KIRKSVILLE, Mo. — Shortly after his team’s 3-1 victory over Emporia State in the NCAA Regional semifinal, Truman coach Jason Skoch was asked about his team’s next match against No. 7 Washburn.
He could only guarantee one thing.
“Nobody can push us as hard as Emporia pushed us tonight,” Skoch said. “That’s not a slight against Washburn. (The Hornets) were awesome. Now we know what it’s like to be pushed and pushed.”
Though Skoch and the fourth-ranked Bulldogs came away with a 35-33, 27-30, 30-28, 30-26 victory, nothing came easy Friday night against the Hornets.
Unfortunately for ESU, all its efforts to catch up to Truman were negated by an inability to finish off games.
“We fought very, very hard and did our jobs,” ESU coach Bing Xu said. “Just in a crunch, here or there, we needed to be a little more consistent.”
Though both teams have made a reputation out of consistent play, the Hornets were the ones that ended up making a few more miscues.
ESU had 36 errors to Truman’s 23 in the four-game match.
“Errors always can kill us,” ESU sophomore Arica Shepard said. “Finishers... we’re not that consistent. When it comes down to the game end, 10 points to go, it seems like we always struggle to finish the game off.
“Errors got us at the end.”
In reality, it should have been tough for ESU to recover from an emotional first game.
The Hornets used a 6-0 run to take a 16-11 lead and had two chances for game point at 29-28 and 30-29 but couldn’t end it.
The two teams traded side outs until a 33-all tie when an Allie Cherven kill and a Courtney Larson tap gave Truman the 35-33 win.
“It’s hard for teams to come back,” Xu said, “but actually, we did.”
After trailing 11-9 early in Game Two, the Hornets used a 6-0 run to grab a 17-11 lead. ESU hung on from there, as Megan Koster put down the final point to end the game, 30-27.
The Hornets fell into a 15-12 hole in Game Three before a crazy finish.
ESU had separate 3-0, 4-0 and 4-0 runs, making up a 25-21 deficit to take a 28-27 lead.
Truman would finish stronger, however, recording the final three points for the 30-28 victory and a 2-1 match lead.
“This game’s more mental than physical,” Xu said. “It was a real battle.”
The Hornets once again rallied from an early hole in the fourth game. Truman grabbed a 12-5 lead, but ESU scored 10 of the next 13 points to gain a 17-16 advantage.
“It was frustrating,” Truman’s Amanda Holliday said. “You’re playing so good, and all of a sudden they slam one at the 10-foot line.”
ESU led 26-25 before losing the momentum for good.
Truman scored the final five points — with the last two coming on blocks — for the 30-26 match-clinching victory.
“I think it’s been the best match so far this tournament,” Skoch said.
Shepard finished with 20 kills for ESU, while Megan Koster had 13.
Hannah Carter and Brittney Miller both added 11 kills apiece.
The season-ending loss was ESU’s third straight against Truman, all coming on three consecutive weekends in Kirksville.
Still, the Hornets (27-9) have no seniors and will return all their players for a potential deep NCAA run next year.
“We’re really happy,” Xu said, “with where we are right now.”
NCAA Tournament
Second Round
Friday at Kirksville, Mo.
No. 15 ESU 33 30 28 26
No. 4 Truman 35 27 30 30
Records — ESU 27-9, Truman 36-5.
Att — 721.