CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Wichita State advanced to the championship of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament with a 3-1 win at Northern Iowa. The Shockers won by scores of 12-25, 26-24, 26-24 and 25-21.
Tabitha Brown led the Shockers with 16 kills, while
Emily Hiebert had 37 assists and a career-high 10 kills.
Dani Mostrom had a career-high 31 digs, while
Jody Larson had a triple-double with 12 kills, 10 assists and 21 digs.
A Kayla Haneline service ace gave UNI an early 9-7 lead in the first set and a Piper Thomas kill increased the Panther lead to 12-8. A Heather Hook service run put the Panthers up 17-8 before a
Dani Mostrom service ace cut the lead to 18-11. The Panthers went on to win the set 25-12.
A service ace by
Gabi Mostrom put the Shockers up 5-2 in the second set. The two teams went back and forth until a
Katy Dudzinski kill put WSU up 15-13. A
Tabitha Brown kill and a block by
Abbie Lehman and
Mikaela Raudsepp increased the Shocker lead to 20-16. An Amie Held kill cut the Shocker lead to 21-19 and the Panthers tied it at 22 with a block. A Thomas kill gave UNI a 23-22 lead, but
Jody Larson's kill tied it at 23. A Brown and Lehman block brought the Shockers to set point at 25-24 and WSU won it 26-24 on a Panther hitting error.
The Panthers raced out to a 4-0 lead in the third set, but a Brown kill tied the score at eight. The two teams traded points until kills from Larson and Brown and a block by Hiebert and Lehman put the Shockers up 14-12. Back-to-back service aces from Bri Weber tied the score at 15 and the Panthers reeled off three more to take an 18-15 lead. The Shockers tied it at 21 behind the serving of Hiebert, but a Weber kill gave UNI a 23-22 lead. Larson's kill tied it at 23 and the teams traded points until the Shockers used a Brown kill and a Panther hitting error to take a 26-24 win.
The fourth set went back and forth until a Brown kill and a Panther error put the Shockers in front 12-10. The two teams traded points until the Shockers used kills from Lehman and Raudsepp to take a 20-18 lead. A solo block from Dudzinski increased the lead to 22-19 and the Shockers reached match point at 24-21 on a kill from Larson. A Brown kill gave the Shockers a 25-21 win.
The Shockers will face Missouri State in the championship on Sat., Nov. 26 at 4 p.m.
