October 17, 2026 - Emporia State volleyball capped their stay in Maryville at the MIAA In-Season Tournament with a four-set win over fifth-ranked Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED
In set one, Nebraska-Kearney controlled things early as they built an 11-4 lead over the Hornets. Emporia State fought back later in the first frame, eventually cutting the Loper lead to just two on multiple occasions, but the Lopers eventually claimed set one 25-22.
Emporia State continued to build on their momentum into set two, as they pulled ahead 12-7. The largest lead in the set was 22-14 for the Hornets as they pulled level in the match with a 25-20 win in the second frame.
Set three proved to be an extremely tight battle between the Hornets and Lopers, as neither side led by more than two points until late in the frame as Nebraska-Kearney built a 20-17 advantage. Emporia State with four of the next five points to pull level at 21-21, and after a Hornet service error to put the Lopers back in front, kills by Jade Xu and Lavra Krizanic put the Hornets ahead 23-22. After the set was tied at 24-24, Maja Ciosek picked up a pair of kills to seal set three and put the Hornets ahead 2-1 on the afternoon.
In the fourth, both teams went back and forth, and after the Hornets and Lopers were knotted at 7-7, Emporia State rattled off nine of the next ten points to build a 16-8 advantage. The Hornets all but sealed the match with the scoring run, as they eventually took set four 25-17 to win the match 3-1.
A LOOK AT THE STATS
Lavra Krizanic and Maja Ciosek both tallied 17 kills, with Ciosek's tally being a new career-high for the Polish native. Brailee Bogle and Delainee Dexter had 32 and 23 assists respectively on the afternoon.
On the defensive side, Miyu Tsurumaki had 23 digs while Krizanic and Dexter had 13 and 10 of their own. Jade Xu had a team-high seven blocks while Ryann Hamilton added six blocks.
UP NEXT
Emporia State will travel to Joplin, Mo. for a road contest against Missouri Southern on Friday, October 23. First serve between the Hornets and Lions is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
NOTES
Emporia State picked up their third top-five ranked win in the past two seasons, with all matchups coming against Nebraska-Kearney.
Braille Bogle's 32 assists moved her into third all-time in program history 3,204 career assists.
