Emerson Wilford, Brooklyn Leggett and Katie Galligan all played in what was most likely their final match in Koch Arena on Friday evening.
The emotions ran high for Wichita State’s volleyball seniors, from the player introductions to the final whistle.
“You could probably see when we were watching our videos, we were all crying,” Leggett said. “It’s so special here. We have a lot of volleyball left to play. I’m not really so sad about the volleyball part, more just about this is the last time playing here.”
Leggett said she could feel it hours before the match against Rice began.
“I’m glad I got to do it with these two,” she said, gesturing to Wilford and Galligan, who were by her side after the game.
Galligan said she was thankful to be able to suit up in the Roundhouse one final time.
“It’s one of the reasons I came here,” Galligan said. “That arena. That crowd. You go anywhere else, there’s not something quite like it.”
The Shockers celebrated their seniors in the match against Rice. But the Owls spoiled the party, sweeping Wichita State in straight sets (25-27, 20-25, 17-25).
Even though the Shockers (17-10, 9-6 American) lost to the conference’s top team in Rice (17-8, 14-1 American), Wichita State coach Chris Lamb thought the team exceeded expectations.
The teams matched each other in both kills and digs, but seven more errors on the Shockers’ side proved to be the difference. So did the Owls’ four more aces (4-0) and two more blocks (9-7).
“Rice is the best ball-control team in the league, and it’s probably not even close,” he said. “We were tied with them tonight that way. If we could have got a little more balance in our offense, I think the match could have gone differently.
“If we could have found a few more points in a few more places, I think we’d still be out there.”
A short-term memory going into Sunday’s game on the road against Temple at 11 a.m. will be crucial. It will matter even more when Wichita State competes in the American Conference Championship from Nov. 21-23.
“The first thing we said after was, ‘What do we take from this game that’s good and apply it to the next?’” Galligan said. “We thought defense was great this game, good blocking as well. Then we take the other good aspects from other games throughout the season. There’s a lot of volleyball left.”
“I think I’m probably the most short-term memory person there might be,” Wilford added. “‘Next ball. Next ball.’ That’s probably what I think a bunch of people would say.”
Wichita State held Rice to a .186 hitting percentage for the game and blocked seven of its attacks. The Owls have hit .235 in their matches on average.
“We scouted them really well,” Leggett said. “We were ready for what they were running on that side. We were trying to keep them out of system… I think this whole week was a lot of preparing for them.”
Game recap
The Shockers took control early in the first set, opening up an 11-2 lead early on. Rice responded with a 5-0 run that trimmed its deficit to three almost immediately after.
Wichita State maintained a lead of at least three points until it reached set point for the frame, 24-21. The Owls stormed back, going on a 6-1 run and forcing overtime to steal it, however. They tied it at 25, then won a rally that was nearly two minutes long.
The energy in the arena sank. Admittedly, Galligan said that’s one of her favorite parts of the sport.
“You could be down 24-1, and you can come back and win it,” she said. “It’s one ball after the next, and you have to be zoned in.”
Rice jumped out to a 4-1 lead early in the second and controlled the tempo throughout it. It later used runs of 5-0 and 3-0 to open up a seven-point advantage, 18-11.
The Shockers clawed out of their hole with a 6-1 run shortly after, but it wasn’t enough to push them over the edge. Wichita State hit its lowest during a set in the second at .102.
Set three started similarly to the second, with the Owls taking a two-point lead early into it, but the Shockers went on a 3-0 run to take its first lead since the opening frame, 5-4. It was short-lived, however, as a 4-0 Rice run gave the away team the lead, 8-5.
Wichita State kept it close the rest of the way until the Owls ended the match on a 6-1 run.
Box score breakdown
Set wins 1 2 3 4 5
WSU
Rice X X X
Scorelines
S1: 27-25 (Rice)
S2: 25-20 (Rice)
S3: 25-17 (Rice)
Leaders
Kills — WSU: Sydney Dunning (16), Emerson Wilford (8), Brooklyn Leggett (7). Rice: Taylor Preston (17), Kellen Dorotik (9), Aaliyah Smith (8).
Assists — WSU: Jordan Heatherly (33), Gabi Maas (6), Grace Hett (1). Rice: Kaia Mateo (29), Gaby Mansfeld (7), Darby Harris (1).
Digs — WSU: Gabi Maas (27), Grace Hett (14), Sydney Dunning (12). Rice: Gaby Mansfeld (20), Taylor Preston (15), Kaia Mateo (11).
Points — WSU: Sydney Dunning (16.5), Emerson Wilford (10), Brooklyn Leggett (8). Rice: Taylor Preson (18), Kellen Dorotik (10), Arissa Smith (9.5).
