Coming off of back-to-back losses, Wichita State volleyball ended the regular season on a high note by beating Temple on the road Sunday afternoon, 3-1 (25-15, 20-25, 26-24, 25-27).
The Shockers ended the regular season at 18-10 overall and 10-6 record in the American Conference with the win, marking the sixth-straight season finishing above .500 in win/loss percentage. The Owls ended their season at 16-15 overall and 5-11 in conference play.
Wichita State finished fifth in the conference standings, beating out Florida Atlantic based on head-to-head results. It will play fourth-seeded North Texas in the first round of the American Conference Championship Friday, Nov. 21, at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
The Mean Green bested the Shockers in five sets earlier this season.
The teams displayed offensive firepower throughout the match, as Wichita State hit .329 to Temple’s .229. The Shockers better handled service situations, however, racking up nine aces — a stark improvement after not recording one in Friday’s loss to Rice.
Head coach Chris Lamb also emphasized the need for a balanced attack after the loss to Rice, and Wichita State responded. Six players recorded four or more kills, spearheaded by junior outside Sydney Dunning’s 21 and senior right-side Brooklyn Leggett’s 14. Dunning nearly had a perfect game attacking, recording only one error for a .408 attacking percentage.
The sparks on offense were felt almost immediately, as Temple collected the first three points of the match in the first set. The Shockers then got on the board with a kill by junior middle Maddie Wilson.
Trailing 11-9 later in the set, Wichita State went on a 4-0 run to take their first lead, 13-11. Leggett’s third kill of the frame at that point gave the Shockers the advantage. The momentum from the 4-0 run kept rolling, as Wichita State scored 10 of the last 12 points to put the opening set away.
The Owls once again started hot in the second set, winning the first four points. Temple managed to hold the lead the entire frame this time, however. The closest the Shockers came to tying or taking the lead was four points.
Wichita State stole the early set momentum in the third, winning the first three points and eventually opening a 6-2 lead. The frame remained competitive with the biggest lead only being four points.
Back-to-back kills by Leggett and Dunning put the Shockers on the doorstep for a third-set win, but back-to-back Owl kills gave them set point. A kill by Dunning tied the set and forced overtime. A kill by Wilford gave the Shockers set point, and the Owls committed an attack error to decide it.
For the first time in the match, the teams traded the first points in the fourth. After WSU took a 10-4 lead following a 7-1 run, Temple called its first timeout. The Shockers continued to extend their lead out of the timeout and never conceded more than two consecutive points throughout the frame to take the match.
Box score breakdown
Set wins 1 2 3 4 5
WSU X X X
Temple X
Scorelines
S1: 25-15 (WSU)
S2: 25-20 (Temple)
S3: 26-24 (WSU)
S4: 25-17 (WSU)
Leaders
Kills — WSU: Sydney Dunning (21), Brooklyn Leggett (14), Emerson Wilford (9). Temple: Leia Harper (17), Christiana Greene (15), Alyssa Finister (12).
Assists — WSU: Jordan Heatherly (35), Gabi Maas (8), Katie Galligan (2). Temple: Daniella Gonzalez-Murati (39), Lexi Yoza (5), Qairo Bentley (3).
Digs — WSU: Gabi Maas (14), Grace Hett (13), Jordan Heatherly (10). Temple: Qairo Bentley (19), Olivia Hummel (10), Daniella Gonzalez-Murati (7).
Points — WSU: Sydney Dunning (26), Brooklyn Leggett (15.5), Emerson Wilford (9.5), Maddie Wilson (9.5). Temple: Leia Harper (17), Christiana Greene (17), Alyssa Finister (15).
