Volleyball draws even at tournament

After three weeks of playing on the road, the Wichita State volleyball team came back to Wichita to play four games in a long weekend at Charles Koch Arena. 

The Shockers played a conference opener against Missouri State Thursday and hosted the Shocker Volleyball Classic tournament from Friday to Sunday.

The normal routine helped the Shockers win their first two games of the weekend without losing a set. 

Thurs., Missouri State vs. WSU

In the first game of the weekend, WSU came out strong against the Missouri State University Bears and won in three sets. 

WSU looked comfortable and confident from the beginning, taking the first two sets methodically, 25-19 and 25-20.  

In the third set, MSU started off well, but was not able to hold off the Shockers, who came back late to win 25-23.

Ashlyn Driskill and Ashley Andrade both had 14 kills, while Chelsey Feekin had 10 digs and 46 assists. 

With an easy win over MSU, the team rolled into the Shocker Volleyball Classic tournament feeling ready to play.

Fri., South Dakota State vs. WSU

The Shockers had their hands full in the first tournament game against the South Dakota  Coyotes.

The Shockers swept the Coyotes, but the first and third sets came down to the wire. 

In the first set, the Shockers found themselves down early, 0-4. WSU and SD played neck-and-neck until the Shockers pulled away to win, 25-22.  

The second set started similarly to the first, the Shockers down 0-3, but they came back to tie it at 9-9. The Shockers went on to dominate, 25-14.

In the third set, WSU found itself ahead 8-2. SD clawed its way back into the match and tied it at 9-9. It was late in the match when the Coyotes tied it at 23-23. With good play from Sam Sanders and Andrade, the Shockers held on to take the third set 26-24. 

Sanders spoke after the game.

“We have been here for five years now, and Katie [Reilly] and I have always been close from day one, Sanders said. “We just know how to get the team excited and get the job done.”

The Shockers were led by Feekin with 39 assists, Sanders with 12 kills, and Dani Mostrom with 10 digs.

Sat., #7 Hawaii vs. WSU

The Shockers needed to minimize errors and play their best volleyball for a chance to win in against top-ranked Hawaii.

A packed house gathered to watch WSU lose in three sets.

WSU started slow in the first set, giving Hawaii a chance to jump out to an early 3-7 lead. Hawaii soon extended the lead to 7-15. Although the Shockers fought back, they lost the first set 20-25.

In the second set, WSU was tit-for-tat with Hawaii until halfway through. The game was tied at 11-11 when WSU began to make some hitting errors and gave Hawaii the chance to creep away. With a late run, Hawaii won 20-25.

After the break, WSU woke up in the third set and played their best volleyball of the match. They took an early lead but weren’t able to capitalize on good play from Driskill and Katie Reilly. They lost the set 23-25.

Driskill led with 10 kills. Reilly had seven kills and eight digs in an all-around performance.

The team was disappointed with the loss, but had to move forward for Sunday’s match against Creighton.

Sun., #23 Creighton vs. WSU

The Shockers last match of the tournament was against ex-conference rival Creighton.

It was a competitive match that required five sets to decide the winner.

The first set was dominated by the Shockers and allowed them to jump out to an early lead. With strong play from Sam Sanders, the lead reached 19-12 and WSU went on to win 25-16.

Over the next two sets, Creighton’s defense prevented the Shockers from getting into a groove offensively. The Jays won the second set 25-18 and the third set 25-20.

The Shockers rallied back in the fourth with better defensive play and with clutch kills from both Ashley Andrade and Driskill. The Shockers kept a lead the whole set and won 25-18.

In the decisive final set, the Shockers came out strong, but then a series of Creighton runs ended the Shockers tournament. The final score was 9-15.

Andrade led with 17 kills. Chelsey Feekin had 52 assists. And Dani Mostrom had 15 digs. 

After the game, Coach Lamb commented on what the team needed to do in order to move forward.

“We really need to become a better defensive team and come up with more highlight plays,” said head coach Chris Lamb.

The Shockers are now 11-3 with all three of their losses against ranked opponents. They will play fellow conference teams University of Northern Iowa and Drake in an away game this weekend.