Courtesy of ESU Athletics
Emporia State volleyball took home an Oct. 3 win against Pittsburg State, but fell to the Washburn Ichabods on Tuesday in a 0-3 match up. The loss concluded a 13-game winning streak for the Hornets, the longest by the program since 2009.
Initially the Hornets struggled offensively against the Gorillas. Pittsburg State was able to rally in the first set to take a 1-0 lead with a 25-22 win. The Hornets upped their game in set two as they outhit the Gorillas to take the victory for the second set 25-21. The third saw ESU struggle again as their errors were greater than their kills, which allowed PSU to build a 2-1 match lead.
The start of set four showed signs of favor for the Gorillas as they built a lead 12-5. The Gorillas built on their advantage at 15-9, but ESU responded with a 14-4 scoring run which allowed them to take the lead 23-19. The Hornets increased the score to close out with a 25-22 win.
The Hornets continued their momentum from the fourth with four consecutive points scored to begin the set. The Gorillas eventually tied the match 8-8, but the Hornets came back scoring six of the next seven points, bringing them a 15-11 win for the set and victory for the match.
Tuesday proved to be a different story for the Hornets. Struggle started early in the first set as Washburn came to an early 2-0 lead before a later 5-0 scoring run allowed them to lead 15-9. The Hornets were able to come within one point of the Ichabods 23-22, but were unable to lead. The set closed with a 25-22 score favoring Washburn.
The second set saw a back and forth rally between the Hornets and Ichabods with the Hornets taking an early lead 2-1 in what was the only time the Hornets led the set. Washburn forced a timeout on the Hornets with a 7-2 scoring run that brought the score 12-7.
Following the timeout, the Hornets scored but the Ichabods responded with another scoring run to bring them up 15-8. The Hornets later held the Ichabods at 19 with a 4-point scoring run to bring them within 19-16, but couldn’t pull ahead in the final plays of the set. The Ichabods held the Hornets at just 17 points with a 25-17 win.
ESU suffered the same fate in the third, falling 25-17 despite leading three times within the first 11 points and tying several times within the first 16. The 0-3 match had the Hornets hitting at just .056.
The Hornets will take to the court again on Friday at home to face off against Nebraska-Kearney, who is currently ranked No. 2 in the MIAA. First serve is set for 6 p.m. at White Auditorium.