WICHITA, Kan. -- Wichita State held a potent South Florida offense to their lowest hitting percentage of the season in a 25-21, 26-24, 25-22 sweep of the #1-seed Bulls on Saturday afternoon at Charles Koch Arena. With the win, the Shockers advance to Sunday's American Athletic Conference championship match against Florida Atlantic, with first serve scheduled for 12:00 pm CT.

WSU (17-13) will play for their first conference tournament title since 2016, when the Shockers won the Missouri Valley Conference championship in their final year as members of The Valley. A win would secure the program's first NCAA tournament berth since 2017.

The Shockers held South Florida (19-10) to a .112 team hitting percentage, slowing down conference Player of the Year Maria Clara Andrade (10 kills, 6 errors, 37 attempts, .108) and Naiya Sawtelle (8 kills, 10 errors, 33 attempts, -.061). Wichita State hit .197, getting a match-high 11 kills from Morgan Stout and nine from Maddie Wilson on just 16 attacks.

It appeared Wichita State would cruise to a comfortable opening set win when the Shockers built a 21-13 lead following a Sawtelle error. But South Florida rattled off seven consecutive points with Andrade at the service line to get all the way back to 21-20. A Wichita State timeout led to an Andrade service error, then another Andrade misfire on the ensuing sideout gave WSU some breathing room at 23-20. A Wilson kill got the Shockers to set point and Sawtelle missed wide on a swing, securing the 25-21 victory.

A thrilling second set featured 13 ties and three lead changes as the Shockers and Bulls traded haymakers down the stretch. The set was tied 17-17, 18-18, 19-19, 20-20, 21-21, 22-22, 23-23, and 24-24 before the Shockers finally strung two consecutive points together to seal the deal. Alyssa Gonzales dropped in a kill to grab a 25-24 lead and Sawtelle's tip attempt missed down the line for a 26-24 decision.

In a recurring theme throughout the tournament, Wichita State put together a late flurry that closed out the third set. South Florida had pulled level at 22-22 via a block from Andrade and Ally Cavanaugh, but Samiha Foster smacked the ensuing serve into the net to kick off a match-winning 3-0 run. Wilson tipped home an overpass to reach match point, and Amelia Wass de Czege sliced an attack out of bounds to send the Shockers to the final with a 25-22 win.

Strand led all players with 13 digs to go along with 30 assists and five kills, while Katie Galligan, Grace Hett and Reagan Anderson combined for 20 digs of their own in a strong defensive effort. Emerson Wilford notched a pair of aces for the Shockers, while Stout led the way with three blocks.