The Emporia State volleyball team hadn’t been swept all year by the top-seeded Central Missouri Jennies and hoped to find a way to pull off the upset on Thursday night. The #18 Jennies had to work for it but needed the minimum to eliminate the Lady Hornets in a 26-24, 25-11, 25-21 sweep at the Civic Arena in St. Joseph, Mo in the first round of the MIAA Tournament. The Lady Hornets battled hard in the first and found themselves up 22-21, but the Jennies ended the set on a 5-2 run to take it. Central Missouri used a 9-0 run in the middle of the second set to win easily and go up 2-0. The Lady Hornets battled to a 15-14 lead in the third, but Central responded with three-straight points and they never trailed again. First team All-MIAA outside hitter Sandora Sasaki led all attackers with 17 kills while Brailee Bogle had 26 assists and Anakaren Chavez had 11 digs. First year head coach Ken Murczek reflected on completing his first season after the match.
ESU finishes the year 13-16, a nine-game bump over last year’s win total. Sasaki set an ESU record with 4.68 kills per set and finished with 503 kills, the first Lady Hornet to do so since Arica Shepherd amassed 524 in 2009.
