This weekend marked the season opener for the women’s volleyball team as the Shockers competed in the Bluegrass Battle in Lexington, Ky.

The showcase started Friday, giving the Shockers three separate matches against Kentucky, Virginia Tech and Butler, respectively.

Friday

While the Shockers are used to dominating the Missouri Valley, the season opener against No. 18 Kentucky proved to be a difficult match for the young volleyball team, who lost 0-3.

The first set against the Wildcats was the closest, with a score of 25-18, but even with 11 kills and six tied scores, the Shockers couldn’t manage to pull ahead.

Despite the second set having more lead changes than the first and the Shockers gaining a 4-2 lead at the start, the team’s sideout percentage dropped by 10 percent, making it difficult for Wichita State to battle and rally. 

However, the ladies kept their chin up, getting a 4-0 run after the Wildcats obtained an 8-1 streak.

Three straight kills later, the Wildcats upped their score to 18-12 and continued to their 25-14 victory.

In the third set, the Shockers sparred valiantly with Kentucky until the Wildcats got on a streak of 7-2, but the Shockers’ retaliation fell short, giving Kentucky a win of 25-16.

Although the first match was not the opener, WSU fans were hoping for, freshmen Mikaela Raudsepp and Emily Hiebert were both notable in their debut for the team. Raudsepp had 11 kills throughout the match, while Hiebert had 19 assists and 10 digs.

Saturday

Saturday’s match-up against Virginia Tech led to better set scores and playing by the Shockers, but the outcome was the same in their 0-3 loss against the Hokies.

Katie Reilly was one of the standouts in the match as she had eight kills, as well as a momentum-changing block within the first set, giving the Shockers an 8-6 lead.

Coming off of a service ace, the Hokies took an 11-10 lead, and the teams would tie their scores for a total of nine times until the Hokies took the victory in the first set with a win of 25-20

Entering the second set of the match, the Shockers seemed to be downtrodden from their almost-win, letting the Hokies start the set with a 6-2 lead.

While Reilly and Katy Dudzinski both had notable blocks, WSU couldn’t catch up to the Hokies in time for the 25-16 final score.

After being scraped up from the second set, the Shockers rallied in the third.

With four lead changes and 14 score ties in the third set, the two teams fought back and forth until a kill from MaryAshton Floyd put WSU in a 14-12 lead.

The Hokies snatched the lead with a kill, making the score 17-16, but Jaclyn Roddy silenced Virginia Tech with a kill, while teammate Raudsepp followed with an ace, giving WSU a 19-18 lead.

The momentum was lost, however, when Virginia Tech gained a 7-2 streak, finishing the game 25-21.

Sunday

Sunday came as a relief for the Shockers as they got not only their first win in a set, but a match win, as well, when they battled against Butler for a 3-2 success.

Since the Shockers lost the first two sets —20-25 in both sets — Butler only needed one more set to win the match.

In the third set, Butler and WSU tied up the score nine times, but it wasn’t until the Shockers used a 4-0 run to get the jump on Butler with a 14-9 score.

While the Bulldogs tied it at 16, a kill by Floyd kept the Shockers alive, ending the set in WSU’s favor, 25-21.

Using the momentum from the third set and the help of Gabi Mostrom’s service ace, WSU gained the lead against the Bulldogs early, 8-3.

With the Bulldogs constantly playing catch-up, the kills from Byers, Raudsepp and Reilly were too much for Butler to handle. The match ended 25-21.

The fifth set was the tiebreaker for the teams, but Raudsepp and Reilly entered the game and commanded the court like veterans.

However, the Shockers began to lose grip of their 7-4 lead, so by the time Butler tied the game at 11, two kills brought the Bulldogs to a 14-12 matchpoint.

WSU held Butler at 14 while they caught up, and the team was finally able to win the entire match with the help of the three straight kills from Raudsepp, Reilly and Floyd, ending the game 17-15 for the Shockers’ first win.

The Shockers play again Thursday against Baylor in San Marcos, Texas.