SPRINGFIELD, Ill.- The Wichita State volleyball team kept sole possession of first place in the Missouri Valley Conference Friday night after winning a close match 3-2 against Illinois State. The Shockers won by scores of 23-25, 25-22, 26-24, 19-25 and 17-15.

Five Shockers recorded double-digit kills, with a team-high 19 by junior Jody Larson. Shimen Fayad added 14 kills, Mickaela Raudsepp and Abbie Lehman each had 12, and Katie Reilly added 11. Reilly led the Shockers with a .450 hitting percentage, and Lehman contributed four blocks for the win.

WSU trailed 3-1 early in the first set, but an ace by Dani Mostrom fueled a four point run for the Shockers. A kill by Reilly tied the set 7-7, but the Redbirds would regain their lead 15-9. Despite the Shockers tying the score 22-22 after an ace by Fayad, Illinois State won the set 25-23.

Mostrom's ace gave Wichita State a 5-4 lead in the second set, followed by kills by Lehman and Emily Hiebert. Fayad would add back-to-back kills to put the Shockers up 18-11. Wichita State won the set 25-22 and tied the match.

Several Redbird errors allowed the Shockers to jump out to an early 4-1 lead in the third set. Both teams battled back and forth to tie the score 17-all late in the set after a block by Lehman. The Shockers took the lead 22-21 with a Raudsepp kill, and went on to win 26-24.

Wichita State started strong in the fourth set, going up 7-4 after a kill by Reilly. Illinois State tied it 8-8, and scored six of the last seven points to win the set 25-19.

A close fifth set had both teams trading points during most of the set and had a tie score 10 times. Wichita State took the lead 8-7 after a kill by Lehman.

The Redbirds held a slim lead during most of set late, but the Shockers fought back to win 17-15 and took the match 3-2.

Wichita State is now 8-1 in the conference and maintains a two game lead.

The Shockers are next in action tomorrow, Oct. 24, at Indiana State. The match is set to start at 6 p.m.