HOUSTON -- Wichita State completed their first reverse sweep of the 2023 season, rallying past Rice 23-25, 21-25, 25-22, 25-18, 15-8 on Friday night at Tudor Fieldhouse.

The Shockers (20-7, 14-3) flipped the script after a slow start, surging behind a spectacular defensive effort and late offense from Barbara Koehler and Emerson Wilford. Wichita State finished with 117 digs, their most in a match since the 2007 season (137 vs. Illinois State, Nov. 23). After Rice hit .348 in the opening set, the Owls hit .156, .191, .135 and .130 the rest of the way to finish at .197 to Wichita State's .210.

Wichita State had five-point leads in each of the first two sets, but Rice (17-10, 11-6) slowly chipped away in each instance to overcome the Shockers down the stretch. In the third, WSU had to overcome an early deficit of their own, trailing 8-4 in the early going before a 6-0 run gave the Shockers their first lead of the set at 18-14. Five kills in the set from Natalie Foster helped the Shockers reach set point at 24-19, and three points later Morgan Stout's hard tip found the floor to send the match to a fourth set.

It was a dominant showing in the fourth frame for Wichita State. An early 11-3 barrage put Wichita State in command from the outset, and the combination of Wilford and Stout delivered four kills apiece to keep the lead intact. Rice pulled within 16-14 after consecutive WSU attack errors, but the Shockers put the set away by scoring seven of the next nine points to swell the lead to 23-16. Consecutive kills from Sophia Rohling and Stout sent the match to a decisive fifth set.

Once again it was all Wichita State from the outset, as the Shockers grabbed a 11-4 edge following a service ace from Houston native Annalie Heliste. The two teams traded points the rest of the way, as the Shockers had a perfect 100% sideout percentage (9-9) in the set. Izzi Strand contributed her only two kills of the match to make it 13-7 Wichita State, and Koehler terminated two more chances to nail down the victory.

Koehler finished with 16 kills to pace the Shockers offensively, while Rohling delivered her first career double-double with 14 kills and 10 digs. Foster and Stout each had 13 kills out of the middle, and Wilford hit .304 on her nine terminations. The attack was orchestrated by 59 assists from Strand, who was also one of six Shockers to reach double-digit digs. Gabi Maas had 25 to lead the way, including a number of highlight-reel ups, and Morgan Weber matched her career high with 23. Katie Galligan had 16, Strand 13, and both Heliste and Rohling notched 10.

The Shockers won the serve and pass battle, racking up seven aces to just five errors while surrendering only a single service ace from Rice.

The two teams conclude the series on Saturday afternoon. First serve is scheduled for 2:00 pm.