September 2, 2022 - Emporia State fell in straight sets to Southern Nazarene and Oklahoma Christian on Friday in Oklahoma City.
Match One
In the first set, Emporia State scored three of the first four points against Southern Nazarene before the Crimson Storm responded with a 13-2 run to take a 14-5 advantage over the Hornets. Eventually, Emporia State stifled the momentum and worked their way back into the set. Late in the opening set, the Hornets trailed 20-17 before a kill and three consecutive Crimson Storm errors gave Emporia State a 21-20 advantage. The Hornets were unable to hold off the Crimson Storm and fell 25-22 in the first set.
The second set started with both teams trading points and the Hornets holding a 12-10 lead halfway through the set. Southern Nazarene broke open the second set as they went on a 13-1 run and eventually went up 2-0 with a 25-17 victory in set two.
Southern Nazarene took control early in the final set by scoring the first five points. Emporia State would score three straight before the Crimson Storm controlled the remainder of the set. The Hornets were unable to limit the attack as Southern Nazarene took home the sweep with a 25-14 win in the third set.
Orianna Clements and
Leah Mach led the Hornet attack with nine kills each.
Grace Xu and
Riley Bernskoetter combined for 20 assists with 11 and nine respectively.
Megan Stretton and
Shelby Ebert each recorded nine digs.
Match Two
Emporia State struggled in the first set against Oklahoma Christian as the Eagles scored the first four points of the match. Emporia State worked to trim the deficit and were able to cut the Eagles' lead down to 10-9 before Oklahoma Christian eventually pulled away to win the first set 25-15.
The Hornets and Eagles split the first ten points of the second set before the Eagles opened a 13-7 lead over Emporia State. The Hornets worked to close the gap throughout the remainder of the second set but were held off by Oklahoma Christian as the Eagles took a 2-0 lead with a 25-20 second set victory.
Similar to previous sets played by the Hornets on Friday, Emporia State was unable to gain traction early in the third set against Oklahoma Christian as the Eagles led 12-6 halfway through the set. The Hornets were unable to close the gap as the Eagles kept their distance and took the third set 25-17 and the match 3-0 over Emporia State.
Leah Mach led all players in the match with 13 kills for the Hornets while
Orianna Clements added eight of her own.
Riley Bernskoetter and
Ainslee Stepp both reached double digit assists with 14 and 12 each.
Megan Stretton led the Hornets in defense with 13 digs.
Emporia State will take on St. Mary's and Southeastern Oklahoma on Saturday in Edmond, Oklahoma. The Hornets will take on St. Mary's at 10:00 a.m. before playing Southeastern Oklahoma at 4:30 p.m.
