WICHITA, Kan. -- As is often the case when Missouri State’s and Wichita State’s volleyball teams get together, a five-set match is in store, and the story was no different Friday in Wichita as the Shockers defeated the Bears 25-15, 18-25, 25-23, 21-25, 15-9 in a battle for second place in the Missouri Valley Conference.
The Shockers (16-5, 9-3 MVC) used a 10-2 run following an 8-all to tie take control of the first set, and the Bears (17-6, 8-4) went on a 9-3 spurt in the second period to lead 20-12 on the way to an easy win.
The second set was Missouri State’s best effort of the night, as the team pounded 17 kills and hit .341. For the match, the Bears hit .152 to Wichita State’s .234 and were blocked 17 times by the Shockers.
Neither team was able to run away with the third set as they had the previous two, as Wichita State’s 4-0 run turned a 17-16 MSU lead into a 20-17 Shocker advantage. The Bears pulled within a point at 20-19 and 24-23 before WSU’s Emily Adney scored the winning kill.
Missouri State closed the fourth set on a 10-2 run after trailing 19-15 as
Christine McCartney had five of her team-best 15 kills and the defense held WSU to a .000 attack efficiency.
After tense third and fourth sets, the final period offered little drama as Wichita State never trailed. The Shockers pulled ahead 5-2 and the Bears were only able to close within a point once at 6-5. That was promptly answered with a 3-0 WSU run as Missouri State hit -.028 with five kills against six errors in the fifth, while the Shockers had nine kills and blocked four MSU attacks.
Calli Norman joined McCartney in double figures with 14 kills, while
Cara Hackmann led the Bears with 23 digs as one of five players with at least 10. Freshman setter
Carly Thomas had a career-high 49 assists to go with 14 digs and four kills.
Bethany Fuller had a match-high eight blocks to go with seven kills.
Missouri State returns home Nov. 5 for a 7 p.m. match against Drake. The Bears will play four of their final six regular season matches at home.
