Box Score Kearney, Neb. – Sophomore outside hitter Kendall Schroer had 11 kills and senior right side Annie Wolfe added 10 more to help third-ranked Nebraska-Kearney sweep Emporia State (-12, -17, -18) Tuesday night at the Health & Sports Center.

This was an MIAA Tournament quarterfinal match. By winning and being the top-seed in the tournament, UNK (33-1) will host the semifinals and finals this weekend.

The Lopers will face 16th-ranked and four-seed Central Missouri (23-9) Friday around 7:30 p.m. The early match starts at 5:00 p.m. and will feature 11th-ranked Washburn (27-5) and 12th-ranked Central Oklahoma (30-3).

UNK hit nearly 250 points higher than the Hornets (.280-.033) to trail only three times all night. Emporia did put up a fight in the third set, holding leads of 9-5 and 13-9.

However, the Lopers used a 12-2 run to quickly quiet the Hornets (15-18) and open up a six-point cushion. The stretch featured five Kearney kills and four unforced E-State errors.

"We were concerned on how we started the third set. I could see it developing at the end of the second set. We found this cruise control mode and that's a dangerous thing to do in the postseason," said UNK head coach Rick Squiers. "We were pretty fortunate to dig out of that hole. Annie Wolfe had a lot to do with that, going back to the service line and steadying everything."

Schroer (Ogallala) had two kills down the stretch, the last one closing out the night. The 2016 honorable mention All-MIAA pick reached her offensive output in 27 swings to hit .333.

Named MIAA Player of the Year earlier today, Wolfe (Omaha Marian) hit an even .500, dug up 10 balls, recorded two blocks and had two assists. This marks her eighth double double of the season.  

Also for the Lopers, Lincoln junior middle Tara Ziegelbein had nine kills, two blocks, two digs and hit .368 with Minden defensive specialist Ali Rowse at eight digs.

Emporia saw Millard South graduate and sophomore Jamie Hauptman have ta team-best 10 kills.