 per set and a .297 hitting percentage. Setter Nessa Johnson has 459 assists on the season with 7.29 per set. In defense, Lily Kurz has 60 total blocks which ranks fifth in the MIAA.
SERIES HISTORY
Missouri Western leads the series 46-45.
LAST TIME VS. THE GRIFFONS
In the final game of the 2021 season, the Hornets took on the Griffons from White Auditorium. After splitting the first two sets of the match, Emporia State took the next two sets to win the match 3-1.
Leah Mach led the Hornets in the match with 16 kills.
UP NEXT
Emporia State will hit the road for two ranked matchups following the match against the Griffons. The Hornets will take on #5 Nebraska-Kearney in a midweek matchup before a matchup against #10 Northwest Missouri.
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 66 sets for the Hornets. So far this season, Ebert has recorded 120 kills for 1.82 per set. She has also recorded 29 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 three matches for the Hornets as she has tallied 63 digs in the two matches to lead the Hornets. On the season, Ebert ranks second in digs for Emporia State with 200 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 134 kills while averaging 2.03 per set. Clements has played in all 66 sets for the Hornets after playing in 94 of 97 last season. In defense, she has three solo blocks on the outside while tallying 15 total blocks on the 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 66 sets while recording 195 kills to lead the way for Emporia State. Her total ranks seventh in the MIAA while her average of 2.95 per sets ranks tenth. 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 180 digs with an average of 2.73 per set while also recording 13 total blocks on the season.
STRETTON IN STYLE
Megan Stretton (Jr./Topeka, Kan.) has made the transition to playing libero for the Hornets this season. After playing on the outside since arriving at Emporia State during the shortened spring season of 2021, Stretton has played in all 66 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 294 on the season. Her average of 4.45 per set ranks sixth 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 30 kills in the last three 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 300 this season with an average of 4.55 per set. In the match against Missouri Southern, Bernskoetter recorded a season-high 29 assists while also surpassing 1,000 career assists. In addition to leading the Hornets' two-setter system, she makes a positive impact on the defensive side as ranks fourth on the Hornets with 129 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 4.30. Stepp has tallied 275 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.
Last season, Stepp tallied 259 assists with an average of 4.39 per set, including a career high 37 assists against Southern Nazarene.
FINDING DORI
Dorianne Lebron (Gr./Guayama, Puerto Rico) has played in 42 sets for Emporia State this season. Lebron has recorded 41 kills this season while hitting .148. Defensively is where Lebron shines for the Hornets as she is second on the Hornets with 24 total blocks while 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 58 of 66 sets for the Hornets on the outside while recording 102 kills at a rate of 1.76 per set. Her total of 102 kills ranks fourth on the Hornets. In addition to her amount of total kills, Buchnajzer is second among all Hornets with a .194 hitting percentage. The impact of Buchnajzer on the outside is also felt on the defensive side of the net as she has recorded 20 total blocks which ranks fifth on the Hornets. She ranks fourth in both points and kills per set on the Hornets.
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 defensive side of the net, Harris is leading the Hornets with six solo blocks and 26 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 seven matches since her debut. Over the course of the last nine matches, she has recorded 36 kills including a season high nine against William Jewell. In the last four matches, Sorrells is hitting .327. On the defensive side of the net, she has recorded 19 blocks including a season high four against Missouri Southern.
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 eight MIAA matches so far this season and in those eight conference matchups, the Hornets have taken on four teams ranked inside the top 25 in the latest coaches poll. The schedule is not likely to lighten up on Emporia State as they will begin a five game stretch which includes four ranked opponents that begins with #23 Central Missouri in the next home match.
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.
