When the fourth-ranked Emporia State volleyball team travels to Wichita Falls, Texas, for a two-day, four-match tournament starting Friday, the Hornets will not just be looking to win.
The Hornets are virtually a lock to win all four matches — their best opponent by record, Central Oklahoma, is only 2-2 — but what Bing Xu and his team wants to see is not whether they win, but how.
They already passed the first few tests last weekend at the UNO Showcase, winning all four matches 3-0, including a sweep of No. 18 Minnesota State.
“We went out there and accomplished what we wanted to do, go out there and prove why we were ranked so high,” senior Arica Shepard said. “So we had an awfully good start.”
The Hornets also passed a few other tests, the first of which was to prove that outside hitter Megan Lueger and middle hitter Katelyn Kaiser would be able to replace last year’s senior starters, Hannah Carter and Megan Koster.
“The night before we went there I was still kind of a little bit worried, still kind of a new team even though we have four starters back, but two new spots with Megan Lueger and Katelyn Kaiser, but both of them played well and stepped up to help the team at the tournament,” Xu said. “I think we have great chemistry there.”
It helps that Kaiser, a junior, and Lueger, a sophomore, had already been around the program and are not really learning on the spot.
“It really doesn’t feel like there’s anybody different on the court,” Shepard said, “just because they fit in so well chemistry-wise.”
As for the other four Hornet starters, Shepard is still racking up the kills — she had 55 in four matches and was the MIAA hitter of the week. Setter Ting Liu also had a solid weekend with 140 assists. Amy Byfield provided solid defense and Brianne Boner provided her usual presence in the middle with a team-high 13 blocks.
The one question mark has been Brittney Miller, who had an MRI on her left shoulder that showed she had a strained rotator cuff and a bone bruise. Miller’s doctor suggested she sit out four to six weeks. Miller told her doctor that wasn’t an option.
“It’s really bothersome, but I’m just going to try to get through it,” Miller said.
Miller proved as long as her shoulder doesn’t get worse — a tear in her rotator cuff could eventually be a possibility — she should be fine. She was second in the team in kills with 35 in the first four matches, and she said she’s not holding back.
“I’m so competitive, I couldn’t just not hit through the pain,” Miller said.
So with Miller playing well despite her injuries, the preseason question marks have pretty much been answered. But the Hornets still have their doubters.
Even though they have yet to drop a game, they did drop from No. 3 to No. 4 in the AVCA volleyball coaches poll. West Texas A&M jumped ahead of them, which is a team the Hornets are familiar with. The Hornets beat the Lady Buffs in last year’s Regional semifinal, and WT’s new coach is former Truman coach Jason Skoch. Truman has ended Emporia State’s season each of the last three years.
“All the players, they have something that motivates them, and that’s part of it,” Xu said. “Whatever happens, we say treat it as motivation.”
The Hornets also want to take the next step as a program this year. Getting to the Regional Championship last year was an accomplishment, but with the talent they have back and Shepard being a senior, this is the year they would really like to take the next step.
Last year’s Hornets got off to a good start, but they did lose one match in their first tournament, falling to Michigan Tech 3-1. Shepard said that after this weekend, everyone in attendance told her that the team looked better than last year.
“Right now everything looks a little bit quicker and maturity-wise, we’re a little bit smoother,” Xu said. “Not a whole lot of up and down. That’s what we want to see. That’s the team we want to build, and so far we’re going in the right direction.”
Xu wants to also see a team that’s consistent, and a big part of that is not playing down to your competition. So with the competition this weekend expected to be less than stellar, the Hornets are challenging themselves in other ways.
“I would like if they are not better-caliber teams, that we would stay at our game and just go out there and dominate,” Shepard said. “Keep the winning-in-three.”