TAMPA, Fla. – Wichita State (19-11) dropped a five-set heartbreaker to No. 1 seed Rice in the semifinals of the American Conference Championship. The Owls (21-8) won by scores of 25-19, 16-25, 25-23, 28-30 and 15-12.
 
Brooklyn Leggett led the Shockers with 21 kills and eight blocks, while Sydney Dunning had 20 kills and a career-high 22 digs. It was the first 20-kill/20-dig double-double for a Shocker since Emily Stockman in 2009.
 
Jordan Heatherly had a career-high 57 assists and added 15 digs, while Gabi Maas had a career-high 34 digs. Emerson Wilford tied her career-high with 16 kills and Katie Galligan added 16 digs.
 
The first set went back and forth until the Owls used a 4-0 run to take a 19-15 lead. The Shockers pulled to within 19-17, but Rice scored four-straight to go in front 23-17. The Owls won the set 25-19.
 
A block by Maddie Wilson and Wilford gave WSU a 9-5 lead in the second set and a 3-0 run pushed the lead to 12-6. Kills from Leggett and Wilson gave WSU an 18-12 advantage and the Shockers scored the final three points of the set for the 25-16 win.
 
The Shockers jumped out to a quick 4-2 lead in the third set after a Maas service ace, but the Owls responded with a 4-0 run to take a 6-4 lead. The Shockers answered with a 3-0 run for a 7-6 lead, but again the Owls responded with their own 3-0 run to go back in front 9-7. The two teams continued to go back and forth until Rice grabbed a 14-11 lead after a Shocker hitting error. The Shockers came back to tie it at 21 on a block by Leggett and Allie Paulsen, but the Owls scored three of the final four points for a 25-23 win.
 
Rice took the early 5-2 lead in the fourth set, but the Shockers used a kill from Dunning and two from Leggett to tie it at five. The two teams traded points until a 3-0 Rice run put the Owls up 12-10. The Shockers responded with a Wilford kill and two from Leggett to go in front 13-12. WSU used a 4-0 run to lead 19-15 and a Leggett kill made it 22-19. Rice reeled off three-straight to tie it at 22 and the two teams traded points until two-straight blocks for Leggett and Paulsen and a Dunning kill gave WSU the 30-28 win.
 
Rice scored the first four points of the fifth set before the Shockers were able to cut into the lead and pull within 6-5 on a Leggett kill. A Taylor Preston kill put Rice up 12-9, but kills from Leggett and Dunning cut the lead to 12-11. The Owls scored three of the final four points for the 15-12 win.