October 8, 2024 – Emporia State fell in a tightly contested five-set battle on the road against Washburn on Tuesday night in Topeka.
Emporia State started the match slowly, allowing the Ichabods to put together a 7-2 scoring run to open the match. The Hornets continued to trail until four straight points from the Hornets gave Emporia State a 16-15 lead. After two straight points for the Ichabods to regain the lead, the Hornets quickly rattled off four more to take a 20-17 advantage. The Hornets and Ichabods exchanged points with Emporia State eventually leading 24-23.
Camilla Ossola clinched the first set with a kill to put the Hornets ahead 1-0 in the match.
The Hornets once again started slow in set two, falling behind 6-2. Emporia State responded with a 7-3 scoring run of their own, tying the set 9-9. After the Hornets pulled level, Washburn gained control of the set, eventually tying the match at 1-1 with a 25-18 win in set two.
Set three saw Washburn once again take an early advantage, scoring five of the first six points. Emporia State rallied to tie the score at 9-9 for the second consecutive set, but continued their momentum this time around, as they took a 13-11 lead midway through the set. Despite a push from the Ichabods to level the score at 15-15, the Hornets regained control and held off Washburn on their way to taking set three 25-22.
In the fourth set, Emporia State got things started in different fashion, building an early 8-4 lead to force a timeout from Washburn. After the timeout the Ichabods scored four straight to bring the set level 8-8 before both teams traded points throughout the middle of the fourth. The Hornets eventually fell behind 21-18 and were forced to call a timeout. The timeout was unable to spark a late rally, as the Ichabods took set four 25-20.
Emporia State and Washburn traded points throughout the fifth set, with neither team leading by more than a point before the teams switched sides with the Hornets trailing 8-7. After the switch, Washburn scored two straight points to take their largest lead of the set. The Hornets answered back with three straight points to bring the set level at 10-10. Following a point from the Ichabods, the Hornets grabbed two straight, taking a 12-11 lead, before the Ichabods closed on a 4-1 run to take the set 15-13 and the match 3-2.
The Hornets out hit the Ichabods .216 to .208 and were led by
Weronika Wrzesinska who tallied 27 kills on .281 hitting.
Camilla Ossola a career-high 18 kills on .441 hitting.
Brailee Bogle had 54 assists, marking a new career high.
Sydney Fiatte and
McKenya Sorrells led the way on defense, as Fiatte recorded a career-high 28 digs and Sorrells matched her career-high with eight total blocks.
Emporia State will return to action on Friday, October 11 as they travel to take on #3 Nebraska-Kearney. First serve between the Hornets and Lopers is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
