Every match Arica Shepard is the focal point of the opposition’s defense.
And every match that doesn’t matter.
Shepard’s consistency earned her a third MIAA player of the week award on Monday. She had 63 kills and 50 digs over four matches on Friday and Saturday at the Lady Blues Classic in Topeka, leading the Hornets to three straight sweeps after a five-set loss to West Texas A&M in the tournament opener.
“She played really smooth this weekend,” ESU coach Bing Xu said. “She really showed her senior leadership and that she’s a mature player. A couple times she hit it out of the court, and it didn’t influence her performance, and that’s the kind of composure that we want to see.”
Xu said Shepard has made improvements this season in not letting mistakes get to her during a match. Shepard has also not let any injuries slow her down.
For several weeks, Shepard has been playing with a thumb injury on her right hand. She plays every match with her thumb wrapped in tape. Shepard also had been playing through an abdominal injury that hurt every time she hit the ball.
The abdominal injury healed up with almost a week off between matches, and Shepard said she was playing pain-free this weekend.
It showed as she opened the tournament in Topeka with 21 kills and 17 digs against West Texas A&M. She followed that performance on Friday with 20 kills and 15 digs in a three-set win against Angelo State.
On Saturday against Southwestern Oklahoma State, Shepard had 11 kills and 13 digs, which was the 11th straight match that she finished with a double-double.
That streak ended on Saturday afternoon against Southeastern Oklahoma State when she had 11 kills and five digs.
For the tournament, Shepard led the field in kills per set (4.5), and she averaged 5.18 points per set. She also had 12 blocks.
Boner to have knee examined today
ESU middle hitter Brianne Boner had an appointment today in her hometown of Omaha, Neb., to have her injured knee examined.
Boner injured her right knee in the fifth set on Friday against West Texas A&M and missed the final three matches of the Lady Blues Crossover.
Boner has had swelling in her knee but Xu said on Monday she has been walking normally. Boner leads the Hornets with 45 blocks and is third on the team with 143 kills.
ESU drops two
spots in AVCA poll
Emporia State dropped two spots to No. 8 in Monday’s AVCA Top 25.
Last week, the Hornets were tied with West Texas A&M as the sixth-ranked teams, and West Texas beat ESU on Friday in five sets.
West Texas maintained its position at No. 6 in the poll and Washburn moved up to No. 7 after beating West Texas on Friday.
Central Missouri is the top-ranked MIAA team at No. 4. Nebraska-Omaha is ranked 15th, and Truman is the final MIAA team in at No. 21. Pittsburg State dropped from No. 21 out of the Top 25 this week.
Emporia State (17-2, 4-1 MIAA) travels to Pittsburg State on Friday for a 7 p.m. match.