Box Score

OMAHA, Neb. - Wichita State (24-5) advanced to the semifinals of the 2009 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament with a 3-1 win over Southern Illinois.  The Shockers won by scores of 25-15, 25-27, 25-23 and 25-19.

Emily Stockman led WSU with 20 kills, while Sarah McGee had 16 kills, Kim Wadsworth had 12 kills and Emily Adney had a career-high 10 kills.  Mary Elizabeth Hooper collected 54 assists, while Melissa Granville had 24 digs.

Back-to-back Saluki hitting errors put WSU up 4-1 early in the first set before back-to-back SIU kills and a block tied the score at four.  A kill  by Emily Stockman gave WSU a 7-4 advantage and led to a SIU timeout.  Another Stockman kill increased the lead to 13-6 and back-to-back kills by Kim Wadsworth put WSU up 19-11.  The Shockers won the set 25-15 on a kill by Wadsworth.

The Salukis raced out to a 6-2 lead in the second set and increased it to 11-6 after a service ace.  The Shockers pulled to within 17-14 on a kill by Stockman and to within 20-19 on a block by Sarah McGee.  Back-to-back blocks by McGee and Mary Elizabeth Hooper tied the score at 23 and a kill by Stockman gave WSU its first lead of the set at 24-23.  SIU scored two-straight to go up 25-24 and won the set 27-25.

The two teams battled back-and-forth early in the third set until a Wadsworth kill gave WSU an 18-13 lead.  Three-straight Saluki kills cut their deficit to 18-16 and they tied it at 22 with a kill.  A kill by McGee and a block by Wadsworth brought the Shockers to set point at 24-22 and WSU won 25-23 on a kill by Wadsworth.

A kill by McGee gave the Shocks an early 8-4 lead in the fourth set and a Hooper kill increased the lead to 17-10.  A 3-0 run by the Salukis made the score 17-10, but back-to-back kills by Stockman put the Shocks back up 19-13.  Another 3-0 Saluki run cut the lead to 19-16, but the Shockers responded with a 4-0 run of their own to go ahead 22-16.  WSU closed out the set with a 25-19 win.

The Shockers will face No. 2 seed Missouri State at 4 p.m. on Fri., Nov. 27 with the winner advancing to the championship match.