WICHITA, Kan. -- Wichita State delivered a third consecutive sweep to cap off a dominant run through the American Athletic Conference tournament, defeating Florida Atlantic 25-22, 25-19, 25-19 to secure the program's first NCAA tournament bid since 2017.
The Shockers (18-13) will learn their postseason destination at next week's NCAA Volleyball Selection Show, scheduled for Sunday, December 1 at 5:00 pm CT on ESPN. The first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament take place Thursday, December 5 through Saturday, December 7.
The victory represents Wichita State's second American Athletic Conference championship and first in a conference tournament. The Shockers won the 2017 regular season title when the conference did not host a tournament. Overall, Wichita State has now won five conference tournaments, with the previous four coming in the Missouri Valley Conference (2004, 2013, 2015, 2016). WSU will be appearing in the NCAA tournament for the 12th time in program history.
After the Shockers did not record a sweep at Charles Koch Arena during the entirety of the regular season, Wichita State won all nine sets over three postseason matches. The dominant run was capped off by a thorough performance in the title match in which the Shockers out-hit Florida Atlantic .259 to .125.
Brooklyn Leggett led all players with 13 kills at a .360 clip and
Morgan Stout fired 12 terminations, hitting .478.
Katie Galligan turned in another superlative performance at libero, finishing with a match-high 15 digs.
Wichita State set the tone with a 6-1 run out of the gate in the opening frame, getting a pair of aces plus two
Izzi Strand kills to send Florida Atlantic reeling. The Owls punched back, crawling to within one at 13-12 before the Shockers delivered a decisive 6-2 spurt that restored the margin to a more comfortable 19-14. Florida Atlantic never got closer than two the rest of the way, thanks to another Strand kill and a powerful termination from
Alyssa Gonzales on set point.
The Shockers had to play from behind for most of the second set, facing a 14-12 deficit midway through the frame. Four straight WSU points, highlighted by a key block from
Emerson Wilford and
Sarah Barham, flipped the script and gave the Shockers a 20-17 lead. Florida Atlantic scored the next two points, but Wichita State fired right back with five in a row to clinch the set. Stout punched home two kills and Florida Atlantic misfired once from the service line and twice on attacks to close out a 25-19 win and give WSU a 2-0 advantage.
Florida Atlantic hung around for the first several points of set three, evening the ledger at 7-7 before the Shockers strung together one of their best stretches of the season to pull away. Leggett banged three kills in quick succession to kick off a 7-1 run that swelled the advantage to 20-12 and brought the Charles Koch Arena crowd to its feet. Florida Atlantic made one last gasp, cutting the lead to 22-17 and forcing a Wichita State timeout. A kill from
Maddie Wilson out of the break restored order and Leggett put two more to the floor to secure the championship for Wichita State.
Leggett racked up seven kills in the third set on 11 attempts without making an error.
The Shockers finished with more digs (48-46), more blocks (7-3) and fewer service errors (3-7) in addition to their offensive superiority.
Gonzales, Stout and Strand were named to the All-Tournament team, with Stout earning Most Outstanding Player honors. The full All-Tournament Team also included Florida Atlantic's Valeria Rosado and Katelynn Robine, South Florida's Caroline Dykes and Rice's Nia McCardell.
