Emporia State athletics took home multiple victories over the weekend with wins in football and volleyball. 

The weekend started off with women’s volleyball on Friday as they took on Truman State in the Tiger Classic in Hays, Kan. The Hornets took the first set 25-11 and tied the second with the Bulldogs 1-1. 

In the third set, Truman initially gained the lead in the back-and-forth match 20-19 which later jumped to 23-22. ESU later claimed the set 25-23 after kills from sophomore outside hitter Rayishon Jackman and junior outside and right side hitter Camilla Ossola as well as an error on the Bulldogs. 

Truman forced a fifth set during the force after claiming the match 25-19. The Hornets began the fifth with a 5-1 lead and ended the set with a 15-8 victory, claiming a 3-2 win overall in their first match-up. 

On Saturday, the Hornets faced off against UC Colorado Springs and Northwestern Oklahoma, taking both matches 3-0. 

Hornet football also came home Saturday with their first win at Pittsburg State’s Carnie Smith Stadium since 2016, narrowly clinching a 24-21 victory over the No. 4, nationally ranked Gorillas. 

The Gorillas scored the first touchdown of the game followed by a 25-yard field goal from Hornet kicker Caden Dodson. The field goal put the Hornets on the scoreboard 3-7. During the second quarter, the Hornets took a 10-7 lead before widening the gap 17-7 thanks to plays by junior quarterback Gunnar Gundy and graduate student wide receiver Tyler Kahmann.

After neither team scored in the third quarter, the Gorillas scored first in the fourth, closing the Hornets’ lead 17-14. Gundy would later score, bringing the Hornets up 24-14 before the Gorillas closed the gap 24-21. The Hornets went on to run out the clock after graduate student running back Billy Ross Jr. claimed a first down for the Hornets at 41 seconds left in the game. 

Hornet volleyball will play in the PSU Regional Tournament from Sept. 19 through Sept. 21 with a starting match up against Illinois Springfield at 7 p.m. on Thursday. They will go on to play against Henderson State on Friday, Sept. 20 and close out the tourney facing Missouri S&T on Saturday.

Saturday will also see a Hornet football match-up against the Missouri Western Griffons. The Griffons are currently 2-1 overall on the season and 1-1 in conference play. Kickoff is set to begin at 1 p.m. on Sept. 21 at Welch Stadium.