Box Score EMPORIA, Kan. – The No. 12-ranked Emporia State Hornets handed the Northwest Missouri State University volleyball squad a 3-0 defeat Friday night at White Auditorium in MIAA action.
 
The No. 12-ranked Hornets improved to 24-3 overall and 9-2 in MIAA as they won by set scores of 25-19, 25-20 and 25-19. The Bearcats dipped to 9-15 overall and 6-5 in MIAA play. ESU extended its win streak to nine in a row.
 
Sophia Gartner topped the squad with eight kills. Ellery Luhring posted a team-best eight digs. Mya Karrick handed out 15 assists and tallied five digs.

The Bearcats dropped the opening set 25-19 after twice cutting into ESU advantages, including a late four-point push that brought Northwest within 22-19. Earlier, after falling behind 13-5, the Bearcats worked back to 15-13 behind a block by Chloee Hayes and Gabrielle Gartner, a Mya Karrick service ace, kills from Maddie Roenfeld and Abby Bulthuis, and an Ellery Luhring ace. The Hornets answered with six straight points to move ahead 21-13 before Northwest made another run at 22-15. Lauren Schnettler served the Bearcats through four consecutive points, with Hayes and Sophia Gartner adding kills before Schnettler delivered back-to-back aces, but ESU took the final three points to close the set.

Northwest erased an early deficit to move ahead 9-7 in the second set, but the Hornets later answered and won the set 25-20. During that push, Bulthuis supplied a kill, Hayes teamed with Sophia Gartner on a block to tie it 7-7, and Hayes combined with Elle Heckenlively on the next point to put the Bearcats in front. ESU responded with five straight points to move ahead 12-9, though Northwest came back with a Sophia Gartner kill and a Hayes ace to close within 12-11. With the Hornets ahead 23-17 late, Gartner delivered three consecutive Northwest kills off Londyn Smith assists to make it 23-20 before ESU scored the final two points.

The Bearcats opened the third set with a Sophia Gartner-Roenfeld block for the first point, but the Hornets scored the next three points and moved in front 3-1. Northwest pulled within 6-5 on a Gabrielle Gartner kill and an ESU attack error, then cut an 11-7 margin to 11-9 with a Heckenlively kill and Karrick service ace. After the Hornets pushed the score to 19-14, Sophia Gartner answered with a kill and Hayes followed with an ace to cut the deficit to 19-16. Roenfeld, who had four kills in the set, added two more down the stretch and Gabrielle Gartner made it 23-19 with a kill, but ESU took the final two points to finish the set 25-19.
 
Northwest will finish the regular season Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at Pittsburg State.