Women's Volleyball | 9/7/2022 11:48:00 AM
Games 9-10
Emporia State Hornets (2-6, 0-0 MIAA)
vs. #7 Nebraska-Kearney (9-0, 0-0 MIAA)
Friday, Sep. 9 • 6:00 p.m. • White Auditorium • Emporia, Kan.
Series Record: UNK leads 44-10
Last Meeting: UNK 3, ESU 0 (10/19/21)
vs. Fort Hays State (5-3, 0-0 MIAA)
Friday, Sep. 10 • 3:00 p.m. • White Auditorium • Emporia, Kan.
Series Record: ESU leads 51-31
Last Meeting: ESU 3, FHSU 2 (10/11/21)
Live Stream: T
he MIAA Network.com
Live Stats •
Ticket Info •
Complete Notes in pdf
Up Next: #2 Washburn
Tuesday, Sep. 13 • 6:00 p.m. • White Auditorium • Emporia, Kan.
HOME SWEET HOME
Emporia State begins their four game homestand to kick start MIAA action with a pair of games against #7 Nebraska-Kearney and Fort Hays State. Friday's matchup against the Lopers is the first of three top twelve match-ups in seven days for the Hornets.
LAST TIME OUT
The Hornets traveled to the Sooner State for the UCO-OC Classic. Emporia State returned home with a win in the final game of the weekend against Southeastern Oklahoma. The Hornets fell in the first set 25-23 before flipping the script on the Savage Storm. Emporia State fought off multiple set points in both the second and fourth sets to take a 3-1 match victory to complete their trip.
THE COACHES
Bing Xu is in his 17th season as head coach for Emporia State. He holds a record of 295-219 and has led the Hornets to five NCAA Tournament appearances.
Rick Squiers is 684-89 in his 23rd season at Nebraska-Kearney.
Jessica Wood-Atkins is 33-63 in her fifth season at Fort Hays State.
SCOUTING THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 2-6 through the first two weekends of the season with a pair of four set victories. The Hornet attack is led by a trio of players that average more than two kills per set.
Orianna Clements and
Leah Mach lead the way with 77 and 76 kills respectively. Clements also leads the Hornets with a .233 hitting percentage. Joining Clements and Mach,
Shelby Ebert has 60 kills and is averaging 2.07 kills per set. The Hornets have a pair of setters that combine for eight assists per set.
Riley Bernskoetter has 130 assists through the first eight matches while
Ainslee Stepp has tallied 96 of her own. Junior
Megan Stretton leads the Hornets defense with 139 digs at 4.79 per set.
SCOUTING NEBRASKA-KEARNEY
The Lopers are ranked in the top ten and have started their season 9-0 with only two dropped sets against (RV) Central Washington. They are led in attack by Emersen Cyza who has tallied 87 kills to rank second in the MIAA in kills per set. She also posts a .338 hitting percentage. Fallon Stutheit is next on the Lopers 64 kills and an MIAA-leading hitting percentage of .517. Peyton Neff has handled the setter role for the Lopers and has tallied 289 assists at a rate of 10.32 assists per set. As a team, the Lopers lead the MIAA in hitting percentage and assists per set.
SERIES HISTORY
Nebraska-Kearney leads the all-time series 44-10.
LAST TIME VS. THE LOPERS
Last season, Emporia State fell to Nebraska-Kearney in three sets at White Audtiorium.
SCOUTING FORT HAYS STATE
The Tigers are 5-3 to begin the season after a trio of wins on opening weekend before a split last weekend in Denton, Texas. The Tiger attack is led by Junior Riley Tinder who has 89 kills with 3.30 per set while hitting .207 through the first eight matches. In addition to Tinder, Mykah Eshbaugh, Gracie Rains and Morgan Christiansen all have at least 1.50 kills per set and are hitting above .190 this season. Christiansen and Emily Ellis both have above 20 blocks on the season which both rank in the top twelve in the MIAA. In addition to their defense at the net, Junior libero Jaden Daffer has tallied 130 digs on the season to lead Fort Hays State.
SERIES HISTORY
Emporia State leads the all-time series 51-31.
LAST TIME VS. THE TIGERS
After dropping the first two sets, Emporia State won the next three to take a 3-2 victory in White Auditorium.
UP NEXT
Emporia State will continue their home slate to begin the MIAA with a matchup against #2 Washburn in the Turnpike Tussle on Tuesday, Sep. 13 from White Auditorum.
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 29 sets for the Hornets. Through the opening weekend, Ebert ranks third in kills with 60 at 2.07 per set and is tied for second in total points with 79. In addition to her presence in attack, she is second on the Hornets with 81 digs and third with 12 blocks in the first eight matches..
READY ORI NOT
Orianna Clements (Sr./Stillwater, Okla.) led the Hornets in kills during the 2021 season and is leading the way through the first two weekends for Emporia State with 77 kills in the first eight matches. She also leads the attack with 2.66 kills per set and a .233 hitting percentage. In defense, she has recorded 16 digs and four blocks.
MACH SPEED
Leah Mach (So./Lincoln, Neb.) was third on the Hornets in kills during the 2021 season and is currently second behind Clements with 76 on the season and 2.62 kills per set. Mach is pacing the Hornets with 85 points and nearly three per set at 2.93. She posted a career-high 18 kills in the Emporia State four set victory over Southeastern Oklahoma to conclude the UCO-OC Classic. On the defensive side, Mach is third on the team with 73 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 all 29 sets this season for Emporia State. Lebron has tallied 30 kills in the middle with a .149 hitting percentage. The true impact is felt on the defensive side as she is second on the Hornets with 17 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 two sets through the first two weeks and multiple have made an impact on both sides of the net for the Hornets.
Zuzanna Buchnajzer (So./Lodz, Poland) has appeared in 22 of 29 sets for the Hornets and is fourth on the team with 33 kills with 1.50 per set. She is hitting .152 so far and has recorded 10 blocks to rank fourth on the Hornets.
Caydence Doebele (Fr./New Strawn, Kan.) has started six matches for the Hornets and played in 24 of 29 sets through the first two weekends. She leads the team with 18 blocks this season with three being solo blocks. In attack she has recorded 23 kills.
TOUGH TEST
Emporia State will host their first four games of the season from White Auditorium to open up the MIAA schedule with three of the four games coming against top twelve opponents in the AVCA Coaches Poll. All four teams will enter White Auditorium with winning records as it will be a tough stretch for the Hornets to begin conference play.
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.
