TUESDAY TURNPIKE TUSSLE AS EMPORIA STATE VOLLEYBALL PLAYS HOST TO #2 WASHBURN

Women's Volleyball | 9/12/2022 6:31:00 PM

Game 11
Emporia State Hornets (3-7, 1-1 MIAA)
vs. #2 Washburn Ichabods (10-0, 2-0 MIAA)
Tuesday, Sep. 13 • 6:00 p.m. • White Auditorium • Emporia, Kan.
Series Record: ESU leads 64-44 Last Meeting: WU 3, ESU 0 (10/26/21)
Live Stream: The MIAA Network
Live Stats • Tickets • Complete Notes in pdf
Up Next: #13 Northwest Missouri
Friday, Sep. 16 • 6:00 p.m. • White Auditorium • Emporia, Kan.

TUESDAY TURNPIKE TUSSLE
Emporia State continues their home stand at the start of MIAA action against the second ranked Washburn Ichabods in the Turnpike Tussle. The matchup with the Ichabods is the second of three top 15 contests for the Hornets in a seven day span.

LAST TIME OUT
The Hornets opened the MIAA schedule with #8 Nebraska-Kearney and fell in three sets to the Lopers. The following afternoon, Emporia State returned to the floor in White Auditorium to take on the visiting Fort Hays State Tigers. After dropping the first two sets, the Hornets rallied to complete a five set comeback victory to claim their first MIAA win of the season.

THE COACHES
Bing Xu is in his 17th season as head coach for Emporia State. He holds a record of 296-220 and has led the Hornets to five NCAA Tournament appearances.
Chris Herron is 572-113 in his 21st season at Washburn.

SCOUTING THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 3-7 this season and 1-1 in the MIAA. In attack, the Hornets have a trio of players averaging above two kills per set. Leah Mach leads the way with 97 kills and is averaging 2.62 per set. Orianna Clements is close behind Mach with 92 kills. Clements is hitting .225 on the season to lead all hitters on the Hornets. Shelby Ebert has recorded 77 kills of her own at 2.08 per set. Ebert also plays a large role in defense for the Hornets as she ranks second in digs with 94 and 2.54 per set. At setter, Riley Bernskoetter and Ainslee Stepp combine for over eight assists per set with 161 and 130 on the season respectively. In addition, a pair of newcomers have made an impact for the Hornets in Caydence Doebele and Zuzanna Buchnajzer. Doebele has impacted Emporia State through the middle as she leads the team with 20 total blocks. Buchnajzer has recorded 50 kills on the outside and has added 13 blocks.

SCOUTING WASHBURN
The Ichabods are 10-0 on the season with a 2-0 start to MIAA action. Washburn is ranked second in the nation following their 2021 campaign where they finished as National Runner-Up. Similar to the Hornets, the Ichabods have a trio of players averaging above two kills per set. Jayln Stevenson has 106 kills on the season and is averaging 2.94 per set. Halle Meister is close behind with 92 kills on the season with 2.71 per set. At the setter position, Washburn has Corinna McMullen and Sydney Connor who average 10.5 assists per set. McMullen leads the way with 218 on the season and 6.06 per set. In addition to running the attack, McMullen is second on the team in digs with 121 on the season. In defense, seniors Sydney Pullen and Kassidy Pfeiffer lead the Ichabods in digs and blocks respectively.

SERIES HISTORY
Emporia State leads the all-time series 64-44.

LAST TIME VS. THE LOPERS
Last season, the Hornets took on the Ichabods on October 26 in White Auditorium with the Ichabods ranked fourth in the nation. The Hornets were able to limit the high-powered Ichabod attack to just a .262 hitting percentage but were unable to generate an attack in response. Washburn took the first two sets 25-16 before Emporia State worked to keep it close in the third before the Ichabods defeated the Hornets 25-21 to take the match in three sets. Leah Mach led the Hornets with 12 kills and a .364 hitting percentage.

UP NEXT
Emporia State will conclude their homestand on Friday, September 16 against #13 Northwest Missouri in their only match of the weekend. After the Hornets matchup against the Bearcats, Emporia State will hit the road to take on William Jewell in a non-conference contest before five straight MIAA road contests.

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 37 sets for the Hornets. So far this season, Ebert ranks third in kills with 77 at 2.08 per set and is second in total points with 103.5. In addition to her presence in attack, she is second on the Hornets with 94 digs and third with 17 blocks through the firs ten matches of the season.  

READY ORI NOT
Orianna Clements (Sr./Stillwater, Okla.) led the Hornets in kills during the 2021 season and ranks second through the first ten games this season for Emporia State with 92 kills. She also ranks second with 2.49 kills per set and is leading all hitters for the Hornets with a .225 hitting percentage.

MACH SPEED
Leah Mach (So./Lincoln, Neb.) was third on the Hornets in kills during the 2021 season and is currently leading the way this seaon with 97 kills and is averaging 2.62 per set. Mach is pacing the Hornets with 109 points and nearly three per set at 2.95. She posted a career-high 18 kills in the Emporia State four set victory over Southeastern Oklahoma before tying that number in Emporia State's five-set victory over Fort Hays State. On the defensive side, Mach is third on the team with 89 digs and has added six blocks.

FINDING DORI
Dorianne Lebron (Gr./Guayama, Puerto Rico) has been the primary piece for the Hornets through the middle as she has played in 35 of 37 sets this season for Emporia State. Lebron has tallied 38 kills in the middle with a .170 hitting percentage. The true impact is felt on the defensive side as she is second on the Hornets with 19 blocks this season after leading the way with 64 total blocks in 2021.

HORNET NEWCOMERS
Emporia State has seen seven newcomers appear in at least three sets this season and multiple have made an impact on both sides of the net for the Hornets.
Zuzanna Buchnajzer (So./Lodz, Poland) has appeared in 30 sets for the Hornets and is fourth on the team with 50 kills with 1.67 per set. She is hitting .213 on the season and also ranks fourth on the team with 13 blocks.
Caydence Doebele (Fr./New Strawn, Kan.) has started eight matches for the Hornets and played in 27 sets through the first ten matches. She leads the team with 20 blocks this season with three being solo blocks. In attack she has recorded 28 kills.
 
TOUGH TEST
Emporia State is in the middle of a four-game home slate to begin the MIAA schedule that includes three top thirteen ranked opponents. The Hornets took on #8 Nebraska-Kearney and Fort Hays State before their matchup with the #2 Ichabods. The Hornets conclude their homestand against #13 Northwest Missouri.

MIAA MAGNITUDE
Four MIAA teams are currently ranked in the top 25 with one team receiving votes in the latest poll. This total is only topped by the Northern Sun who have six teams currently ranked inside the top 25. Despite having 40% of this week's Top 25, the Central Region can only have eight teams make the 64 team NCAA Tournament.

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 AD Honor Roll.