Hornets win first MIAA Division II Championship

Andrew Dorpinghaus / The Bulletin

Junior Arica Shepard moves to bump the ball back to Washburn University Friday night in William Allen White Auditorium. The Hornets won the match 3-0 making ESU the 2008 MIAA Division II Volleyball Champions.

The Emporia State volleyball team won the MIAA Division II Championship last Friday in a match that would also go in the record books.

Not only did the Hornets win the championship, but they did it in front of an MIAA record setting crowd of 2,432.

“This year we hoped this game would be big,” said sophomore middle hitter Brianne Boner. “It ended up being bigger than we thought it would be.”

This was the first championship the volleyball team has ever won.

“I am only a sophomore and it is a great feeling,” Boner said. “It is just a great feeling.”

The Hornets swept the Washburn Lady Blues in three games and clinched the home advantage in the regional.

“That is huge to get home advantage,” said head coach Bing Xu. “You saw the crowd tonight that really helps our performance.”

The Hornets won the first game by a score of 25-17.

Washburn took the lead in the first game when all American Monica Miesner recorded the first kill of the match.

The Hornets answered back, jumped out to a four-point lead of 7-3 and kept the lead the rest of the game.

Game two was a nail biter as the Hornets won by a narrow margin of 25-21.

The Hornets had the lead of 17-12 until the Lady Blues went on a 9-3 run which gave the Lady Blues a 21-20 lead.

The Hornets responded by scoring five points in a row to win the game 25-21.

The final game had everyone on the edge of their seats as it took a total of 54 points to decide a winner. The Hornets came out on top with a 28-26 victory.

Junior outside hitter Arica Shepard and sophomore outside hitter Brittney Miller both led the team with 13 kills.

In addition to the 13 kills, Shepard also had 22 digs.

Sophomore setter Ting Liu led the team in assists with a match high of 41.

Senior middle hitter Hannah Carter had nine kills and six blocks on the night.

In this game alone there were 11 ties and only two occasions where there was a leader change.

“We really had to play our game,” Xu said. “We needed to focus to win.”

The Hornets had a lot of support from a very large and energetic home crowd.

The last time these two teams met the Hornets were swept in three games.

“It means a lot to beat this team,” Shepard said. “It is great to prove to everyone that we are better than we played down there.”

The Hornets also beat Fort Hays, last Saturday in four games for their senior game.

Fort Hays put up a fight against the Hornets.

“They have really improved,” said senior middle hitter Kristen Fletcher. “They really challenged us.”

One senior player reflected on her expences playing for ESU.

“It has been a fun ride,” Fletcher said. “I have enjoyed playing for this team.”

Regionals will start Wednesday. The Hornets’ opponent and game have yet to be announced, but the game will be in White Auditorium.