Emporia State coach Bing Xu came close to calling a timeout after his team gave up five straight points in Game Three against Southwest Baptist Tuesday night.
Then, he stopped himself.
“I saw their emotions were pretty calm and they knew what they were going to do instead of starting to panic,” Xu said. “Before, we had that (panic). Even when we were down by two or three, you could see the panic on their face, but today, I didn’t see it.”
The composed Hornets proved they didn’t need the break, rallying for the Game Three win in a dominant 30-19, 30-23, 30-23 victory over SBU.
“The more they’re playing,” Xu said, “the more they’re growing up.”
The No. 23 Hornets trailed 14-12 and 17-16 in the third game before getting themselves out of their funk.
ESU came back to take a 24-23 lead, then scored the final six points of the match. Arica Shepard had two kills in the stretch, while Brianne Boner added a solo block.
“I think (Coach) knew that we could come back,” ESU junior Megan Koster said. “He has faith in us. It’s not like it was the first time we’ve been down before. He knows we can do it.”
ESU also responded well after getting off to a slow start in Game One.
The Hornets fell in an early 5-3 hole before putting together separate 3-0 runs to build a 12-9 lead.
“In the beginning,” Xu said, “we told them we need to keep the pressure on.”
ESU did, later adding a 5-0 spurt — capped by a slam-dunk spike from Kristin Fletcher — to push the advantage to 26-16.
“That’s the game I want to see from our team,” Xu said. “No matter who’s on the other side, we need to play our game and keep charging and keep fighting for every single play, every single game. That’s what we did tonight.”
The Hornets cruised in Game Two, taking four of the first five points and never trailing after that.
Koster and Shepard led ESU, contributing 14 kills apiece. Ting Liu added 51 assists.
ESU might have gotten its best play, though, from defensive specialist and libero Amy Byfield.
The sophomore registered 28 digs, which was nearly double her average of 4.81 kills per game.
“She picked up every single ball,” Xu said. “You can tell she has a desire in the back row and wants every single ball.”
Byfield said she was just happy to be busy.
“I like it,” she said. “It’s boring back there when nothing comes to you.”
With the victory, ESU now has a 34-1 all-time series lead over SBU. The Bearcats’ only win against the Hornets came in 1987.
ESU (15-5, 5-2 MIAA) played in only its fourth home match on Tuesday. The Hornets have just three more home dates remaining and will not return to White Auditorium until their Oct. 16 matchup against Newman.
Tuesday at Emporia
Southwest Baptist 19 23 23
No. 23 Emporia State 30 30 30
Records — Southwest Baptist 8-14, 2-5 MIAA; Emporia State 15-5, 5-2 MIAA.