September 2, 2023 – Emporia State won their third straight game to begin the season as they swept Kentucky Wesleyan 3-0 on Saturday morning.
In the opening set, the Hornets and Panthers traded points early on before Kentucky Wesleyan built their largest lead of the match with a 15-10 advantage halfway through the set. Later in the set, with the Hornets trailing 23-20, Emporia State rallied to score six of the final seven points to claim the first set 26-24.
Sandora Sasaki recorded six kills in the opening set for the Hornets.
In set two, Emporia State gained early control over Kentucky Wesleyan as they jumped out to a 6-2 lead. The Panthers pushed back and trimmed the Hornet lead down 10-9 before Emporia State responded with a 9-3 scoring run to open a 19-12 lead. The Hornets closed out the set 25-14 to take a 2-0 match lead.
Emporia State came out in set three and built a 12-5 lead midway through the set and held off any comeback attempts from Kentucky Wesleyan. The Hornets capped off the 3-0 sweep of the Panthers with a 25-18 set three win.
As a team, the Hornets posted a .323 hitting percentage, with
Sandora Sasaki leading the way with a match-high 15 kills.
Camilla Ossola tallied eight kills on .583 hitting and also recorded a team-high eight digs. In the middle,
McKenya Sorrells had seven kills on .462 hitting and a team-high seven blocks.
Brailee Bogle posted 31 assists and had seven digs for the Hornets.
Emporia State will conclude the Kansas City Classic with a match against Rockhurst at 2:00 p.m.
