EMPORIA, Kan. – The No. 24 MoWest volleyball team (8-4, 0-1 MIAA) opened conference play with a straight-set loss to Emporia State (10-2, 1-0 MIAA) on Friday night inside W.L. White Auditorium. The Hornets secured the match with set scores of 25-23, 25-20, and 25-21.

In the opening set, the Griffons jumped out to a 5-1 lead before the Hornets battled back to even the score at 12-12. Both teams traded offensive runs, keeping it tight all the way to a 22-22 deadlock. ESU reached set point at 24-22, and while MWSU extended the frame, the Hornets closed it out with a narrow 25-23 set win.

Set two opened evenly with the score locked at 8-8 before Emporia State pulled away to a 23-15 lead. The Griffons fought back to trim the deficit to 24-20, but the Hornets closed it out to win the set, 25-20.

In the third set, MWSU jumped out to an 8-3 lead before Emporia State answered with a run of its own to move ahead 12-9. The score evened up at 16-16, but the Griffons couldn't regain momentum as the Hornets stretched the gap to 21-17. MWSU ultimately dropped the set, 25-21.

Holly Heldt paced MoWest with a team-high 11 kills, hitting .281 while also adding eight digs and two block assists.

Taylor Russell followed with seven kills, three block assists and three digs, while Emily Loy also chipped in seven kills and a dig.

Trista Marx contributed five kills and two block assists.

On the defensive side, Anna Weberg anchored the back row with a team-best 15 digs, and setter Hayley Barsky dished out 20 assists along with seven digs.

What's Next
MoWest travels to face No. 7 Washburn in Topeka, with first serve set for 6 p.m. Saturday.