The Emporia State volleyball team stayed at No. 17 in this week’s AVCA Top 25 volleyball poll after going 1-1 last week with a loss at No. 7 Nebraska-Kearney and a win at Fort Hays State. Ferris State continues to lead the poll with the 14-0 Bulldogs garnering all but two first-place votes with Wayne State, Tampa, Fresno Pacific, and Concordia-St. Paul rounding out the top 5. UNK moved up a spot with their straight-sets win over the Black & Gold with Missouri Western holding steady at No. 8. Washburn moved up to 14th while Central Oklahoma and Central Missouri both received votes.
ESU’s (14-2, 2-1 MIAA) grueling 16-game trek away from Emporia that featured eight true road matches finally comes to an end Tuesday when the No. 17 Lady Hornets celebrate Opening Day at White Auditorium by hosting MIAA foe Pittsburg State in a non-conference tilt. It is less than two weeks after the teams met in conference play with E-State pulling out a win in five sets over the Gorillas inside John Lance Arena in Pittsburg. Freshman Piper Bahr is hoping for a big home crowd for the team’s home opener.
Head coach Ken Murczek can hardly believe there’s actually home volleyball on the schedule.
Despite coach’s surprise, first serve Tuesday is in fact scheduled for 6:00 p.m. It is the first of six home matches for the Lady Hornets with ESU also home this weekend hosting Washburn. ESU will then, unsurprisingly, be on the road for the next three weeks before wrapping the year in early November with four-straight home dates.
