Sophomore outside hitter Paige Vanderpool attacks the ball Friday night at White Auditorium. The Hornets came from behind to win 3-1 against the Gorillas. Chris Franklin/The Bulletin

The Lady Hornets faced off against the Pittsburgh State Gorillas last Friday at the William Allen White Auditorium downtown. After a slow start, the Hornets fought to defeat the Gorillas, 3-1.

Starting off, the Hornets were down 0-3 before scoring their first point. They never did grab momentum in the first set, and nothing seemed to go Emporia’s way as they took their first and only loss, 15-25.

“I could tell during warm ups that we were not mentally prepared,” said Bing Xu, head coach.

But the Hornets looked like a whole new team to start the second set, hustling to fight back. Freshman middle blocker Courtney Haring put up some big blocks to discourage the Pittsburg hitters, adding six on the night, while sophomore Brianna Kaiser attacked the nets viciously. Emporia took the second set, 25-17, off of a kill by sophomore right side hitter Morgan Buckner.

“It was a little rocky in the beginning, but we knew we had to pick it up,” Kaiser said. “We all had to be there for each other.”

With the match tied, both teams came out pumped to start the third set. Kaiser and Buckner continued to add kills as freshman outside hitter Carly Spicer contributed her part as well, finishing the night with eight kills and one block.

The crowd erupted as Spicer hit two kills in a row to make the score 13-8, forcing the Gorillas to call a timeout. When Pittsburg took the lead at 16-17, Xu called a timeout to reassure his team that they could beat the Gorillas.

Freshman setter Katie Deutschmann assisted many of the points, as she added some kills of her own. Just when the Gorillas looked to have the third set within reach, the Hornets responded with three straight points, winning the set 26-24.

“We really had to pick up our game (in the third set),” Spicer said. “Amanda and Katie were setting really good sets. It was a team effort.”

Both teams looked evenly matched at the start of the fourth set. Buckner and Kaiser hit the nets ferociously. Deutschmann, who led the Hornets with 14 kills, 19 assists and three blocks, was not shy as she continuously spiked the ball and tore apart the Gorillas’ back row. The Hornets took the fourth set with a score of 25-15. winning the match 3-1.

“They learned their lesson from the first set and showed a lot of character,” Xu said.

The Hornets will host the Fort Hays State Tigers at 7 p.m. tomorrow at White Auditorium.

Chelsie Slaughter

Send article as PDF to

“That’s the kind of key thing right now,” said Bing Xu, head coach. “They play up and down, and they don’t stick to what their job is – that’s how we’ve played, up and down. When we stick with what we’re supposed to, we don’t have a problem. This team is so talented… but recently… the chemistry seems a little bit off.”

The first game saw ESU struggle to find consistent offense as they let the Lions stick around early on in the set. The Hornets finally broke out to a 19-14 lead, but they let MSU back in the set when the Lions went on a 5-1 run to make the score 20-19 in favor of ESU.

The Lions took that momentum through the end of the set as they won the first set 28-26.

“We just weren’t ready to play,” said sophomore Paige Vanderpool. “We didn’t have the right mindset for this game, and once we mess up once, we get in our own head. We just need to stay more focused on every ball.”

In the second set, the Hornets went on a couple of early runs to get up by nine points midway through the set. ESU would not let up and won the second set, 25-15.

With the match tied, it was the Lions who asserted themselves and controlled the game for the majority of the third set. The Hornets would lead 8-7 early on but would not regain the lead until they found themselves up 22-21. A three to two run to finish out the set, thanks to two Vanderpool kills, gave ESU their second set victory, 25-23.

The Hornets did not mess around early on in the fourth set. A 3-0 run followed up by a 4-0 run gave ESU a 12-2 lead to grab the early momentum. But the Lions fought back, closing the gap to two points late in the set. The Hornets held on for the 25-22 set victory.

ESU is now 20-8 overall and 11-3 in the MIAA. The Hornets have won seven straight and 12 of their last 15 matches heading into the home stretch of the season.
“I feel like we’re at our peak of the season, which is the right time to be peaking because we have a potential postseason coming up,” Vanderpool said. “Even though the last couple of games were rough, I still feel like we’re on the uphill climb.”

Brandon Schneeberger/The Bulletin

Send article as PDF to

KAISER

The athleticism that the Hornets bring to the volleyball court is valuable to the team’s success. For Emporia State this season, no one personifies this more than sophomore outside hitter Briana Kaiser.

“She’s so athletic,” said Bing Xu, head coach. “She has tremendous physical ability. She has all the tools and fundamentals, especially defense and passing… she has a lot of potential (and) is very talented and has a lot of natural ability.”

Growing up, Kaiser played many different sports including basketball, volleyball, track, softball and cheerleading. In junior high Kaiser said she realized that volleyball was her favorite sport. During high school she earned all-state tournament team, all-metro, MVP and was a four time letter winner in volleyball at Valley Center.

Photo Illustration by Jon Coffey/The Bulletin

“In sixth grade I was playing intramural volleyball and quit cheerleading,” Kaiser said.      Once finished with high school, Kaiser went to Wichita State for two seasons before transferring to ESU.

“I transferred here because I loved the nursing program after I visited,” Kaiser said. “Then volleyball just fit in and I love the game.”

This season, she has made a tremendous impression on both the coaches and the players.

“This year Briana has really stepped up,” said junior Meg Schwartz. “She is one of the leaders on the team. She makes a really big impact and we are really happy to have her here. She is definitely a dominating force on our team… she’s always there encouraging, always supporting the teammates and always has a really positive attitude.”

Although she has 243 kills and 333 digs so far this season, Kaiser seems to be modest. She strives to be a good team player and puts the needs of the team before individual stats or awards.

“Teamwork is the most important thing,” Kaiser said. “Just meshing together with the other girls is very important to me. We practice hard every day. We are a very new team so having that chemistry is vital to our success.”

Her teammates and coaches have noticed how important teamwork is to Briana.

“Everybody likes her,” Xu said. “She is really fun both on and off the court. She is always there joking with her teammates and the team chemistry is right there.”

Marcus Hix

Send article as PDF to

This past week, the Hornet volleyball team played in three straight road games and were victorious in all three. Emporia State had to work hard for the first game as they came back to defeat Missouri Western 3-2, after finding themselves down 2-1 on Friday.

Meg Schwartz led the team defensively with 29 digs in the match. The Hornets captured their fourth straight victory as they defeated Northwest Missouri 3-1 on Saturday.

Tuesday ESU swept Southwest Baptist 3-0, thanks to 47 team kills – 13 of which came from sophomore Paige Vanderpool. Schwartz had 23 digs in the match. The Hornets record is now 18-8. They will return to William Allen White Auditorium this weekend as they take on Pittsburg St. this Friday and Missouri Southern on Saturday.

ESU soccer earns postseason bid

The Hornet soccer team earned their first ever post-season appearance this weekend with a 2-0 win over Missouri Western.

Both goals came in the first half for ESU as freshman Mallory Walden scored her third goal of the season in the 18th minute. Soon after, Walden scored her fourth goal of the season in the 24th minute.

In the goal, Nikki Schmitz had her fifth shutout of the season, witch ties for the second most ever by a Hornet. She is also tied for second in ESU history with six career shutouts.

The Hornets’ record is 3-9-5. They finished fifth in the MIAA this year, which was their best finish since 2004. The Hornets will play Northwest Missouri at 6 p.m. today in Kansas City, Mo.

Send article as PDF to

The Hornets traveled to Jefferson City, Mo. to face the Lincoln Blue Tigers on Saturday. In a back and forth first half, the game remained close, 21-17, with the Hornets leading.

Adrian Abner scored the first points of the game with his first touchdown run of the season. Dasor Horton scored the second touchdown of the game with a 19-yard run.

The Hornets would pull away in the second half with LaDarrian Page getting in the end zone. Then Tyler Eckenrode hit Cameron Gee on a 63-yard touchdown bomb over the middle. The defense was once again stout.

In the end, the Hornets gained a total of 563 yards of total offense as they pulled away with a 52-23 victory. The Hornets record now stands at 3-5. The team will take on Truman at 2 p.m. this Friday at Welch Stadium.

Volleyball downs FHSU 3-1

The volleyball team traveled to Fort Hays State on Friday, ending up with a 3-1 record. The team had three players finish with double-doubles. The team also had 12 total blocks. They won the first two sets 25-23 and 25-18. The Tigers took the third set 25-17. The Hornets rebounded ending the match 25-16 in the fourth set.

Katie Deutschmann led the way with 23 assists and 16 digs. Paige Vanderpool had another impressive night with 16 kills and 12 digs. Morgan Buckner hit .407 for the match, ending with 11 kills.

The team will take on Northwest Missouri University at 7 p.m. Friday night in Maryville, Mo.

Send article as PDF to

Sophomore right side hitter Morgan Buckner spikes the ball over the net Tuesday night at White Auditorium. The Hornets beat the Bulldogs 3-0. Chris Franklin/The Bulletin

Emporia swept the Truman Bulldogs 3-0 on Tuesday night at home. With 10 kills and 12 digs, sophomore middle blocker Brianna Kaiser finished with a double-double. Receiving player of the night, freshman middle blocker Courtney Haring had seven kills and eight blocks, two of them solo.

“We wanted this game really bad,” Haring said.

In their second face-off against the Bulldogs this year, the Hornets sought revenge after losing the first game 2-3.

“We need to be consistent,” said Bing Xu, head coach. “You can’t play up and down.”

The Hornets came out fired up from the start. Freshman setter Katie Deutschmann contributed with strong net play while her teammate sophomore outside hitter Paige Vanderpool viciously attacked the net. There was tension in the gym as the score became 24-24. The Hornets pulled away taking the first set 26-24 off of a kill by Haring.

Emporia lost some energy as they got down early, 0-4, in the second set, forcing Xu to call a timeout to rally the squad. Immediately after the timeout, the Hornets scored and continued their streak to get the score to 7-7.

Kaiser contributed many kills to as the Hornets played strong. Haring continued to be a brick wall as she continuously stuffed the Bulldogs’ attacks. The set remained close as the score was tied at 26-26. The gym exploded as Emporia took the second set 28-26 over Truman.

“We weren’t happy with the results the first time we played Truman so we knew we had to come out strong,” Kaiser said. “We just had to take it one point at a time.”

The Hornets took an early lead in the third and final set. Deutschmann scored crucial points as her team rallied around her play. Keeping the game intense the teams contained yet another close set, tying the score at 14-14.

Vanderpool, Kaiser and Morgan Buckner all played vital parts as they stretched the lead. The Hornets would close out the Bulldogs winning the third set by a score of 25-18.

“It was a very intense game,” head coach Bing Xu said. “Mentally, we are strong enough. I am really proud of them tonight.”

The Hornets will take on Missouri Western at 7 p.m. this Friday in St. Joseph, Mo.

Chelsie Slaughter

Send article as PDF to

The Hornets hosted 12-ranked Central Missouri Sunday at the ESU Pitch in a close game. The Hornets fell 1-0 as UCM scored in the 85th minute of the game.

ESU was able to stop 18 of 19 shots on goal by a strong UCM squad that has only been held to one goal or less twice this season.

Junior goalie Nikki Schmitz tied an ESU record held by Megan Martin with 16 stops. ESU got three of their four shots on goal in the second half, the closest from senior defender Jessica Decker who came within inches of scoring in the early stages of the second half. Today the team will travel to Bolivar, Mo. to play Southwest Baptist.

Men take 1st, women 2nd at Haskell XC invitational

The women cross country team once again had a strong showing by senior Katie Mona last Saturday. She won her third straight individual championship at the Haskell Invitational while helping ESU women place second as a team.

She finished almost a full minute ahead of the second place finisher. The Hornets also had a strong finish by Courtney Maddux, who placed 14th, Amy Feldkamp who placed 16th and Kristen Sponsel, who finished in 26th.

The men’s team took home the first place prize and their second overall team championship of the season.

Asher Delmott led the way for the men finishing fourth overall. ESU also had strong finishes from Jacob Bull, ninth, Morgan Riggs, 11th, Ryan Hahn, 19^9th, and Trey Brokaw, 22nd.

Up next for the cross country team is the MIAA championships on Oct. 22 in Joplin, Mo.

Women volleyball sweep Missouri Southern 3-0

The women continued their strong play as they stretch their record to 12-6 on the year with a win against Missouri Southern last Saturday.

The women used 10 blocks and took advantage of more than 20 errors by MSSU to complete the sweep 3-0. The scores were 25-10, 25-16 and 25-22 respectively.

Katie Deutschmann continued her strong play as she hit 750 for the match and stretched her string of double-doubles to three games.

Paige Vanderpool ended the night with seven kills and 15 digs. Meg Schwartz continued her strong defensive play with 15 digs, making it 23 matches in which she has had double digit digs.

Send article as PDF to

VANDERPOOL

For Paige Vanderpool, sophomore outside hitter for the Hornets volleyball team, the sport is an escape.

“Once I am on the court, it is all volleyball,” Vanderpool said.

Vanderpool, an undecided major, is in her second season with the Hornets. Although she is currently undecided on her future, she said she is leaning towards becoming a physical therapist, so she will be able to help people.

“She is a really great player and a great leader as well. She always speaks up when we need someone to, and she steps up when we need a really big play,” said freshman outside hitter Carly Spicer. “She is a great role model. She is doing a really good job and becoming a true leader this year.”

Vanderpool has been playing volleyball for seven years and has been an outside hitter since the eighth grade. Growing up, she ran cross country but eventually decided she wanted to do something different. She settled on volleyball.

It was a new sport for her and one in which she looked forward to participating in every day. Vanderpool continued playing the sport throughout high school and was named all-conference, all-district, and all-regional as a player. Last year, she was honored with all-conference honorable mention as a freshman.

“Paige is a great leader on and off the court,” said freshman outside hitter Hunter Porter. “If I ever have any questions, she is the teammate I go to.”

Being such an outstanding high school player, Vanderpool had many options when it came to playing in college. The University of Central Missouri, the University of Missouri, Missouri State University, Appalachian State University and several other out-of-state colleges showed an interest in her, but it was Emporia State that won her over with the success of the program and the style of coaching the staff offered.

“I like how laid back the coaches are,” Vanderpool said. “They do not get too wound up about anything. If you make a mistake they tell you how to fix it without getting on you too hard. They just allow us to play and have fun and step in when they need to.”

Vanderpool said she feels that this year’s young team has a lot of potential.

“I love all of the girls and we play really well together and get along well,” Vanderpool said. “It is a good atmosphere.”

Being about halfway through the season, she said she feels there is still work to be done and things to improve on, but the team is getting better day by day. Vanderpool continues to strive to be the best she can be on and off the court in order to help her team. She hopes the team is able to make it to the NCAA Tournament and to the elite 8 as well.

Chelsie Slaughter

Send article as PDF to

In the first match, the Hornets squared off with the Bronchos from Central Oklahoma. Emporia took the first two sets with scores of 25-21 and 25-20. Central Oklahoma took the third set from the Hornets with a score of 25-20, but Emporia attacked hard in the fourth set, winning 25-22.

Sophomore outside hitter, Paige Vanderpool assisted the Hornets by contributing a double-double of 19 kills and 13 digs, helping Emporia defeat the Bronchos in four sets with a score of 3-1.

“It starts with a good pass and a good set,” Vanderpool said. “We had some good plays but we didn’t play our best. We need to learn from our mistakes and pick it up for the next game.”

In the second game the Hornets faced the Rambelles from Angelo State. The Hornets took the first two sets 25-17 and 25-21, and used the momentum they gained from the first match. Angelo State found ways to get points and won the next two sets, 25-21 and 25-18. The fifth set was a hard battle and junior libero Meg Schwartz encouraged her team on the court. The Hornets were not able to pull away with a victory and took an upset at 15-10, losing the match 2-3.

“With playing good teams, we need to go out there and attack from the beginning,” Schwartz said. “We did that in the first two sets of the last match, and then we just kind of backed off.”

The Hornets took to the court Saturday morning against the Abilene Christian Wildcats. The Hornets came out fired up and destroyed the Wildcats in the first set with a score of 25-8, but the momentum declined and they took a loss in the second set, 25-19. In the third set, the score stayed close until the Hornets eventually pulled away, 25-23. The Hornets lost the fourth set at 25-18. Tied at two sets apiece, both teams battled hard, but Abilene Christian eventually won the final set and match.

In the finale, the Hornets squared off against the Dallas Baptist Lady Patriots. With many hustle plays ESU took the first and second sets, 25-17 and 25-14.  The girls got down early in the third and lost the set, 25-20. In the fourth set, freshman setter, Katie Deutschmann and sophomore outside hitter, Brianna Kaiser both attacked the nets, dominating the Lady Patriots and taking the set 27-25 and winning the match at 3-1.

“Overall we played up and down a lot and it is all mental,” said Bing Xu, head coach. “We played with fear of losing and we need to play with confidence. I told them they can do it with no problem but they have to show the attitude. No matter how many points we are down, we can always fight back to win.”

Chelsie Slaughter

Send article as PDF to

Volleyball fans watch the match between the Hornets and Southwest Baptist University during the third annual Dig for the Cure Tuesday night in White auditorium. Admission was free for fans wearing pink. Chris Franklin/The Bulletin

Coming off a 2-2 record in the Lady Blues Fall Classic Tournament, the Hornets looked to continue their winning streak at their most recent game.

The Hornets faced off against the Bearcats of Southwest Baptist University at the third annual “Dig for the Cure” match, where all donations are raised for the local Junebug Foundation. Tuesday was a success as the gym was full of fans wearing pink and supporting Emporia as they faced the Bearcats.

“We knew this was a very important game for us, especially after this weekend, we split 2-2,” said Bing Xu, head coach. “Being a breast cancer event, I told the girls they need to really focus on this game.”

All smiles to start the first set, the Lady Hornets came out strong. Many rallies were played making both teams work to earn every point. Attacks were made by the entire front row of Emporia, but sophomore middle blocker Brianna Kaiser added six kills of her own to discourage the Bearcat defense. The Hornets took the first set 25-22.

“It comes first with a pass, then a great setter,” Kaiser said.

Emporia was pumped when the second set started and they encouraged each other point after point. Blocks were made that shut down the kills from Southwest Baptist and freshman middle blocker Courtney Haring contributed many of them. Emporia was able to win the second set 25-20 over the Bearcats.

Freshman middle blocker Courtney Haring spikes the ball over the net Tuesday evening in White Auditorium. The hornets won 3-0 against Southwest Baptist University. Chris Franklin/The Bulletin

“We get really pumped when we get a block so we have been working really hard on them in practice,” Haring said.

To start the third set, the Hornets had a few errors causing them to get behind early. Xu called a timeout at 4-7 to regroup his team for a strong finish. Block after block ESU put fear in the hitters of Southwest Baptist and attacked the nets even harder themselves. The Hornets won in the third set, 25-20.

“We need to learn that after winning the first two sets, we cannot slow down,” Xu said, “but that is something that we are working on. This is volleyball and anything can happen, you must finish strong.”

Emporia defeated Southwest Baptist 3-0. The Hornets stay strong with a winning streak, as this was their 40th straight win against the Bearcats in 42 meetings, with a record of 41-1.

“We keep improving and it is awesome, so we just need to keep it up,” Kaiser said.

The Hornets will square off against the Gorillas of Pittsburgh State University at 7 p.m. on Oct. 7 in Pittsburgh.

Chelsie Slaughter

Send article as PDF to