Women's Volleyball | 11/1/2022 6:51:00 PM
Games 28-29
Emporia State Hornets (4-23, 1-17 MIAA)
at Missouri Western Griffons (9-17, 6-12 MIAA)
Friday, Nov. 4 • 6:00 p.m. • MWSU Fieldhouse • St. Joseph, Mo.
Ticket Info
Series Record: MWSU leads 47-45
Last Meeting: MSSU 3, ESU 1 (10/8/22)
at Central Missouri Jennies (18-8, 13-4 MIAA)
Saturday, Nov. 5 • Multipurpose Building • Warrensburg, Mo.
Ticket Info
Series Record: UCM leads 58-6
Last Meeting: UCM 3, ESU 1 (10/7/22)
The MIAA Network •
Live Stats •
Complete Notes in pdf
Up Next: End of Season
ROADTRIP FINALE
Emporia State travels across state lines for the final two matches of the season as they take on Missouri Western before taking on #24 Central Missouri in the final game of the season.
LAST TIME OUT
The Hornets took on Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State in the final two home matches of the season from White Auditorium. Emporia State fell in four sets to both the Lions and the Gorillas.
Â
THE COACHES
Bing Xu is 297-236 in his 18th season at ESU and has led the Hornets to five NCAA Tournament appearances. He is 18-11 against MWSU and 5-24 against UCM.
Jessica Fey is 23-33 in her second season at MWSU. She is 2-1 against ESU.
Caitlin Peterson is 18-8 in her first season at UCM. She is 1-0 against ESU.
SCOUTING THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 4-23 this season. In attack, the Hornets are led by
Leah Mach, who has 252 kills on the season and averages 2.55 kills per set. Her average ranks 16th in the MIAA.
Orianna Clements is averaging two kills per set and has 184 on the season.
Shelby Ebert ranks fourth on the Hornets in kills with 120 on the season before rotating to the libero position halfway through the season. As a result,
Megan Stretton has returned to outside hitter and has 72 kills since the halfway point of the season. At the setter position, the Hornets are led by
Riley Bernskoetter and
Ainslee Stepp who combine for 8.40 assists per set. Through the middle,
Winny Harris leads the way for Emporia State with 52 blocks on the season while also hitting .197 to lead the Hornets.Newcomers
Zuzanna Buchnajzer and
McKenya Sorrells have emerged for the Hornets. Buchnajzer is second on the Hornets with a .194 hitting percentage while Sorrells is hitting .189 to rank third on the team.
SCOUTING MISSOURI WESTERN
The Griffons are 9-17 on the season and are currently eighth in the MIAA standings. In attack, Missouri Western is led by Danielle Moje who is averaging 2.80 kills per set 263 on the season. Moje also leads the way with a .294 hitting percentage which ranks 11th in the MIAA. Setter Nessa Johnson is averaging 8.08 assists per set to rank eighth in the MIAA.
SERIES HISTORY
Missouri Western leads the series 47-45.
LAST TIME VS. THE GRIFFONS
Emporia State took on the Griffons earlier this season from White Auditorium in a match that the Hornets dropped in four sets. Emporia State took the first set before the Griffons took the next three.
SCOUTING CENTRAL MISSOURI
The Jennies are 18-8, 13-4 in the MIAA, which places them currently in third place, andranked #24 in the nation. Central Missouri ranks in the top five in the MIAA in numerous offensive categories and are led by Kersti Nix who has the second most attacks in the MIAA while ranking third with 3.85 kills per set. In defense, Grace Southern and Jenna Schulte have 108 and 101 blocks respectively as they rank second and third in the MIAA in blocks. Setter Chandler Vaughan is sixth in the MIAA with 9.27 assists per set.
SERIES HISTORY
Central Missouri leads the series 58-6.
LAST TIME VS. THE JENNIES
Emporia State took on Central Missouri earlier this season from White Auditorium. The Hornets were unable to limit the Jennies in attack as Central Missouri took the match in four sets.
UP NEXT
These are the final two matches of the 2022 season for the Hornets.
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 99 sets for the Hornets. So far this season, Ebert has recorded 120 kills for 1.21 per set. She has also recorded 43 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 halfway through the season for the Hornets as she has tallied 222 digs in that span to lead the Hornets. On the season, Ebert ranks second in digs for Emporia State with 359 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 184 kills while averaging two kills per set. Clements has played in 92 of 99 sets for the Hornets after playing in 94 of 97 last season. In defense, she has tallied 27 total blocks on the outside this season to rank fifth on the Hornets.
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 99 sets while recording 252 kills to lead the way for Emporia State. Both her total and average of 2.55 per set rank 16th in the MIAA. 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 261 digs with an average of 2.64 per set while also recording 22 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 for the second half of the season. After playing on the outside since arriving at Emporia State during the shortened spring season of 2021, Stretton has played in 95 of 99 sets for the Hornets with 55 coming in the libero position. She leads the Hornets while ranking tenth in the MIAA in total digs with 367 and in digs per set at 3.86. 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 72 kills since making the switch back to outside hitter.
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 437 this season with an average of 4.46 per set. On the road against Missouri Southern earlier this season, 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 190 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 3.93. Stepp has tallied 346 assists for the Hornets. Similar to Bernskoetter, Stepp also recorded her season-high on the road against Missouri Southern with 28 assists to bring the total between the two setters to a season-high 57 in the five set match.
She has also rotated at outside hitter in multiple matches this season and recorded a season-high seven kills against #12 Washburn.
FINDING DORI
Dorianne Lebron (Gr./Guayama, Puerto Rico) has played in 51 sets for Emporia State this season. Lebron has recorded 45 kills on the season. Defensively is where Lebron shines for the Hornets as she is fourth on the Hornets with 28 total blocks while also ranking third on the Hornets with four solo blocks.
Last season, Lebron led the Hornets with 64 total blocks which ranked in the top 20 in the MIAA.
Â
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 89 of 99 sets for the Hornets on the outside while recording 181 kills at a rate of 2.03 per set. Her total of 181 kills and average of 2.03 rank second and third on the Hornets this season. 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 30 total blocks which ranks third on the Hornets.
Against #15 Northwest Missouri she recorded a career high 14 kills in her third of five matches with double-digit kills on the season as she recorded 12 kills in each of the last two matches for the Hornets.
WINNING HARRIS
Winny Harris (Jr./Atchison, Kan.) has emerged in the middle for the Hornets as she has played in 73 sets this season and played a large role in MIAA action. Harris has 99 kills on the season for an average of 1.36 per set while leading the Hornets with a .197 hitting percentage. She also leads Emporia State with 12 solo blocks and 52 total blocks on the season. Earlier this season in a three-match stretch against Washburn, Northwest Missouri and William Jewell, Harris recorded 24 kills while hitting .476 over the three match span.
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 18 matches since her debut. Over the course of the last 18 matches, she has recorded 66 kills including a season-high nine against William Jewell. On the defensive side of the net, she has recorded 32 blocks to rank second on the Hornets, including a season high four against Missouri Southern. Sorrells also has three or more blocks in six 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 37 total sets this season. She is averaging just under one kill per set with 30 on the season. Her presence in her freshman campaign has primarily been on the defensive side of the net as she has 23 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 23 sets this season for the Hornets, with 17 of them coming over the last eight matches. Xu has primarily rotated at setter and has 66 assists for an average of 2.87 per set. Against #15 Northwest Missouri, she also rotated briefly on the outside as she recorded a pair of kills on four attacks.
MIAA MAGNITUDE
In the latest AVCA Division II Coaches Poll, five MIAA teams are ranked in the top 25 with Northwest Missouri leading the way as the #10 team in the nation.As a As a conference, the MIAA held three of the eight spots in the Central Region during the postseason in 2021 while also having four MIAA teams make 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. In the first edition of the Central Region rankings, the five ranked teams within the MIAA were under consideration for the top ten in the region.
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 top 25 schools and seven of the top 12 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.
