Women's Volleyball | 6/22/2026 2:14:00 PM

June 22, 2026-Emporia State Volleyball has released their schedule for the upcoming 2026 season, including a trip to Michigan to begin the season. A fourth of their matches will be against teams that advance to the NCAA Tournament last season, with 11 matches against teams that won at least 20 games.
 
The Hornets will open the season with four matches in Big Rapids, Mich. on the campus of Ferris State University. Emporia State begins the trip on August 27 against Minnesota State – Mankato. The Mavericks went 23-6 last season with a 15-5 mark in the NSIC. On Friday, August 28 the Hornets will take on Ill.-Springfield in the morning before a match with the host Bulldogs that evening.  Ferris State was 27-8, 13-3 in the GLIAC and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight in 2025. Emporia State will wrap up their stay in Michigan against Purdue-Northwest on Saturday, August 28. 
 
The Hornets will then head to Sioux Falls, S.D. for three matches. The first opponent will be the host Sioux Falls Cougars on September 3. USF was 20-10 last year with a 14-6 NSIC record.  Emporia State will take on UMary on the morning of September 4 on the USF campus before heading across town to play at Augustana that evening. ESU will wrap up the trip to Sioux Falls on Saturday, September 5 against Upper Iowa on the USF campus.  
 
Emporia State will play a non-conference match on September 8 at Newman in Wichita, before continuing down I-35 for the MIAA-GAC Crossover hosted by Oklahoma Baptist and Central Oklahoma. The Hornets will take on four GAC opponents, with Ouachita Baptist and Oklahoma Baptist on Thursday, September 10 in Shawnee, Okla., followed by matches against Southern Nazarene and East Central on September 11 in Edmond, Okla. Ouachita Baptist was 26-5 last season and won the GAC regular season with a 15-1 record.  They were defeated in the semifinals of the GAC Tournament by Oklahoma Baptist, who advanced to the NCAA Tournament with a 22-10 record after winning the GAC Tournament.
 
The Hornets will begin MIAA play on September 18 at Pittsburg State.  It will be the only match in a 13 day window as the next action for Emporia State will be September 25 at Neb.-Kearney followed by a trip to Fort Hays State on September 26.  The Lopers were 30-4 last year, 13-3 in the MIAA and advanced to the NCAA Central Regional Semifinals.  Two of UNK's four losses were to the Hornets.
 
After 16 road matches to start the season, Emporia State will make their home debut on Tuesday, September 29 against Pittsburg State. With the unbalanced schedule, this will be a non-conference match for both teams. The Hornets will get the following weekend off before playing host to Washburn on Saturday, October 3 for the MIAA home opener in White Auditorium.  The Ichabods were 27-5 last season with a 13-3 MIAA mark on their way to the semifinals of the NCAA Central Regional. First serve of the Turnpike Tussle is set for 7:00 p.m. as part of a volleyball football double header following the Hornets football game against Missouri Western that afternoon.
 
The Hornets will make their first trip to Tahlequah, Okla, on October 9 to take on Northeastern State. The RiverHawks are set to bring volleyball back to the Tahlequah campus for the first time since the late 1970s. Emporia State will then travel over to Ark.-Fort Smith on October 10.
 
A new wrinkle in MIAA scheduling will occur during the weekend of October 16-17 as the league will divide into four mid-season tournaments that do not have an affect on the conference standings.  Emporia State will travel to Maryville, Mo. for matches against Northwest Missouri on October 16 and Neb.-Kearney on October 17.
 
The Hornets will stay on the road the next weekend for a match at Missouri Southern on October 23 followed by a trip to Central Missouri on October 24.
 
Emporia State will play their final four regular season matches in the friendly confines of White Auditorium starting with Central Oklahoma.  To accommodate the Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) state tournament being played in White Auditorium, the match will be played on Wednesday, October 28 at 4:30 p.m.  The Bronchos went 27-6, 12-4 in the MIAA last season and advanced to the NCAA Central Regional Tournament. The Hornets will then play Newman on Thursday, October 29 at 6:00 p.m. in White Auditorium.
 
The final weekend of the regular season will see Emporia State play host to Northwest Missouri on November 6.  The final regular season match will be on Saturday, November 7 against Missouri Western starting at 7:00 p.m. The Griffons were 21-8, 13-3 in the MIAA and advanced to the NCAA Central Regional last fall.  That Saturday will be a double Senior Day as the Hornet football team plays host to Washburn that afternoon.
 
The MIAA Tournament is scheduled for November 12-14 at Civic Arena in St. Joseph, Mo. The Hornets have made the MIAA Tournament in each of the first three seasons under head coach Ken Murczek.
 
The NCAA Regionals are set for November 19-22 at eight campus sites around the country. The Elite Eight will be a part of the final NCAA Division II Sports Festival in Kansas City.  The volleyball portion of the festival will run December 3-5 at Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City, Mo.
 
Emporia State went 21-7 last season with a 12-4 mark in the MIAA.  The Hornets tied for fourth in the Association and were just one game behind a three-way tie for the conference championship.  They spent four weeks in the AVCA National Top 25 and ended the regular season ranked #25 in the coaches poll.  The Hornets were #21 in the final KPI national rankings and were eighth in the last published NCAA Division II Central Regional Poll.