Box Score

DeKALB, Ill. - Wichita State won its first match of the year with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Northern Illinois.  The Shockers won by scores of 18-25, 25-21, 22-25, 25-22, and 22-20.

Emily Adney led the Shockers with 18 kills and 10 digs, while Elizabeth Field had 14 kills and six blocks.  Sam Sanders had a career-high 14 kills and three service aces, while Jackie Church had a career-high 31 digs.  Chelsey Feekin finished with six kills, 47 assists and eight digs.

The first set went back-and-forth early as the two teams raced out to a 7-7 tie.  Northern Illinois took control of the set after that and outscored the Shockers 18-11 the rest of the way in a 25-18 win.

The Shockers jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the second set behind kills from Elizabeth Field, Chelsey Feekin and Emily Adney and a block by Field and Feekin.  A kill by Sam Sanders put the Shocks in front 21-13 and WSU held on to win the set 25-21 on a Feekin kill.

A block by Feekin gave the Shocks a 4-2 lead in the third set and a kill by Katie Reilly increased the lead to 9-6.  NIU then went on a 4-0 run to take a 10-9 lead and increased it to 21-14.  WSU pulled to within three down the stretch, but the Huskies won the set 25-22.

NIU jumped in front 10-5 in the fourth set.  A kill by Adney tied it at 12, but the Huskies took control with a 19-14 lead.  The Shockers answered with kills from Ashley Andrade and Field and a service ace by Church to pull within 19-17.  Back-to-back service aces by Sanders gave WSU a 22-21 lead and Adney had three kills down the stretch to give the Shocks a 25-22 win.

The fifth set went back-and-forth until the Huskies took a 9-5 lead.  WSU responded with a 4-0 run to tie it at nine and took the lead 11-10 after kills from Field and Reilly.  An NIU block gave the Huskies match point at 14-12, but an NIU hitting error and a kill by Adney tied the score at 14.  The two teams continued to trade points with the Shockers fighting off five match points.  A block by Field and Adney gave the Shocks a 20-19 lead and after NIU tied it at 20, a Field kill and an Andrade and Reilly block gave WSU a 22-20 win.

The Shockers finish off the tournament against North Dakota State at 11 a.m. on Sun., Aug. 26.

-Wichita State-