PROVO, Utah – Wichita State (2-1) used a career-high 27 kills from Sydney Dunning to defeat Incarnate Word (2-2), 3-1, in their first match of the BYU Nike Invitational. The Shockers won by scores of 25-27, 25-14, 25-19 and 25-20.

Dunning had a double-double in the match as she also added 11 digs. Jordan Heatherly added a double-double with 50 assists and 11 digs, while Emerson Wilford collected 10 kills on 20 swings. Gabi Maas and Katie Galligan led the Shocker defense as Maas finished with 24 digs and Galligan with 23.

The Shockers jumped out early in the first set with three kills from Sydney Dunning and two from Brooklyn Leggett for a 7-3 lead. The Cardinals kept chipping away and pulled within 13-9 with a service ace. An 8-0 run by UIW gave the Cardinals a 20-17 lead before the Shockers were able to tie it at 23 on a Cardinal hitting error. Back-to-back kills from Dunning brought the Shockers to set point at 25-24, but the Cardinals responded with three-straight points to take the set 27-25.

WSU raced out to an 8-3 lead in the second set after three kills from Dunning. UIW came within 10-7 after a kill, but the Shockers hit .421 in the second set to pull away for the 25-14 win. Dunning added eight more kills in the set, while the Shockers had 19 as a team.

The third set went back and forth early until the Shockers used a 5-0 run to go in front 19-14. Kills from Paulsen, Wilford, Wilson and Leggett pushed the lead to 23-16 and WSU closed out the set with a 25-19 win.

The Cardinals took a quick 4-0 lead in the fourth set before the Shockers fought back to tie it at 10. A Dunning kill and Wilson block put the Shocks up 15-13 at the media timeout and kills from Dunning and Leggett pushed the lead to 19-14. Another Leggett kill made the score 23-15, but the Cardinals used a 5-0 run to close the gap to 23-20. A kill from Leggett and a block from Wilford and Paulsen gave the Shockers the 25-20 win.

The Shockers are next in action tonight against No. 18 BYU at 7 p.m. CT.