Emporia State played their second of a three game home stand this Saturday when they hosted the Lions of Missouri Southern. After falling in the second set, the Hornets battled back to defeat the Lions 3-1.
“After we go back to the locker room we talked about (how) we can’t stop their middle because the serve is not tough enough,” said head coach Bing Xu. “After we came back you can tell serving is all there, and we start blocking them, play defense, and the game starts changing a lot.”
The game started out rocky in the first set for the Hornets as attack errors plagued them early on. After beginning the set 6-6, the Hornets would begin to pull away going on a 15-8 run. Paige Vanderpool and Brittney Miller sparked the run with four kills each in the stretch.
The Lions fought back however scoring five straight points to close the gap to three. Two kills by Brianne Boner would help hold off the Lions, 25-20. Ting Liu led the way for the Hornets dialing up 15 assists.
Emporia State was unable to carry the momentum into the second set as Missouri Southern jumped out to a fast 9-5 lead. A 10-6 run out of a timeout and two key blocks by Miller and Boner brought the set to a tie at 15.
Missouri Southern would not be denied the set and closed it out on a 10-6 run to win 25-21.
“We didn’t come out that second set like we needed to,” said sophomore Meg Schwartz who earned player of the game. “We knew that they were going to come out and attack us, and we kind of fell back, so in the locker room we talked about it, and we needed to come out with lots of intensity, and that’s what we did. It ended well for us.”
Intensity was evident as the Hornets jumped out to an 11-7 lead in the third set. Emporia State increased the lead down the stretch eventually coming away with a 25-15 win off a kill by Katelyn Schmidtberger.
This time Emporia State was able to carry the momentum over to the fourth set as they opened up on the offensive 12-1. Seven kills – five by Miller – and two aces ignited the Hornets to the quick start. The Hornets would continue the pounding and win the match 25-9.
The Hornets wrap up their three game home stand this Tuesday as they take on Southwest Baptist. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
Three ESU football players cited for marijuana use
Three ESU football players were cited for allegedly possessing marijuana in the North Twin Towers on Aug. 28. Miguel Johns, Jackson Bonnette, and Orelando Pratt Jr. were the three players. Johns was a freshman wide receiver from Newton. Both Bonnette and Pratt were freshman from Corpus Cristi, Tex. Bonnette was one of five quarterbacks on the team, and Pratt also played at the wide receiver position.
All three players were redshirted and had yet to see any game time action. Head Coach Garrin Higgins said the players are no longer with the team. The three have been issued misdemeanor tickets and are currently scheduled for a court date at 9 a.m. on Oct. 28.
Volleyball Sweeps Missouri Western, Northwest Missouri State
The Emporia State Volleyball team swept Missouri Western on Sept. 17. They won their three sets 25-10, 25-15, and 15-17. Strong serving by senior setter Ting Liu, including a seven point run in the first set, and five unanswered serves in the second set helped push the Hornets toward the sweep. Other notable Hornet performances were senior Brianne Bonner with 16 kills and six blocks. Fellow senior Brittney Miller had 12 kills and four blocks, and Meg Schwartz had 11 digs to fill out the Hornets’ defensive game.
In further volleyball action, the Hornets swept Northwest Missouri State on Sept. 18 with wins of 25-20, 25-20, and 26-24. Top player performances were by senior Brittney Miller with 13 kills and Brianne Boner with eight kills and three blocks. Playing a tough defensive game were Paige Vanderpool with nine digs and 12 kills, Katelyn Schmidtberger with 11 digs and Meg Schwartz with 10. Following the Hornets two weekend road sweeps they have now been bumped up to the 11th spot in the AVCA poll. Furthermore, Ting Liu has earned MIAA Specialist of the Week for the third straight week.
Cross Country Teams land top 10 finishes
The men’s and women’s cross-country teams traveled to Lincoln, Neb., this Saturday for the Woody Invitational, the team’s first big meet. Both teams were able to land top ten finishes as the men finished fifth out of 21 and the women seventh of 20.
Out of 295 runners, Asher Delmott led the Hornet men placing 36th overall followed by Will Hohmeier (47th) and Jacob Bull (56th). For the women Kathryn Davison led the way placing 61st overall. She was followed by Sydney Oltjen (66th), Courtney Maddux (74th) and Amy Feldkamp (79th).
The cross-country teams will travel to Hillsboro for the Tabor Invitational this Saturday.
The Emporia State volleyball hosted inter-league and in-state rival Pittsburg State last night, only to lose the match in four sets, 3-1. The loss marked the Hornets’ fourth of the season and third in the MIAA.
The first quarter started out with a 4-0 lead by the Hornets. However, a rare lack of decisiveness by ESU let the Gorillas right back in to the set. The score was 13-9 before the first pause in game play occurred – timeout was called by Pittsburg State head coach Ibraheem Suberu. Another timeout was called by Pitt State after the Hornets defensive prowess proved to be too overwhelming for the Gorillas at the time, as the Hornets led 23-18.
The timeout would rejuvenate the Gorillas for the time being, as Pitt State would make a solid comeback which forced Emporia State head coach Bing Xu feeling uneasy – a timeout was called by Xu with the Hornets still leading, 24-22. The Hornets’ mistakes were capitalized on by Pitt State after the timeout, giving the Gorillas the lead at 25-24, which forced another ESU timeout.
After the timeout, a kill by freshman right side hitter and undecided major Katelyn Schmidtberger gave the Hornets a one point lead, but two defensive mistakes by the Hornets sealed the deal for the Gorillas, giving them the set, 27-25.
The Hornets have been often criticized for not closing out sets when they are capable. Xu said that not finishing, along with the Gorillas’ determination, played a part in the loss of the first set.
“They played a great game…they wanted it more, you can tell,” Xu said. “Especially in the first game, that was kind of a key turning point. We were leading big, but we couldn’t finish.”
Senior libero and health promotion major Amy Byfield agreed with Xu and said that it could be a cause for concern for the team.
“I think we just got off to a slow start,” Xu said. “It seems like every match we play we learn at some point during one of the sets that you can’t start off slow, especially against a team that’s trying to make it to regionals. You just can’t do that at this level.
I think every team we play, it (not finishing) is a legitimate concern because of our track record…it’s a concern, something we focus on in practice, just playing strong the whole time.”
A glimmer of hope came in the second set for the Hornets, as points were traded back and forth between the two teams to start – it was only when the score reached 11-9 in favor of Pittsburg State that the first break in the set occurred via an Emporia State timeout.
The Gorillas were forced to call a timeout after big momentum plays in favor of Emporia State led to the Hornets widening their lead, 22-18. A kill by freshman middle hitter and undecided major Caitlyn Murray ended the set, with the Hornets taking the game
The third set was an uneventful one. Points were traded back and forth throughout the game until Xu called timeout when Pittsburg State increased their lead to two points at 20-18. Xu called another timeout to regroup his team at 22-24 in favor of PSU. The Hornets never looked shakier on set point for the Gorillas, as two teammates attempted a hit on each of the three attempts. A defensive breakdown caused the set to end 25-22 with Pitt State taking the game.
It appeared as though the Hornets were unraveling at the seams.
“We just always need to come out strong every time,” Murray said. “Sometimes we underestimate people, and then we get down and we’re like ‘Oh my gosh, what do we do?’ So then we kind of freak out and things fall apart.”
Set number four started off sloppy for the Hornets – mental errors led to a 6-3 Pittsburg State lead early. Solid offensive output put the Gorillas up by as much as five, but the determination of the Hornets would shine through, bringing the game to a tie at 14-14. However, the Hornets’ momentum would only last for a short time as PSU widened the gap at 20-16 before an ESU timeout.
The timeout would not give Emporia State the extra boost they need, as PSU won the set 25-22.
Although the loss comes at an important time for the Hornets in regards to MIAA standings, Xu is ready to move on to the next opponent.
“We need to move on,” Xu said. “One game at a time, just keep playing.”
Junior right side hitter and nursing major Brittney Miller led the Hornets in kills on the night with a career-high 25, followed by senior outside hitter and marketing major Arica Shepard with 15. Shepard also contributed 24 digs. Junior setter and business major Ting Liu added 58 assists, 13 digs and seven kills. Byfield’s 21 digs on the night made her the new ESU career leader in digs with 1,944.
The Hornets will host Missouri Southern for Senior Night at 7 p.m. tonight at W.L. White Auditorium.
The stakes were high for the #8 Emporia State Hornets as they hosted the #7 Washburn Lady Blues last Friday night. The Hornets walked away with a pivotal victory in five sets, 3-2.
Middle Hitter Brianne Boner blocks a spike by Washburn’s Hillary Hughes Friday night at White Auditorium. The Hornets won the “Turnpike Tussle” taking down the No. 7 ranked Lady Blues 3-2 (25-23, 25-21, 18-25, 26-28, 15-13). Kellen Jenkins/The Bulletin
The significance of the match was well known by the over 2,000 fans in attendance, along with freshman setter and undecided major Katelyn Schmidtberger.
“I knew this game coming in was going to be a great one for our team to win just to keep us in the running for the MIAA, and my team did a great job,” Schmidtberger said. “I have to fill in to just play the position, and they’re behind me 100 percent, so I have to have confidence in myself.”
Upon learning that Washburn leaped ESU in the AVCA poll, senior outside hitter and marketing major Arica Shepard felt that the team had some business to take care of.
“We always try not to look at the rankings, but when we did see them above us we were kind of just like, ‘OK, we have to do something about this.’…this game meant a lot to us,’” Shepard said.
The first two sets proved to be great successes for the Hornets, winning 25-23 and 25-21.
The last three were a bit more challenging. Already high in spirits due to the fast start, the Hornets saw two straight sets taken by Washburn because of defensive breakdowns and a general lack of focus.
“Washburn is a tough team,” said Head Coach Bing Xu. “Nationally, they’re one spot ahead of us, and at the start of the third game we could tell they wanted to bring their game back, so we kind of backed off a little bit and started questioning our ability a little bit instead of hanging with them…we lost our composure.”
After Washburn captured the fourth set, Shepard said that she started having recollections of losses during the current season.
Outside Hitter Arica Shepard spikes the ball past Washburn’s Kate Hampson Friday night at White Auditorium. The Hornets won the “Turnpike Tussle” taking down the No. 7 ranked Lady Blues 3-2 (25-23, 25-21, 18-25, 26-28, 15-13). Kellen Jenkins/The Bulletin.
“I don’t know if we got too comfortable or we maybe thought we had it or something,” Shepard said. “I kind of had a flashback to West Texas A&M right after we lost that fourth game, I was like, ‘Oh no, we can’t do this again.’”
In the potential midst of another loss to a top 10 opponent, the Hornets tightened up their defense and minimized errors to win the final set, 15-13. Xu noted what the importance of a win against rival Washburn meant for his program and the rest of the season.
“This game will really keep our confidence up and our momentum going to carry to the postseason,” Xu said. “We need to kind of learn from it and bring this momentum and go to the next game.”
Junior right side hitter and nursing major Brittney Miller noted the games high and low points and the importance of finishing.
“I think we played hard,” Miller said. “We need to still do a little better, win the first two sets, come out and win the third, so we’re going to continue to work at that. Big net game, big defense…It was definitely a big one to finish – we knew we needed to do it. We still need to work to go a little harder and not let that halftime give us a little downtime. We’ll continue to work. I think we played well.”
A point of surprising significance at the game was the crowd – more than once did the noise created by the fans affect on the opposing team’s server.
“This game’s huge,” Shepard said. “The outcome here, I think that helped so much – I’ve never seen it so filled.”
Schmidtberger shared the sentiment.
“The crowd was great,” Schmidtberger said. “I’m glad everyone came out and supported (the team).”
Setter Ting Liu and Middle Hitter Brianne Boner jump to block a spike by Washburn’s Jessica Kopp Friday night at White Auditorium. The Hornets won the “Turnpike Tussle” taking down the No. 7 ranked Lady Blues 3-2 (25-23, 25-21, 18-25, 26-28, 15-13). Kellen Jenkins/The Bulletin.
Miller led the team with 20 kills, followed closely by Shepard with 17. Junior setter and business major Ting Lui added 54 sets.
Shepard, in her senior season, was happy to defeat Washburn, not only for the team’s interest, but for her own, special interest as well. Shepard’s twin sister, Ashley, plays for the Lady Blues.
“Winning this game feels awesome,” Shepard said. “Hopefully we’ll continue this success.”
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