Emporia State volleyball faced off against top-seeded Central Missouri in the first round of conference play on Nov. 16 at Civic Arena in St. Joseph, MO.
The Jennies came into the tournament 18-2 in conference play and 25-7 overall, while the Hornets came in with a record of 7-13 in conference play and 13-16 overall.
The Hornets pushed the Jennies into extra points but fell short in the first set 24-26. The second set ended with an 25-11 score in favor of the Jennies, and the match ended with another set win of 25-21 for the Jennies
Sandora Sasaki led the Hornets with a total of 17 kills followed by Camilla Ossola with six and Maureen Mathews with four.
On the defensive side, Anakaren Chavez led the Hornets in digs with a total of 11 on the night. Tasiah Nunnery closely followed Chavez with seven digs and Brailee Bogle with four.
UCM went on to win the conference title after beating No. 4 seed Missouri Western 3-0 in the semifinals and No. 2 ranked Nebraksa Kearney in the championship match 3-0. The Jennies now have won four conference championships within the past ten years.
Both Central Missouri and Nebraska Kearney will represent the MIAA Conference in the 2023 Division II Women’s Volleyball Tournament where Central missouri is fourth in rankings and Nebraska Kearney is ranked sixth.
