Women's Volleyball | 9/17/2026 1:45:00 PM

LETS GET IT STARTED
Emporia State travels to Pittsburg State on Friday evening as MIAA action begins for the Hornets.

LAST MATCH VS. THE GORILLAS
In early October last season, the Hornets were in Pittsburg and fell behind 2-0 in the match before rallying back to win in five frames over the Gorillas. The win was the 13th consecutive for ESU, which tied the longest winning streak since the 2009 season.

LAST TIME OUT
The Hornets played five matches last week, opening with a sweep over Newman in the midweek before traveling south for the MIAA-GAC Crossover. Emporia State won 12 of 13 sets in the Red Dirt State, which included a sweep over #24 Oklahoma Baptist, as the Hornets have won ten straight matches. Lavra Krizanic highlighted the 5-0 week for the Hornets, as she tallied 69 kills on .358 hitting while averaging 4.31 kills per set on her way to an MIAA Offensive Athlete of the Week honor. Krizanic, along with Brooklynn Weaver, had 11 total blocks on the week as well.

ABOUT THE COACHES
Ken Murczek is in his fourth season at Emporia State and has a 64-34 record through the first three-plus years. Prior to Murczek's arrival in 2023, the Hornets last made a trip to the MIAA Tournament in 2018, and have made the trip in each of the first three seasons of his tenure.
Megan Besecker is 25-16 in her second season as the head coach at Pittsburg State, as the Gorillas are just three wins behind their total in year one under Besecker. Besecker is also a former Hornet assistant which was followed by a successful run at Barton CC where the Cougars went 58-10.

ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 12-1 to open the 2026 season and have won ten straight matches following their lone defeat against currently top ranked Ferris State at the Bulldogs' home tournament. Lavra Krizanic is leading the Hornets in attack with 148 kills on .267 hitting, and Krizanic is one of two players averaging over three kills per set as Piper Bahr has 115 kills this season. Delainee Dexter, Jade Xu and Maja Ciosek have also contributed along the outside for the Hornets. In the middle, Brooklynn Weaver and Mia Frisbie are hitting an efficient .384 and .348 in attack while also leading Emporia State with 30 and 25 blocks respectively. Brailee Bogle and Delainee Dexter have shared the setting responsibilities and are combining to average 10.78 assists per set so far. On the defensive side, Krizanic has 144 digs while Bogle and Dexter and 98 and 94 respectively to aid libero Miyu Tsurumaki who has 207 on the season. Tsurumaki had her best week of the season in the last five matches, as she averaged 6.06 digs per set.

SCOUTING THE GORILLAS
Pittsburg State is 11-1 through their first 12 matches, which includes a 4-0 stint at the MIAA-GAC Crossover last week against identical opponents to who Emporia State faced down in the Red Dirt State. The Gorillas are hitting a highly efficient .276 in attack which is the second-best mark in the MIAA this season. Three players have over 100 kills so far this season with Maddi LaPointe and Crystal Smith being at the forefront of the attack, as they have 131 and 123 respectively. Smith sits at the top of the MIAA with a .460 hitting percentage through the middle. SImilar to the Hornets, the Gorillas have two setters helping to run their offense in Jesa Wallace and Brynna Zoeller combining to average 11.18 assists per set.

SERIES HISTORY
Emporia State leads the series with Pittsburg State 77-31 with the Hornet sbeing 4-0 under Ken Murczek in the series.

IN THE RANKINGS
Emporia State entered the rankings at #25 during the week two AVCA Poll, and in the week three iteration that released on Monday, the Hornets have moved up to #18 in the nation. The Hornets are one of six MIAA teams inside the top 25 and one of 11 Central Region teams currently in the rankings.