KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- If the 10th-ranked Emporia State Hornets (22-1, 8-0 MIAA) want to see their winning streak crack 20 matches, they will need to win at ninth-ranked Washburn (21-2, 8-2 MIAA) Friday night (Oct. 17) as the MIAA volleyball schedule reaches the halfway point.

The Lady Blues' only losses in 2008 have come away from Lee Arena -- at now-No. 12 Truman in five sets on Sept. 19 and in three at now-No. 14 Central Missouri one week later. WU has dropped just three sets in eight home matches this season.

The Hornets are coming off a week during which they survived their first five-set match of the season, claiming a 3-2 home win over now-No. 15 Pittsburg State last Friday (Oct. 10).

In a unique twist to the match, the top offensive threats for each team are twin sisters.

ESU junior OH Arica Shepard is averaging a team-best 4.12 points per set coming into the week, while WU sophomore OH Ashley Shepard enters the Lady Blues match Wednesday at Fort Hays State (9-12, 2-6 MIAA) averaging 3.84 points per set in her last 10 matches (29 sets) -- nearly a point better than she had in her first 13 matches.

Washburn goes into FHSU riding a seven-match win streak. The Lady Blues also at Northwest Missouri State (6-14, 3-5 MIAA) Tuesday (Oct. 21).

After getting a 3-0 non-conference win over Quincy (Ill.) at home last Tuesday (Oct. 14), the UCM Jennies (21-6, 8-2 MIAA) go back on the road in MIAA play with matches at Nebraska-Omaha (9-10, 5-4 MIAA) on Friday and Southwest Baptist (10-11, 2-6 MIAA) Tuesday.

Central Missouri will be the Mavericks' second nationally-ranked opponent of the week -- UNO also will host No. 22 Augustana (S.D.), one of its former rivals from the North Central Conference, on Wednesday at Sapp Fieldhouse.

Likewise, SBU has the No. 15 Gorillas of PSU (19-5, 5-4 MIAA) coming to Bolivar on Saturday after hosting Missouri Southern (6-14, 1-7 MIAA) the night before at the Meyer Sports Center.

The Truman Bulldogs (19-5, 6-2 MIAA) bring a six-match win streak into this week's slate -- they'll head to Northwest Friday before going to Missouri Western (3-21, 0-8 MIAA).

EMPORIA STATE SURVIVES AGAINST GORILLAS: The then-No. 11 Emporia State Hornets hit .478 (12 kills, 1 error, 23 attempts) in the final set to win the first five-set match they played this season, as they knocked off then-No. 13 Pittsburg State Friday night (Oct. 10) at White Auditorium.

The Hornets won the first two sets by scores of 25-13 and 25-21 before the Gorillas rallied to claim the next two by counts of 25-17 and 25-20. ESU won the tie-breaking set, 15-12.

Junior OH Arica Shepard hit .434 (26-3-53) and scored 26 points (all kills) for the Hornets. She had 13 kills over the first two sets, and four more in the deciding frame. The Hornets hit .324 (29-7-68) in the first two sets while holding PSU to a .089 (24-7-78) mark.

The Gorillas came back and blistered the ball at a .529 (19-1-34) clip in the third set -- as senior MH Linda Igbinigie, junior OH Pamela Cartagena and sophomore OH/RS Valeen Finney combined for 13 kills on 18 swings with no errors.

PSU had six team blocks in the fourth set and held ESU to a .120 (17-11-50) attack percentage -- combined with the Gorillas hitting .324 (12-1-34), they evened the match.

Sophomore RH Brittany Miller added 17.5 points (15 kills, 5 block assists) for ESU. Cartagena scored 17.5 points (16 kills, 1 block solo, 1 block assist) to pace Pitt State, while Igbinigie added 17 (16 kills, 2 block assists).

Sophomore S Ting Liu had 66 assists -- the most by an MIAA player this season -- on ESU's 73 kills. Junior S Emily Vosseler had 36 assists for the Gorillas while freshman S Samantha Ball added 25.

TRUMAN WINS IN FOUR AT UCM: The No. 12 Truman Bulldogs had 17 team blocks and hit .311 (56-9-151) as they handed No. 14 Central Missouri its first home loss of 2008, 3-1 (25-20, 25-20, 23-25, 25-14) Wednesday night (Oct. 8).

The Bulldogs were led offensively by a trio of players °© senior MH Allie Cherven, senior RH Melissa Keck and junior Lauren Graybeal (Olathe, Kan.; Olathe South) °© who combined to hit .427 (32-3-75) for the match.

Cherven had a team-high 16 points (12 kills, 1 block solo, six block assists), as Truman moved to 19-1 in the last 20 meetings between the two programs dating back to 2000.

Truman held the Jennies to just a .099 attack percentage (54-35-191). Senior OH Eli Medina had a match-high 23 digs for the Bulldogs.

Freshman MH Paula Harris led the Jennies with 19.5 points (19 kills, 1 block assist) -- including six points in the third-set win.

It was the Bulldogs' first win in four sets this season (1-4).

SETTING THEM UP: Emporia State sophomore S Ting Liu was ranked second on the NCAA Division II assist leaders through matches of Oct. 12.

The Beijing, China, native is averaging 12.05 assists per set in 2008 -- only Maggie McNamara of top-ranked Concordia-St. Paul (Minn.) has a better averaged (12.83 aps).

As a team, the Hornets are third in Division II this week (13.49 aps), behind just Concordia-St. Paul (14.25 aps) and fellow MIAA member Pittsburg State (13.57 aps).

The Gorillas use a two-setter offense, with junior S Emily Vosseler getting the bulk of the work (7.27 aps).

Central Missouri is fifth at 13.29 aps, led by junior S Caitlin Pankratz, who is 11th on the individual list with an average of 11.33.

KNOCKING THEM DOWN: If your squad has a lot of assists, it means there are a lot of kills to go with them.

Pitt State is third in kills this week with an average of 14.51 per set. Only West Virginia State (14.95) and Concordia-St. Paul (14.94) have better averages.

Emporia State is fourth with 14.38 kills per set, while Central Missouri is fifth at 14.34. When you add Washburn (11th -- 14.03 kps) and Truman (15th -- 13.86 kps), the MIAA has five schools in the top 15.

QUICK SETS: Truman is eighth in Division II this week with 2.44 blocks per set... Nebraska-Omaha is ninth in D-II digs average at 18.1 per set... Pittsburg State senior MH Linda Igbinigie needs 3 blocks to pass Central Missouri's Becky Haug (2002-05 -- 542) for seventh place on the MIAA's career list, and 10 to catch Washburn's Jill Gassen (1998-2001 -- 549) for sixth... Truman senior RH Melissa Keck needs 15 kills to reach 1,000 for her career.

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MIAA Volleyball Athletes of the Week

For the week of play ending Oct. 12

HITTER:
Ellen Thommes, MH
University of Nebraska-Omaha

Thommes, a 6-foot-0 junior from Omaha, Neb., hit .507 (38 kills, 3 errors, 69 attempts) and averaged 4.56 points per set as the Mavericks posted a 2-1 record for the week.

In a home sweep of Northwest Missouri State Wednesday night (Oct. 8), she hit .529 (10-1-17) and added two block assists for 11 points. She also had two digs and an assist.

At Missouri Western Friday (Oct. 10), Thommes had 15 points (14 kills, 2 block assists) and hit .560 (14-0-25) with two digs as UNO picked up a 3-0 win.

She hit .444 (14-2-27) and scored 15 points (14 kills, 2 block assists) in a 3-0 loss at No. 12 Truman the next day.

Thommes is a graduate of Marian High School.

Others Nominated: Melissa Keck, RH, TSU; Ashley Jurgensmeyer, MH, SBU; Mollie Lacy, MH, WU; Arica Shepard, OH, ESU.

Previous winners: 9/1 -- Rachel Fister, OH, UCM; 9/8 -- Monica Miesner, OH, WU; 9/15 -- Monica Miesner, OH, WU; 9/22 -- Paula Harris, MH, UCM; 9/29 -- Pamela Cartagena, OH, PSU; 10/6 -- Arica Shepard, OH, ESU.

SPECIALIST:
Kate Hampson, S
Washburn University

Hampson, a 5-foot-7 junior from Fort Collins, Colo., became Washburn's career assist leader as the No. 8 Lady Blues won three matches last week.

With her seventh assist in WU's 3-1 home win over No. 13 Pittsburg State Saturday (Oct. 11), Hampson surpassed Lindsey Kersting (1999-2002 -- 3,915) as the school's career leader. She finished with 54 assists to bring her career total to 3,963, and added 11 digs, four kills and four block assists.

In a sweep at Missouri Southern Wednesday (Oct. 8), Hampson had 32 assists and eight digs, while serving four aces on 27 attempts. She also had a block assist and a kill.

She hit .667 (4 kills, no errors, 6 attempts) and had 28 assists in a home sweep of Southwest Baptist, adding three digs and three block assists.

Hampson is a graduate of Rocky Mountain High School.

Others Nominated: Ting Liu, S, ESU; Ashley Petak, S, TSU; Brianna Wallace, S, SBU.

Previous winners: 9/1 -- Whitney Boehler, L, TSU; 9/8 -- Ting Liu, S, ESU; 9/15 -- Ting Liu, S, ESU; 9/22 -- Ting Liu, S, ESU; 9/29 -- Caitlin Pankratz, S, UCM; 10/6 -- Ting Liu, S, ESU.

-- MIAA --