Women's Volleyball | 11/8/2023 11:16:00 AM
Game 28
Emporia State Hornets (12-14, 6-13 MIAA)
at Newman Jets (0-26, 0-18 MIAA)
Thursday, Nov. 9 • 6:00 p.m. • Wichita, Kan.
Series Record: ESU leads 10-4 •
Last Meeting: ESU 3, NU 0 (10/14/23)
Up Next: MIAA Tournament (if qualified)
Thursday, Nov. 16 • St. Joseph, Mo.
REGULAR SEASON WRAP UP
Emporia State concludes the regular season with a road matchup on Thursday against Newman.
LAST TIME OUT
The Hornets fell in a road matchup against Washburn 3-1 on Monday night from Lee Arena in Topeka.
THE COACHES
Ken Murczek is 12-15 in his first season at ESU. Murczek is coming off great success at NAIA Oregon Tech where he brought the Owls to their first National Tournament in school history. Murczek is no stranger to the big stage, as he has coached at the NCAA Division I level, with head coaching tenures at Wake Forest and North Texas, along with an assistant coaching position at the University of Kansas.
Marisa Compton is 8-48 in her second season at NU. She is 2-1 against the Hornets.
SCOUTING THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 12-15 this season and 6-13 in the MIAA. As a team, Emporia State ranks sixth in the MIAA in hitting percentage. and seventh in total kills and blocks this season. The Hornet attack is led by
Sandora Sasaki who has 462 kills with 4.76 kills per set. Sasaki has been named the MIAA Offensive Player of the Week four times this season and leads the MIAA in both kills and kills per set.
McKenya Sorrells also has nearly two kills per set with 180 total kills and 1.98 per set.
Brailee Bogle has made a strong impact in her first season with the Hornets as she has 897 assists with 9.15 assists per set which ranks sixth in the MIAA. Emporia State is currently in eighth place in the MIAA standings as the Hornets are looking to qualify for the MIAA Tournament for the first time since the 2018 season.
SCOUTING NEWMAN
The Jets are 0-26 this season and 0-18 in the MIAA as they are looking for their first win of the season. In attack, Newman has a trio of hitters with over 100 kills this season with Ozioma Ajekwu leading the way with 152 kills and 2.08 kills per set. In addition to Ajekwu, Makenna Reinert and Natalie Meyer have 133 and 132 kills respectively. At setter, Mckinzie Weaver and Avery Dempsey have combined for over 570 assists on the season. In defense, Ajekwu and Meyer both have over 50 total blocks on the season as the Jets rank sixth in solo blocks in the MIAA.
LAST TIME VS. THE JETS
The Hornets hosted the Jets from White Auditorium earlier this season and were able to take the match in three sets. In the last meeting, the Hornets hit .330 and
Sandora Sasaki led the match with 18 kills.
SERIES HISTORY
Emporia State leads the all-time series 10-4 against Newman.
UP NEXT
Emporia State looks to advance to the MIAA Tournament for the first time since 2018. If the Hornets qualify, the MIAA Quarterfinals will take place on Thursday, Nov. 16 from St. Joseph, Mo.
