June 10, 2009-Coming off their first MIAA regular season championship, the Emporia State volleyball team has announced their schedule  for the upcoming 2009 season. The Hornets, who finished second in the nation in attendance last season will play ten home matches this fall at White Auditorium.

ESU will open the season at the UNO Volleyball Showcase in Omaha, Neb. on Aug. 28 and 29. The Hornets will take on North Alabama, Dallas Baptist, Eastern New Mexico and Minnesota State in the two day tourney.  UNA, DBU and MSU all won at least 20 matches last season.

 

The Hornets will then travel to Wichita Falls, Texas for the MSU Hampton Inn-vitational on Sept. 4 and 5. Northwood (Mich.), a 2008 NCAA tourney team, will be among the four ESU opponents on the weekend. The Hornets will also take on Tarleton State, Central Oklahoma and host Midwestern State while in Texas.

ESU will travel to Wichita on Sept. 9 for a match against Newman and then go to Warrensburg, Mo. for a neutral site match against Edinboro (Penn.) on Sept. 12 before starting MIAA play.

The Hornets MIAA opener on Sept. 16 will be a rematch of the 2008 South Central Regional Championship against Truman.  ESU will make their 2009 home debut on Sept. 18 against Missouri Western and will play the next day against Northwest Missouri in White Auditorium.

For the first time in school history, ESU will take on Central Missouri without Peggy Martin on the Jennies bench when the Hornets travel to Warrensburg, Mo. on Sept. 23.  That will be the first of three straight matches against 2009 NCAA tournament teams for ESU.  The Hornets return to White Auditorium on  Sept. 26 for a match against Neb.-Omaha before heading up the Turnpike for the Lady Blues Regional Crossover.  ESU will open play in Topeka against West Texas A&M, a team ESU swept out of the NCAA tourney in 2008.  

The Hornets will finish the Crossover and the non-conference season with matches against Lone Star Conference schools Angelo State, Southwestern Oklahoma State and Southeastern Oklahoma State. ESU's 14 non-conference opponents had a combined record of 271-207 last season with eight 20 match winners and three NCAA tournament teams.

After the regional crossover, the Hornets will begin a three match MIAA road swing.  ESU will start the trip on Oct. 9 with contest at 2008 NCAA tourney team Pittsburg State. After matches at Missouri Southern and Southwest Baptist, the Hornets will return to White Auditorium on Oct. 16 for the 2009 edition of the "Turnpike Tussle" against Washburn.  The two teams split with each other last season, each winning on their home court.  ESU defeated WU 3-0 in front of an MIAA record crowd of 2,432 in their last meeting in White Auditorium. The Hornets will end the first round of MIAA play at home against Ft. Hays State on Oct. 17 and open the second round hosting Truman on Oct. 21.

The second round of MIAA play will mirror the first go around.  ESU will have Senior Night on Nov. 10 against Southwest Baptist before ending the regular season at Washburn on Nov. 13 and at Ft. Hays State on Nov. 14.  The NCAA South Central Regional Tournament is scheduled for Nov. 19-21 at a campus site to be determined with the Division II Volleyball Elite Eight set for Dec. 3-5.  The Hornets will play 13 of their 34 matches against teams that advanced to the NCAA tournament in 2008.

ESU returns four of six starters and their libero from last year's 34-4 MIAA Championship team.  Junior Ting Liu was a first-team AVCA All-American and the MIAA's Most Valuable Player while senior Arica Shepard earned thrid-team AVCA All-American honors.  Season tickets are on sale now at the ESU Athletic Ticket office located in the ESU Memorial Union.

 

2009 ESU Volleyball Schedule

Date	Opponent	Location	Time
Aug. 28-29	at UNO Volleyball Showcase	Omaha , Neb.
	( North Ala., Dallas Baptist, Eastern New Mexico, Minn. State)
Sept. 4-5	at MSU Hampton Inn-vitational	Wichita Falls , Texas
	( Tarleton State, Midwestern State, Northwood, Central Okla.)
Sept. 9	at Newman	Wichita , Kan.	7:00 p.m.
Sept. 12	vs. Edinboro at UCM Challenge	Warrensburg , Mo.	4:00 p.m.
Sept. 16	at *Truman	Kirksville , Mo.	7:00 p.m.
Sept. 18	* Missouri Western	Emporia	7:00 p.m.
Sept. 19	*Northwest Missouri	Emporia	4:00 p.m.
Sept. 23	at * Central Missouri	Warrensburg , Mo.	7:00 p.m.
Sept. 26	*Neb.-Omaha	Emporia	4:00 p.m.
Oct. 2-3	at Lady Blues Regional Crossover	Topeka , Kan.
	(West Texas A&M, Angelo State, Southwestern Okla., Southeastern Okla.)
Oct. 9	at * Pittsburg State	Pittsburg , Kan.	7:00 p.m.
Oct. 10	at * Missouri Southern	Joplin , Mo.	2:00 p.m.
Oct. 13	at *Southwest Baptist	Bolivar, Mo.	7:00 p.m.
Oct. 16	*Washburn	Emporia	7:00 p.m.
Oct. 17	* Ft. Hays State	Emporia	7:00 p.m.
Oct. 21	*Truman	Emporia	7:00 p.m.
Oct. 23	at * Missouri Western	St. Joseph , Mo.	7:00 p.m.
Oct. 24	at * Northwest Missouri	Maryville , Mo.	6:00 p.m.
Oct. 28	*Central Missouri	Emporia	7:00 p.m.
Oct. 31	at *Neb.-Omaha	Omaha , Neb.	4:00 p.m.
Nov. 6	* Pittsburg State	Emporia	7:00 p.m.
Nov. 7	* Missouri Southern	Emporia	7:00 p.m.
Nov. 10	*Southwest Baptist	Emporia	7:00 p.m.
Nov. 13	at *Washburn	Topeka , Kan.	7:00 p.m.
Nov. 14	at * Ft. Hays State	Hays, Kan.	4:00 p.m.
Nov. 19-21	at NCAA South Central Regional	TBA
Dec. 3-5	at NCAA Elite Eight	TBA

*MIAA Game
Home Matches in Bold

ESU Volleyball Ticket Prices

Season Tickets
Adult	$40
Junior/Senior	$20
Single Match Tickets
Adult	$5
Junior/Senior	$3

All seating for volleyball at White Auditorium is general admission.
An additional $1 per ticket will be added to single Match price against Washburn.