Women's Volleyball | 9/28/2022 10:17:00 AM
Games 16-17
Emporia State Hornets (4-11, 1-5 MIAA)
at Pittsburg State Gorillas (10-6, 4-3 MIAA)
Friday, Sep. 230 • 6:00 p.m. • John Lance Arena • Pittsburg, Kan.
Series Record: ESU leads 73-29
Last Meeting: PSU 3, ESU 0 (11/6/21)
at Missouri Southern Lions (5-8, 0-4 MIAA)
Saturday, Oct. 1 • 3:00 p.m. • Legett & Platt Athletic Center • Joplin, Mo..
Series Record: ESU leads 51-31
Last Meeting: MSSU 3, ESU 1 (11/5/21)
The MIAA Network •
Live Stats •
Complete Notes in pdf
Up Next: at Fort Hays State
Tuesday, Oct. 4 • 6:00 p.m. • Hays, Kan.
FOUR STATES AREA TRIP
Emporia State will continue their road trip as they travel to east to take on Pittsburg State before crossing into Missouri for a match up against Missouri Southern.
LAST TIME OUT
The Hornets traveled south on I-35 for a pair of conference matches against Central Oklahoma and Newman. Emporia State was unable to gain their footing against the Bronchos and fell 3-0. The Hornets returned to Kansas for a match up against Newman. Emporia State took the first set before falling 3-1 to the Jets.
THE COACHES
Bing Xu is in his 17th season as head coach for Emporia State. He holds a record of 297-224 and has led the Hornets to five NCAA Tournament appearances. He is 20-13 against the Gorillas and 22-4 against the Lions.
Jen Gomez is 70-91 in her sixth season at PSU. She is 5-5 against the Hornets.
Kalie Mader is 36-97 in her fifth season season at MSSU. She is 2-3 against the Hornets.
SCOUTING THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 4-11 this season and 1-5 in the MIAA. In attack, the Hornets have a trio of players averaging above two kills per set.
Leah Mach leads the way with 159 kills and is averaging 2.89 per set. Mach ranks seventh in the MIAA in total kills this season.
Orianna Clements and
Shelby Ebert come in behind Mach with 118 kills each at 2.16 per set. Ebert also plays a large role in defense for the Hornets as she ranks third in digs with 137 at 2.49 per set. At setter,
Riley Bernskoetter and
Ainslee Stepp combine for 8.64 assists per set with 249 and 218 on the season respectively. As a team, the Hornets have had 16 of 17 players play at least three sets on the season and have three newcomers record at least 20 kills on the season. The newcomers are led by
Zuzanna Buchnajzer who has 82 kills this season and is hitting .197 on the season.
SCOUTING PITTSBURG STATE
The Gorillas are 10-6 and 4-3 in the MIAA this season. Pittsburg State is coming off a 3-2 win against Central Oklahoma who is receiving votes in the latest poll. The Gorilla attack is led by Meg Auten and Janae Thurston who are both averaging above three kills per set. Auten ranks fourth in the MIAA at 3.25 per set while Thurston ranks eighth at 3.02 per set. At the setter position, Brianna Richard has tallied 623 and is third in the MIAA with 10.74 per set.
SERIES HISTORY
Emporia State leads the series 73-29.
LAST TIME VS. THE GORILLAS
In the final road trip of the 2021 season, the Hornets traveled to Pittsburg State. Emporia State fell in three sets to the Gorillas in a match that
Leah Mach led the Hornets with nine kills while hitting .389.
SCOUTING MISSOURI SOUTHERN
The Lions are 5-8 on the season and are scheduled for three MIAA matches this week. In attack for Missouri Southern, Amelia Neels ranks fourth in the MIAA with a hitting percentage of .391. Sophie Mader is sixth in the MIAA with 8.17 assists per set. In defense Abbie Casper ranks third in the MIAA in digs per set at 5.43.
SERIES HISTORY
Emporia State leads the series 51-31.
LAST TIME VS. THE LIONS
Last season, the Hornets fell in four sets against the Lions in Joplin in the final road trip of the season.
UP NEXT
Emporia State will travel to Fort Hays State to conclude their six game road trip on Tuesday, October 4 before returning home for a pair of matches against #18 Central Missouri and Missouri Western.
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 55 sets for the Hornets. So far this season, Ebert is tied for second on the Hornets with 119 kills on the season with 2.16 per set. She has also recorded 23 service aces this season which ranks second in the MIAA. In addition to the impact that Ebert has on the offensive side of the net, Ebert also ranks second on the Hornets with 21 total blocks. She also ranks third on the team with 137 digs at 2.49 per set.
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 is tied with Ebert for second this season with 119 kills while averaging 2.16 per set. Clements has played in all 55 sets for the Hornets after playing in 94 of 97 last season. In defense, she has three solo blocks on the outside while tallying 11 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 is currently leading the way while closing in on her total from last season. Mach has played in all 55 sets while recording 159 kills to lead the way for Emporia State. Her total ranks seventh in the MIAA while her average of 2.89 per sets ranks 11th. 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 second on the Hornets with 166 digs with an average above three per set while also recording nine 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 55 sets for the Hornets as the libero. She leads the Hornets while ranking seventh in the MIAA in total digs 258 on the season. Her average of 4.69 per set puts her in the sixth place. 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 before her move to the libero position.
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 249 this season with 4.53 per set. Bernskoetter is currently 30 assists away from 1,000 in her career as she 970 thus far. She posted her season high of 28 assists in a five set victory over William Jewell in the final non-conference matchup of the season. Bernskoetter also ranks fourth on the team with 102 digs.
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 4.11. Stepp has tallied 218 assists for the Hornets. Similar to Bernskoetter, Stepp also recorded her season high of 23 assists against William Jewell to bring the total between the two setters to 51 in the five set victory.
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 41 of 55 sets for Emporia State this season. Lebron has recorded 40 kills this season while hitting .153. Defensively is where Lebron shines for the Hornets she leads the way with 22 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. Off the court, Dori was named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll for the 2021 season.
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 48 of 55 sets for the Hornets on the outside while recording 82 kills at a rate of 1.71 per set. Her total of 82 kills ranks fourth on the Honrets. In addition to her amount of total kills, Buchnajzer leads all Hornet hitters with a .197 hitting percentage. The impact of Buchnajzer on the outside is also felt on the defensive side of the net as she has recorded 15 total blocks which ranks fifth on the Hornets. She is also fourth in both points and kills per set.
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 #8 Washburn with eight kills on .636 hitting earlier this season. The Turnpike Tussle 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 whil hititng .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 nine solo blocks and is fourth with 17 total blocks on the season.
Off the court, Winny was named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll for the 2021 season.
LONE STAR STAR
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 five matches since her debut. Over the course of the last six matches, she has recorded 21 kills including a season high nine against William Jewell. In the last match against Newman, Sorrells had eight kills while hitting .389. On the defensive side of the net, she has recorded nine blocks including three against William Jewell.
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 28 played on the season. She is averaging exactly one kill per set with 28 on the season with a hitting percentage of .134. Her presence in her freshman has primarily on the defensive side of the net as she is third 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 ocassions this season.
TOUGH TEST
Since beginning MIAA action, Emporia State has played seven matches with six coming against MIAA opponents. In those six conference matchups, the Hornets have taken on three teams ranked inside the top ten in the latest coaches poll while also facing Central Oklahoma who is the top vote getter outside of the top 25. The schedule is not likely to lighten up on Emporia State as they are nearing a stretch of four out of five opponents ranked in the top 25 that begins with a home match against #18 Central Missouri.
MIAA MAGNITUDE
In the latest AVCA Division II Coaches Poll, four MIAA teams are ranked in the top 25 with three teams ranked inside the top ten. In addition to four ranked teams, Central Oklahoma is just outside the top 25 having received the most votes all teams outside the top 25. 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 11 of the 25 schools and eight 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 AD Honor Roll.
