Postgame Comments:
Chris Lamb
LINCOLN, Neb. – Wichita State (24-8) ended the season with a loss to TCU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Horned Frogs won by scores of 25-17, 25-23 and 22-25 and 25-20.
Tabitha Brown led the Shockers with 18 kills, while
Emily Hiebert had 38 assists and
Dani Mostrom had 29 digs.
TCU grabbed a 10-7 lead in the first set after a kill by Ashley Smith. Back-to-back kills from
Jody Larson and
Tabitha Brown pulled the Shockers to within 13-10, but TCU answered with two more to take a 15-10 lead at the media timeout. An
Emily Hiebert service ace and
Mikaela Raudsepp kill pulled WSU to within 17-16 and forced a TCU timeout. Two-straight Horned Frog kills and a block put TCU back up 22-17 and they went on to win the set 25-17.
The Horned Frogs raced out to a quick 7-3 lead in the second set, but the Shockers responded with a 3-0 run to make the score 7-6. TCU took a 12-9 lead, but kills from Hiebert, Brown and Larson tied it at 12. The Frogs went back in front 15-13, but a Raudsepp kill and two Frog errors gave WSU a 16-15 lead. After TCU tied the set at 16, WSU answered with kills from Lehman and Hiebert to go in front 18-16. The Frogs reeled off four-straight points to take a 20-18 lead, but the Shockers tied it at 21 on a TCU hitting error. A Smith kill and Shocker hitting error put TCU back up 23-21, but Brown answered with two-straight kills to tie it at 23. The Frogs ended the set with two-straight points for a 25-23 win.
A Brown kill gave WSU a 3-1 lead in the third set, but the Frogs answered with four-straight to take a 5-3 lead. WSU used two-straight blocks and a Brown kill to take a 6-5 lead and increased it to 11-6 after a Frog ball handling error. An ace by Smith pulled the Frogs within 17-15 and they tied it on a kill by Sarita Mikals. The Frogs took a 19-17 lead, but the Shockers tied it at 19 on a block by Larson and Lehman. Two more blocks, by Lehman and Brown, gave the Shockers a 21-19 lead. WSU reached set point at 24-21 on a kill by Raudsepp and won the set 25-22 on a kill by Larson.
The fourth set went back and forth until a Smith kill put the Frogs up 7-4. A Brown kill pulled the Shockers within 10-9, but the Frogs scored four of the next five points for a 14-10 lead. TCU increased the lead to 19-13 and won the set 25-20.
