With the best MIAA defensive team coming to town on Wednesday, Emporia State proved on Saturday at Northwest Missouri that it can also win with defense.
The seventh-ranked Hornets swept Northwest Missouri 25-14, 25-17, 25-23, holding the Bearcats to .104 hitting in the match.
ESU trailed 3-2 to open the first set before taking control with a 9-3 run on the way to the 25-14 win. NWMSU hit negative-.065 in the opening frame.
The second set was tied at 10-10 and ESU led just 16-13 before a 5-0 run capped by Arica Shepard's four straight kills pushed the lead to 20-13. The Hornets had two set points before Brittany Miller ended the set with a kill in the 25-17 win.
Coming out of the intermission, neither team took more than a two-point lead in the third set. After trailing 20-19, the Hornets scored six of the final nine points to take a sweep on Brianne Boner's eighth kill of the night.
Senior Arica Shepard led the Hornets with a match-high 12 kills and 14 digs for her fifth straight double-double. Junior setter Ting Liu nearly had a triple-double with 36 assists, 13 digs and six kills on .385 hitting. It was her fourth double-double in the last five matches. Amy Byfield led ESU with 16 digs, her 20th straight match with at least 10 digs.
The Hornets improved to 24-3 and 11-2 in the MIAA. They return to White Auditorium on Wednesday to take on No. 4 Central Missouri at 7 p.m. The Jennies gave the Hornets their first loss this season on Sept. 23. The Hornets could move into a tie with the Jennies for first place with a win.