Box Score

WICHITA, Kan. - With nearly 5,000 roaring fans behind them, the Shockers feverishly battled the Missouri Valley Conference's top team on senior night but fell in five sets, 15-25, 25-19, 19-25, 25-20, 9-15.

As to be expected from the Missouri Valley Conference's top two teams, the Shockers (21-5,12-4) and Panthers (26-2, 16-0) stuck close to each other to start the first set, trading points back and forth. Northern Iowa crept out to a 13-8 lead, but a senior Katie Niggemeyer kill and block assist pulled the Shocks closer, 13-10. The Panthers rolled out five straight points, however, to give the visiting squad the 18-10 advantage. UNI hung on for the 25-15 victory.

WSU came out firing in the second set as junior Sarah McGee and sophomore Mary Elizabeth Hooper landed back-to-back kills, pushing the Shockers to an early 4-0 lead and forcing a timeout call from the UNI bench. Freshman Emily Adney slammed a kill of her own to give the home team a 9-3 advantage. The Panthers came roaring back to tighten the deficit, 14-12. Senior Emily Stockman fired off a kill and a pair of aces to again open the Shocker lead, 18-13. Stockman and Wadsworth scored kills before Hooper knocked down the final one to tie the match at a set apiece, 25-19.

The Shockers shook off an early deficit in the third set using kills from Hooper and senior Kim Wadsworth to pull within one, 8-7. From there, the two teams commenced in a back-and-forth battle. As the Panthers would pull forward, the Shockers would have an answer. Consecutive kills from McGee and Niggemeyer narrowed the Panther lead, 20-18. Yet, the Panthers never let up. An Amy Braun kill sealed the third set in UNI's favor, 25-19.

The fourth set provided the closest battle of the evening as neither team could gain ground on the other. Niggemeyer connected for a kill to give the Shocks a boost, 15-13. The pace of the match picked up in intensity as the scored locked up at 17-17 before WSU scored two straight to force a UNI timeout. Wadsworth stepped up in front of the roaring senior night crowd, blasting a pair of kills to give the Shocks the 22-18 advantage. A Panther error gave the Shockers a 25-20 victory to force the fifth and decisive set.

UNI jumped out to an 8-4 lead in the final set. Although the Shockers never stopped battling, the Panthers' lead grew to more than they could overcome. A block assist by McGee and junior Amanda Backes followed by a Panther error narrowed the gap. However, a final UNI kill ended the set and match in the Panthers' favor, 15-9.

The Shockers five seniors were honored before the game and they shined on their senior night. Stockman and Wadsworth combined for 25 kills to lead the Shocker offense. Wadsworth led with 13 while Stockman tallied 12. Stockman also led the defense with 19 digs while Niggemeyer tallied six block assists.

The Shockers are next in action on Fri., Nov. 20 when they travel to Illinois State.