MATCH 30: SBU BEARCATS (10-19, 5-12 MIAA)
vs #12 EMPORIA STATE HORNETS (26-2, 14-2 MIAA)
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9 • 7:00 PM
MEYER SPORTS CENTER • BOLIVAR, MO

M31: at MISSOURI SOUTHERN LIONS (17-12, 7-10 MIAA)
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12 • 7:00 PM
PLATT ATHLETIC CENTER • JOPLIN, MO

M32: at PITTSBURG STATE GORILLAS (11-18, 4-13 MIAA)
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13 • 2:00 PM
LANCE ARENA • PITTSBURG, KS

LIVE STATS: ESU | MSSU | PSU

Game Notes

BOLIVAR, Mo. -- With just three matches left in the season, the SBU Bearcats have a chance to record the best conference record in school history, with opportunities against #12 Emporia State, Missouri Southern, and Pittsburg State.

Entering the final week of the season, SBU sits at 5-12 in the MIAA, matching their win totals in conference the past two seasons. The Bearcats have won 17 MIAA matches during the Richardson era (2007-10), the most conference wins by an SBU coach.

Last month, junior Ashley Jurgensmeyer broke SBU's all-time kills record, against Pittsburg State; Jurgensmeyer tied and broke the record in the fourth game of a thrilling, come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Gorillas. Jurgensmeyer now has 335 kills on the season, a team-high and third-most in the MIAA. Jurgensmeyer is looking to become the first Bearcat since Keri Franklin (1994-96) to lead the team in kills for three straight seasons.

Setter Brianna Wallace has a chance by season's end to also set a new career record. Wallace currently has 940 assists on the season (8.95/game), and 3,796 over her career, just 110 behind Chelsea Kenney's school record of 3,906 assists.

Defensively, the Bearcats are led by seniors Marcy Greenwade and Joanna Granzow. In last week's mach against Fort Hays, Greenwade collected her 1,000th career dig. The senior libero leads the team with 4.18 digs per set, 8th-best in the MIAA. Up front, Granzow has a total of 71 blocks, the second-highest total for the Bearcats, behind Jurgensmeyer's 103 blocks. Alyx Glover (2.30), Wallace (2.10), and Britni Reed (2.10) are all averaging above two digs per game as well.

THE COACHES AND THE ALL-TIME SERIES
Bearcat head coach Kelly Richardson is in her fourth season, and looks to further improve a program that has won more games over the past two seasons than from 2002-2007 combined. Over her first three years, Richardson has seen six players earn All-MIAA honors, and has recorded a career mark of 42-86.

Bing Xu is in his third year as the head coach at Emporia State after serving three years as the assistant coach for the Hornets. He is 54-27 in his first three seasons at ESU.

Now in his sixth year as Southern head coach, Chris Willis has guided the Lions to 90 wins and a NCAA regional appearance in 2006. His overall record at Southern of 90-113 rank him third all-time at Southern in coaching victories.

Ibraheem Suberu is in his 12th season at Pittsburg State, where he has compiled a 208-167 career record. SBU holds a 26-116-1 record against the three opponents this week. Earlier this season, the Bearcats defeated the Gorillas in five sets, the first win over Pittsburg State in 10 years.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Emporia is reeling from being upset on back-to-back nights, to Pittsburg State and Missouri Southern. Last week marked the first time in the past 112 matches that the Hornets lost two in a row. Emporia boasts one of the best offenses in the country, averaging 14.4 kills per set, eighth-best in Division II. Junior hitter Brittney Miller leads the Hornets front line, and is among the top 25 nationally in a number of statistical categories, including hitting percentage (.392, 10th in NCAA D-II), kills per set (4.09, 14th), and points per set (4.46, 25th). Setter Ting Lu also ranks as one of the best at her position, with 11.41 assists per set, the 8th highest total in the nation. Defensively, Sophomore Meg Schwartz leads the team in digs, with 4.3 per set (7th in MIAA), while up front Brianna Boner (78 total blocks, 9th in MIAA) will look to stop the Bearcat attack.

The Missouri Southern Lions are riding high off their upset win over Emporia, and will hope to carry that momentum into their match against rival Pittsburg State before hosting the Bearcats. The Lions sit at 7-10 in conference play, meaning that depending on the outcome against the Gorillas, Friday's match against SBU could shake up the final standings. The Lions have one of the better defenses in the MIAA, allowing just a .199 hitting percentage, and collecting 2.19 blocks per set, second-most in the league. Junior Amelia Judge leads the conference with 1.1 blocks per set, just one of three players in conference to average more than one full block per game.

Pittsburg State also enjoyed an upset over the Hornets last week, and sit at 4-13, one game behind SBU, with three winnable games left on their schedule. The Gorillas have a strong back line, averaging 16.7 digs per set, third-most in the MIAA. Cassie Wilson (4.76 digs/set, 4th in MIAA) and Molly Bergkamp (3.16 digs/set) lead the team, while Corrine Stringer has a team-high 2.92 kills per game.