Miller

Brittney Miller, junior nursing major, knows a little bit about time management. Miller plays both volleyball and basketball for the Hornets and is also going to school full time in an effort to obtain a nursing degree. With clinicals, class and practice, Miller will sometimes spend from six in the morning to very late at night working and studying.

“It’s difficult, and a lot of people tell me I can’t do it,” Miller said. “I will never give up and will prove to everyone and myself that it can be done, but it is difficult to try to time manage, do my clinicals, come to practice and use a small window to get my studying done.”

Miller, a right side hitter for the #6 ranked Hornets, is second on the team in kills with 164 and is a big part of a vicious attacking team that has the Hornets at a 14-1 record. Miller is an important piece of a puzzle that has kept the Hornets volleyball team a national contender, said head volleyball coach Bing Xu.

“She’s a smart player and very athletic,” Xu said. “She’s a big threat on the net. I think no matter who we play she’s the one they’re trying to stop.”

Jenna Snook, junior nursing major, is also in Emporia State’s nursing program in addition to playing volleyball. Snook explained that it’s nice to have someone to study with on road trips and not have to be the only one to miss class. She said she is glad to have Miller as a teammate as well as a fellow nursing student.

“She is very team oriented, and she can get you excited if the team is down,” Snook said. “She has good time management skills.”

Miller is aware that she gets an abundance of support from both her coaches and teachers at the nursing school. She admits that it is very helpful.

“The coaches have been a lot more supportive than I thought they would be…I always thought that one would make me quit one or the other, but they all have been helpful not pushing me one way or the other,” Miller said. “At Newman division, all the instructors are helpful – they’re very understanding.”

On occasion, Xu notices that Miller is drained from a long day of classes and practice, but still commends her for knowing the team needs her and always putting her best foot forward no matter how tired she is.

“Whoever I talk to thinks she’s crazy,” Xu said. “Not only does she do two sports, she does two really intense sports, and she’s a nursing major. “We really respect her, and also we’re straight with her – we ask that when she’s here, she focuses on volleyball, when she’s at basketball focus on basketball and when she’s at nursing school, focus on that. She sacrifices a lot, but she’s a tough one and can do it. We are just really excited that she comes here to give it her all every single time.”

Miller would like to graduate in four years while still playing both volleyball and basketball. She strives to be a good teammate and said she wants to help her team make it as far as possible in the postseason each year.

As for which sport is her favorite to play, it all depends on what time of the year it is.

“I’ve been playing basketball since the 3^rd grade, and I just started playing volleyball in the 7^th grade,” Miller said. “I like volleyball better during volleyball season, and I like basketball more during basketball season…They’re both my favorite sports.”

Austin Wagoner/The Bulletin

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With only few seconds left, a missed field goal put an L in the record column for the Emporia State football team. The team fought to the very last second, falling just short 24-21 to #12 Central Missouri State. However, the loss put some hope in ESU fans.

“The game gave me hope that they’re going to play hard no matter what and give the fans something to be happy about,” said Robert Keisler, sophomore geology major.

The Hornets travel to Missouri Southern State this Saturday to play a team they lost to by a single point straight point last season. The Hornets feel like they have something to prove and are looking to use this game to catapult them back into the running for a conference championship.

Blake Ringwall, senior business major and linebacker, hopes to help steer the team back in the right direction.

“We’d like to get back on track,” Ringwall said. “We lost to this team by one point last year, and we’d like to come out with the W. We came so close last year, so we’re going to fight hard to get the win on Saturday…We just want to get the win, it doesn’t matter how we get as long as we get it.”

The Hornets haven’t beat Missouri Southern State since 2005 but look to end that streak Saturday in Joplin, Mo. In addition, the two teams generally play a very tight game – the last three of four games have been decided by one point.

Head Coach Garrin Higgins is very confident in his team’s ability to win this football game.

“We’re a good football team,” Higgins said. “We just played with the 13^th ranked team in the country. Our mindset is pretty good going into this week.”

Higgins also understands that there is always room for improvement. The team had 15 penalties for a total of 103 yards in Saturday’s game against CMSU.

“We need to eliminate some of the little mistakes that we’ve made in both our losses,” Higgins said. “For example, jumping off sides and little things like that need to be cleaned up.”

With the game on the line against Central Missouri, the Hornets’ kicker, Will Maxwell, sophomore biology major, missed a 30-yard field goal, leaving two seconds on the clock. The Hornets’ coaching staff still has faith in the young kicker and is looking forward to him making up for the poor game.

Higgins believes that the game could have been different without Maxwell.

“We still have confidence in him and believe in him,” Higgins said. “We know that the next time he gets an opportunity, he’ll make the best of it. I think there were some opportunities for big plays. There are a lot of things that play into a game – like we ran 84 plays on offense and in those 84 plays there were some mistakes made.”

Austin Wagoner/The Bulletin

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Left: Samiah Raquel Webb. Center: Angelo Webb, senior recreation major. Right: Raquel White, senior biology major. KELLEN JENKINS/THE BULLETIN

Raising a family in the current economic recession can be difficult, but imagine doing it while you are going to school – imagine doing it while playing a college sport. The stresses of academics and the fatigue induced by athletics, combined with the efforts needed to raise a child might seem unbearable to some, but not for current ESU student-athletes Angelo Webb, senior recreation major and football player, and Raquel White, senior biology major and soccer player.

For Webb, there is something far more difficult.

“I cried when I dropped Samiah off for day care the day we had to leave (for South Dakota),” Webb said. “That’s the first time she’s ever had to be without both of us. I always tell Raquel that it’s fine when she leaves because I’m here. I think that was first time I felt the way Raquel feels when she leaves her.”

Webb and White have a soon-to-be two year old daughter, Samiah Raquel Webb. The decision to raise a child, stay in school and compete in university athletics is not one that is made often. It’s a decision that can lead to hardships and struggles, as White understands, on and off the field.

“It wasn’t hard when I found out I was pregnant. I think it helped having Angelo there and him not being upset or freaking out,” White said. “It helped that the both of us were ready to take it in stride. Actually, coach (Schneiderhahn) was the first person I talked to after Angelo, and he was really supportive, which made it a lot easier.”

Some student-athletes might think about quitting, not only their sport, but possibly school altogether.

Not these two.

“If I quit, how could I tell my daughter to give it everything she has? How could I tell her to never give up if I quit?” Webb said. “It’s hard, and I have to make some sacrifices, but as hard as it gets I’m not going to quit – I’m going to keep going.”

After their decision to have Samiah, the two faced even more difficult decisions – one of the scariest was when they had to tell their parents.

“The first thing that went through my head was ‘What’s my mom going to think?’ I didn’t panic and I wasn’t disappointed. I was just worried that my mom would be mad at me. She was surprised, but she wasn’t mad,” Webb said. “I think that took the weight of the world off my shoulders when I realized she wasn’t mad or disappointed.”

White and Webb give credit to the coaching staff and the help from their teammates that have given them the tools they have used to succeed thus far.

“The two coaching staffs of football and soccer have been very supportive,” White said. “They understand that there are times that we just can’t find a babysitter. If we need to, we can bring her to practice and bring her to a game.”

White and Webb also influential players on the field. Webb enjoys the brotherhood of football and his favorite thing is to talk with his teammates when they travel.

Mike LoPorto, Webb’s defensive line coach, speaks very highly of Webb.

“Angelo is surprisingly athletic and very powerful,” LoPorto said. “He’s a player that gives me a hundred percent every time and I know what I’m going to get from him every play. Mentally, he’s smart and he’s consistent.”

White, who has played soccer for 12 years, enjoys the sport for the freeness-aspect. She enjoys the fact that soccer isn’t as structured as basketball or softball, for example. Jim Schneiderhahn, head coach of the soccer team, realized White’s love for freeness, making the decision to move her to center-midfielder last season.

“Raquel is very dynamic as an athlete,” Schneiderhahn said. “She is physical and fast. She has the unbelievable knack of the ball finding her. The ball bounces off of her in the strangest ways and things are created by that.”

Students and fans alike can see White and the Hornet Soccer Team in action at 4 p.m., Sept. 24 against Southwest Baptist. Webb and the Hornet Football Team will face Central Missouri for ESU’s Family Day at 1 p.m., Sept. 12 at Welch Stadium.

Austin Wagoner/The Bulletin

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By Austin Wagoner

Something has been missing. Something Emporia State hasn’t been able to find for quite some time. The Hornets have not had a winning season since 2003, but with the addition of Coach Bryce Saia, ESU looks to have found its missing piece to the winning puzzle.

Travis Lee, senior sociology major and cornerback, shares the sentiment.

“He’s been around nothing but winners. Everywhere he goes, they win,” Lee said. “You can kind of feel victory when you’re around him.”

Saia, assistant head coach and secondary coach, last coached for the Arizona Rattlers, an Arena Football League team that made the playoffs a season ago. He was also a defensive line coach for the NCAA Division I Northern Illinois Salukis from 2003-2007.

“Due to the economy, that whole league folded,” Saia said. “Coach Higgins and I knew some mutual people…the word got out and he heard I needed a job, so he called me. The rest is history.”

Coach Saia has been coaching around the country for 14 years, gaining valuable experience by coaching every position on defense. Saia focuses mostly on the defensive backs for Emporia State, and his players know he is devoted to making them better every day.

Kameron Gee, cornerback and sophomore health promotions major, appreciates the attitude Saia brings to the team.

“He wants us to have that swag,” Gee said. “I think it important to have that in the secondary, our play on the field should reflect what Coach Saia teaches.”

Lee, who is in his fourth year with the ESU football program, has worked with four different secondary coaches. In his tenure at Emporia State, the team has won a total of 11 games, one of which includes last Thursday’s romping of Southwestern Oklahoma State University.

Although the last several years haven’t been the brightest for the team, Lee has definitely bought into Saia’s new philosophy – a philosophy that will hopefully propel the Hornets over the .500 mark.

“His philosophy is strong and it builds a good foundation; it holds you accountable,” Lee said. “It’s ‘no excuses,’ and its ‘everyday, let’s get better.’”

Even though the Hornets secured an easy win their first week, Saia still sees room for improvement.

“I think overall we played good. A win is a win; we only get so many of these a year,” Saia said. “Always take a win, and at the same time there are always things we can improve on.”

Lucky for Saia, those improvements can be spotlighted next week, as the Hornets travel to Sioux Falls, S.D., to do battle with Augustana College.

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The football team kicks off the season tonight against Southwestern Oklahoma State University. The excitement is in the air and the questions are on the table. With an impressive start but blundering finish the past two seasons, can the ESU faithful expect déjà vu or something to root for?

Head Coach Garrin Higgins is thrilled for his players to show what they can do and how they can perform.

“I think the players have had a great pre-season camp and I know they are excited about going out and performing in front of the home crowd on Thursday night,” Higgins said.

Andre SloanEl, senior communications major, entered the season as the Hornets’ leading rusher, scorer and passer just a year ago. SloanEl rushed for an impressive 439 yards and six touchdowns as a quarterback and he also passed for 1,416 yards and 10 touchdowns.

In order for SloanEl to utilize his dual-threat abilities, pressure will have to be taken off of him through the use of an effective ground game. SloanEl is confident in his new rushing crew.

“We have three good running backs that we can rotate in and out so I won’t have to run as much as last year,” SloanEl said.

ESU’s air game had a similar effect on defenses last season as the rushing attack. SloanEl completed just over 60 percent of his passes.

However, he threw as many interceptions as he did touchdowns. SloanEl, along with the rest of the ESU football team, is working hard to focus more and prepare more for games using film.

“I’m studying more in the film room and preparing more for my opponent,” SloanEl said. “I’m not going to second guess myself and will know where I want to go with the ball.”

Defensively, experience and skill lead the way, with seven players having experience starting at least one game last year. In addition, the Hornets return seven of their top ten tacklers.

Katrel Larkins, senior business major, looks to spearhead a solid group of linebackers, along with the rest of the determined defensive squad. Larkins led the team in tackles with 80 total, 4.5 for loss and 2.5 sacks. A humble Larkins doesn’t think about statistics the way the fans do.

“Personally, I don’t care how many tackles I have as long as we win,” Larkins said. “I just have to cut down on my missed tackles because I had a lot last year too.”

The Hornets will face off against the Bulldogs at 7 p.m., tonight at Welch Stadium. The team encourages all fans, students and community members alike, to come out and cheer on the home team.

Austin Wagoner/The Bulletin

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