#3 Lopers Stung by the #27 Hornets Again

Kearney, Neb. – Freshman outside Lavra Krizanic had 23 kills and senior libero Boglarka Rady had 25 digs to help 27th-ranked Emporia State down 3rd-ranked Nebraska Kearney in four sets (15-25, -23, -23, -32) Saturday evening at the Health & Sports Center.

The Hornets (20-5, 11-3) take the season series from the Lopers (24-3, 11-3) and win in Kearney for the first time since 1986. UNK also sees its 41-match home court win streak come to an end; it was the third longest in program history.

"They were great and we had stretches of being great ourselves. You lose three sets by two points, you go extras and had plenty of chances there in the fourth. But I thought more than anything it was their ability to get the ball to 17 (Krizanic). We had no answer for it," said UNK head coach Rick Squiers. "(Rady) made the most impact on a match by a libero maybe I've ever seen. The fourth is basically over but she goes and fishes the ball out of the (Emporia) bench. And maybe what gets overlooked is all the second contact balls she gets and puts them right on the net for people to swing at."

UNK easily won the first set as they held E-State to a -.045 hitting efficiency (8-10-44). The Lopers added 15 kills on offense and then grabbed a 13-6 lead in set two. However, that's when the Hornets got back into it as they tied things up at 18 and 22 and then won by two. Sets three and four then featured 29 ties and 12 lead changes.

"We maybe had a chance to get away from them in the second, but we slipped just a little and they took advantage of that," said Squiers. "We also were up 23-22 in the second and let it get away."

The Lopers had just eight kills in set three but tied things at 23 after a kill by sophomore right side Brynn Stowell (Olathe, Kan.). However, a kill and combined block gave ESU a 2-1 lead on the scoreboard. The epic fourth set was tight all the way through with UNK first reaching set point at 24-23. The teams then went back forth, rally after rally, with the Lopers grabbing a 31-20 lead on a kill by sophomore middle Sydney Davis (Dannebrog).

That's when one of the many big plays in the match occurred as Italian senior Camilla Ossola made a one handed save of an errant pass near the Hornet bench. Rady managed to send it over the net and the Hornets eventually tied things up again. The final two points of the nearly three-hour match were a kill by freshman Emma Klett and an unforced Loper error.

"We couldn't catch a break which was different from last night. We were playing uphill, they had a lot to do with it, but I thought our team fought their hearts out and played well enough to win but just short on a couple of plays," said Squiers.

From Slovenia, Krizanic reached her kill total in 69 swings (.206) while also having 16 digs, seven blocks and going 37 for 37 in serve receive. In addition to her defense, Rady (Hungary) had five assists and was 15 of 16 in serve receive. The Hornets also got a big contribution from Klett (15 kills) and Mia Frisbie (eight blocks, four kills).

Senior outside Emilee Lane (Hays, Kan.) had a team-high 16 kills on 55 swings with Davis recording seven kills, six blocks and hitting .462 in playing the final three sets. Next, Stowell had eight kills and five stuffs with libero Ellie Spang (Ft. Wayne, Ind.) at 17 digs. Finally, Emporia had 14 more digs, nine more kills, two more blocks and two more aces than the Lopers.

The regular season ends next weekend with Northwest Missouri (Thurs.) and nationally ranked Missouri Western (Fri.) visiting Buckle court.