Wichita State Athletics

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Wichita State volleyball picked up its first road win of the season, defeating Florida Gulf Coast, 3-1 (25-21, 25-22, 23-25, 25-22), Friday evening at the Hearnes Center.
 
The Shockers (3-4) took the opening two sets before reigning ASUN regular season champion FGCU (2-4) answered in the third. Wichita State responded with a strong fourth set to close out the victory.
 
Maddie Wilson led the Shockers with a double-double, recording a match-high 13 kills on 25 attacks while hitting .440 and tallying a career-high tying 10 blocks for a team-high 18.5 points.
 
Olivia Cohee also delivered an efficient performance with 11 kills on 29 attacks and a .310 hitting percentage, McKenzie Jones added 12 kills, while Jenna Cubbage finished with seven kills and seven digs.
 
Jordan Heatherly directed the Wichita State offense with 29 assists, while Addie Oeth added 16 assists. Grace Hett anchored the back row with 13 digs, and Heatherly recorded 11 digs to give herself her second double-double of the season.
 
Wichita State established control early, taking a 14-8 lead in the first set before FGCU went on a 5-0 run to make it a one-point game at 20-19. The Shockers held off the late push, closing out the set on a successful challenge to give Cubbage the set point kill.
 
The Shockers led the second set by as many as five before the Eagles stormed back to tie it up at 17-all. An Elinor Engel kill gave the Shockers a 23-22 lead before two FGCU attack errors put the Shockers up 2-0 in the match.
 
The Eagles used an early 6-0 run to take control of the third set, but the Shockers didn't go down easy. With FGCU up 22-13, the Shockers stormed back on a 6-0 run to make it 22-19. The Eagles responded, but Wichita State fended off four set points before FGCU claimed the set win.
 
The fourth set remained close from start to finish, but Wichita State prevailed with a 25-22 win to claim its first match win away from Charles Koch Arena this season. The Shockers finished the match hitting .255 as a team compared to FGCU's .185. Wichita State also held a significant advantage at the net, recording 13.5 team blocks to FGCU's 5.5.
 
Wichita State returns to the Hearnes Center for a doubleheader against Arkansas State and Missouri on Saturday at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.