The Emporia State volleyball team faced off against MIAA opponent Truman State University last Wednesday night, only to lose the match in four sets, 1-3.
The Hornets started off on a roll early in each of the first two sets, but couldn’t finish what they started as they saw Truman capture two early wins.
“We just got down and we beat ourselves in the first two games,” said freshman middle hitter and undecided major Caitlyn Murray. “We weren’t ready – we thought we were, but we just didn’t come out ready. The second two games we finally figured it out, but we decided to fight back a little too late.”
Truman State proved why they’re a Top 20 team in the AVCA polls, showcasing their stellar defensive abilities and consistent offensive output throughout the match against the Hornets. Senior outside hitter and marketing major Arica Shepard said that the team knew about Truman’s capabilities coming into the match.
“They’re always a consistent team,” Shepard said. “We know that coming in that we can’t let them in at all. They’re going to bring what they have every single time. They never let go. When they come in, we just have to act like they’re the number one team in the nation and play like that.”
Head coach Bing Xu felt that his team was prepared for the match, but thought that perhaps mental hindrances were the cause of the Hornets’ breakdowns.
“We know their style, they play very strong defense…they tested our composure,” Xu said. “From our side, I think some of our players expect too much out of themselves… they think, ‘Hey, they can’t block me, they can’t beat me.’ Every team can block, every team can dig.”
After Xu reached deep into his bench and substituted players that had yet to see much action, the Hornets picked up their play a bit for the third game, as they won 25-21. Several younger players stepped up big for the Hornets, aiding in the team’s blocking defense as well as kills. Murray saw her playing time increase significantly during the last two sets.
“It (playing more) was really exciting, and I was on, so that was even more exciting,” Murray said. “The whole team just started to fit more together. It was just a little too late in the game.”
Shepard was happy to see the younger players positively contribute to the team’s comeback effort.
“They came out there and they played with really great intensity, and they brought a lot of emotion out on the court, which is what we needed right then,” Shepard said. “It helped out tremendously. I just wish we could have pulled it through.”
After winning a decisive third set, the Hornets rally fell short in the fourth and final set, with Truman taking the last game, 25-23.
The match, according Murray, will hopefully serve as a reminder of how important the little things are in preparing for tough opponents like Truman.
“This just kind of wakes us up a little bit and tells us that we need to come out ready and be mentally prepared,” Murray said. “We can’t underestimate anybody, so just have to come out and be ready and concentrate.”
Shepard believes that the team has to move forward and use the experience as a learning tool.
“We just have to use it (the loss),” Shepard said. “We have to use it like all of our losses before – we have to take this to the next game and know what not to do again. I don’t know if we just need to keep the intensity up at the very beginning – usually we’re pretty strong – but this game we just let it go.”
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