ESU Sports
Don Weast, Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations
A split on Saturday allowed Emporia State to go 3-1 on the weekend at the SBU Invitational in Bolivar, Mo. The Hornets defeated Oklahoma Baptist in five sets before falling in three to Fort Lewis.
In the opening match Emporia State dropped set one 25-18 before winning 25-17 to even the match. The two teams battled through three set points in the third before the Bison pulled out a 27-25 victory. The Hornets dominated the fourth set, jumping out to a 7-0 lead on the way to a 25-16 win. Neither team took more than a three point lead in the deciding fifth set. Emporia State fought off five match points before scoring the final three points of the match for a 22-20 win.
Yuchen Du led the Hornets with 20 kills, 28 assists, seven digs and five block assists while Jamie Hauptman added 17 kills on .516 hitting. Valerie Golder had 13 kills while Tatum Graves added 11 kills and eight block assists to join them in double figures. Kylie Acebedo had a team high 19 digs and Emma Dixon added 35 assists with 12 digs.
After playing for over two hours in their first match of the day, Emporia State found themselves down 20-16 in the first set against Oklahoma Baptist. The Hornets rolled off five straight points to take a 21-20 lead. The teams traded points with Emporia State fighting off two set points before falling 27-25. Emporia State would not take a lead the rest of the match, falling 25-18 and 25-20 in the final two sets.
Du barely missed her third triple double of the season finishing with 14 kills, 15 assists and nine digs in the three set match. No one else was in double figures in kills or digs for Emporia State.
The Hornets will play in the MIAA-GAC Challenge next weekend in Bethany and Shawnee, Okla.