NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Wichita State used a dominating blocking performance to win its season opener with a 3-0 win over Lipscomb at the LUV Invitational. The Shockers won by scores of 28-26, 25-13 and 27-25.
 
The Shockers had 15 total blocks, led by a career-high eight from Emily Hiebert. Tabitha Brown led the Shockers with 11 kills and hit .409 and she also added five blocks. Mikaela Raudsepp had 10 kills and five digs and hit .400, while redshirt freshman Emma Wright had six blocks, seven kills on 13 swings and hit .538 in her Shocker debut. Libero Giorgia Civita led the Shockers with 15 digs.
 
SET 1:
• Mikaela Raudsepp had five kills and Tabitha Brown four as WSU won the set 28-26
• Neither team led by more than two until the Shockers took an 11-8 lead on a kill from Emma Wright
• The Bisons used three-straight points to go in front 16-15
• Two-straight Lipscomb points led to a WSU timeout at 19-21
• A kill by Raudsepp and a block by Abbie Lehman and Abby Pugh tied the score at 21
• A Lehman kill and Bisons hitting error led to a Lipscomb timeout at 23-22
• The Bisons scored two-straight to reach set point at 24-23
• A Raudsepp kill tied it at 24 and the two teams traded points until the Shockers closed it out with three-straight points, an Emily Hiebert kill, a Hiebert/Emma Wright block and a Bisons hitting error for a 28-26 win
 
SET 2:
• WSU dominated the second set from start to finish with a 25-13 win
• A 4-0 Shocker run put WSU up 6-1
• Back-to-back Shocker blocks pushed the lead to 9-2
• Kills from Wright and Brown and a Gabi Mostrom service ace gave the Shockers a 17-8 advantage
• WSU closed out the set 25-13 on a block from Lehman and Raudsepp
 
SET 3:
• WSU scored the final three points for a 27-25 win
• The Shockers took a 4-3 lead on a block by Wright and Chase Jackson
• Lipscomb used a 4-1 run to go in front 14-11
• The Shockers tied it at 18 with a 3-0 run that included a Brown kill, a Hiebert/Lehman block and an Alex Koon service ace
• Chase Jackson's first career kill gave WSU a 21-20 lead
• The Bisons used back-to-back kills to tie it at 23
• Lipscomb reached set point at 24-23, but a Brown kill tied it at 24
• The Shockers scored the final three points on a Wright/Brown block, Bisons hitting error and Brown kill for the 27-25 win
 
NEXT MATCH:
• The Shockers take on East Tennessee State at 5 p.m. today in the LUV Invitational.