November 21, 2024 - Emporia State's season came to a close in the MIAA Quarterfinals on Thursday, as the Hornets fell in three sets against #9 Central Oklahoma.
The first set began with the Hornets and Bronchos trading the first six points before a 5-1 scoring run from Central Oklahoma prompted a timeout from Emporia State, as the Hornets trailed 8-4 early. After the Hornets closed the deficit to 10-7, three consecutive points from the third-seeded Bronchos resulting in the second Emporia State timeout with the score 13-7. Central Oklahoma's lead continued to grow, with the Bronchos serving for set point with a 24-13 advantage. Emporia State staved off three set points, getting kills from
Weronika Wrzesinska and
Camilla Ossola, before the Bronchos took set one 25-16.
Emporia State improved their attack in set two, as they hit .194, but were still unable to slow down the Bronchos at the net, as Central Oklahoma committed no attack errors in the set. With the Hornets trailing 11-8, the Bronchos put together a 10-2 scoring run, building a 21-10 advantage. The Hornets scored five of the next six points, which included a pair of service aces from
McKenya Sorrells before Central Oklahoma was able to close out set two 25-17.
Set three featured the best attack of the afternoon for Emporia State, as the Hornets hit .243 with 16 kills. The Hornets held an early 7-6 advantage in the third before Central Oklahoma capitalized on a trio of Emporia State errors to build an 11-7 lead. After the Bronchos increased their lead to 15-9, the Hornets responded with a 7-3 scoring run of their own, which featured five kills from Wrzesinska, to close the deficit to 18-17. The run for Emporia State was unable to push the Hornets into the lead, as Central Oklahoma closed the set on a 7-2 scoring run, clinching the third 25-19 and the match 3-0.
Weronika Wrzesinska recorded a match-high 15 kills on .400 hitting, her 20th match of the season with double-digit kills. As a team, the Hornets hit .153 in the match with 36 kills.
Brailee Bogle had 25 assists and a team-high 10 digs.
Emporia State ends the season 17-10, the first winning season for the Hornets since 2014. The 17 wins mark a four-win improvement from 2023 and the most wins in a season since 2013.
Weronika Wrzesinska's First Team All-MIAA honor marks the first time since 2010-11 that the Hornets have had a player earn first team recognition.
