WICHITA, Kan. – Wichita State hit a season-best .316 and recorded 38 kills to sweep UConn, 3-0, with scores of 25-17, 25-19 and 25-10 on Friday, Oct. 26, in front of 2,235 spectators at Charles Koch Arena.
Megan Taflinger led the Shockers (10-11, 5-5 American) with 11 kills, two services aces and four blocks, while
Kora Kauling added a team-best 20 assists, and
Giorgia Civita and
Tabitha Brown compiled a game-high 14 digs.
The Shockers and Huskies (11-12, 3-7 American) battled back and forth in the opening set before kills by
Alex Koon and Brown sparked a 5-0 run to turn a 10-10 tie into a 15-10 WSU advantage. The Huskies answered back with two quick points, but the Shockers answered with a 3-0 run after kills from Taflinger and
Abby Pugh, and a
Jordan Roberts service ace, increasing their lead to 18-12.
Kills from Taflinger and
Grace Burken finished off the Huskies in the first set, 25-17.
The Shockers quickly gained the advantage in set two by going on a 5-0 run, sparked by back-to-back kills from
Regan Stiawalt that put Wichita State out in front, 10-6. A service error from the Huskies pushed the Shocker lead to five, but UConn scored four out of the next five points to cut the deficit to 20-18.
That was as close the Huskies could get though, as Wichita State scored five of the last six points in the set to secure the 25-19 victory.
After falling behind 2-1 in the third set, the Shockers surged offensively, scoring five straight points to gain a 6-2 advantage after a kill from Koon. Wichita State would build its lead to as much as seven in the set at 19-12 before the Huskies went on a 4-0 spurt to bring the WSU advantage down to three, 19-16. The Shockers responded, though, and put the set out of reach after Taflinger recorded a block and buried a kill, building the lead to 23-16.
Wichita State outhit UConn in the contest, .316 to .161, and tied its season-low with only seven attacking errors, compared to 22 miscues for the visitors.
Caylee Parker compiled 11 kills, and Emma Turner had 32 assists, pacing the Huskies.
The Shockers return to action on Sun., Oct. 28, when they host Temple on Princess Day. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Koch Arena. As part of Princess Day, all youth under the age of 12 receive free admission to the match with a paid adult.