Emporia State volleyball traveled to Topeka, Kansas last Friday for the Washburn Invitational.

The Hornets struggled early against Drury but were able to start a brief rally before falling 25-15, 25-15, 25-23 in their first match of the day. Senior outside hitter, Josie Williams, led the team with eight kills while sophomore outside hitter, Jamie Hauptman, had seven of her own.

Senior right-side hitter Shayla Cotman recorded five scores on .556 hitting with three block assists against the Panthers.

ESU’s first set against the University of Mary was a back-and-forth battle as the Marauders won a close decision by a score of 25-23. Neither team took more than a four-point lead in the second set. With the Hornets leading 24-21. Mary scored four straight to reach match point. ESU fell to a two set deficit, losing 28-26. Mary took the sweep in the third set with a 25-12 victory.

The Hornets defeated Midwestern State in five sets on Saturday to get their first win of the season. The Hornets took the first two sets 25-17 and 25-13. Midwestern came back to tie the sets 2-2 with 25-16 and 25-19 victories, but the Hornets came out on top winning the fifth and final set 15-10. Hauptman tallied eleven scores in the game.

On Saturday afternoon, the Hornets were swept by Quincy University, 25-18, 25-19, 25-20, to end the Washburn Invitational.