September 18, 2026 - #18 Emporia State volleyball came back from a 2-1 deficit on Friday night to win the MIAA opener over Pittsburg State in five sets.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set one began with the Gorillas taking an early 5-2 lead before Emporia State found their rhythm, scoring ten of the next 11 points to take a 12-6 advantage. The momentum continued for the Hornets throughout the opening frame, as Emporia State rolled to a 25-12 set one win over the hosts.
In the second, Pittsburg State scored the first four points and despite the Hornets closing the gap to just two points on multiple occasions, the Gorillas expanded on their lead and maintained control throughout on their way to a 25-17 win to even the match.
Emporia State looked to flip the script in set three as they led the Gorillas throughout much of the set, eventually sitting on a 22-18 advantage late in the frame. However, the Gorillas responded and used four Hornet attack errors to rip off seven straight on their way to a 25-22 set three win and a 2-1 lead in the match.
Pittsburg State's momentum carried over into the early portion of set four, with the hosts leading the Hornets 13-9 midway through. Emporia State wouldn't go away though, scoring seven straight to take a 16-13 lead. Eventually the set settled into a 19-19 tie which forced an Emporia State timeout. The Hornets responded to the break, scoring four straight before sealing the fourth with a 25-22 win of their own.
Both teams scored two straight back-to-back to open the final set, but after consecutive errors by the Gorillas, Emporia State gained control and didn't look back. The Hornet lead swelled to 10-4 as they continued to capitalize on errors by Pittsburg State. With Emporia State leading 11-6, Piper Bahr and Lavra Krizanic, two of the three Hornets with double-digit kills on the night, picked up back-to-back kills to push the lead to 13-6 and force a timeout. The Hornets closed out the match on a block by Mia Frisbie and Maja Ciosek to seal the 15-7 set five win and their third 2-1 comeback of the season.
A LOOK AT THE STATS
Emporia State hit .199 on the night, just a tick lower than Pittsburg State's .206, but set five had the Hornets at .389 while the Gorillas had more errors than kills. Lavra Krizanic had 19 kills while Piper Bahr and Mia Frisbie had 11 and 10 on their own. Brailee Bogle had 35 assists while Delainee Dexter added 19 of her own, in addition to eight kills and 11 digs.
On defense, Miyu Tsurumaki and Krizanic had 25 and 22 digs. Mia Frisbie and Krizanic also added six and four blocks on the night.
UP NEXT
Emporia State will travel to #7 Nebraska-Kearney on Friday, September 25. First serve between the Hornets and Lopers is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
