After two sets, it appeared Wichita State volleyball would cruise to its second victory of the season against the University of Memphis.
Memphis ended up pushing the game to five sets, but after nearly three hours, the Shockers gutted out the win, 3-2 (25-19), (25-18), (24-26), (25-27), (15-12).
“We played cleaner than they did, and we won, period,” head volleyball coach Chris Lamb said.
Lamb said the phrase, “We won, period” five different times during the press conference, a theme of a game where Wichita State struggled to put the Tigers away. The game lasted two hours and 52 minutes, the longest Wichita State game since accessible record-keeping began in 2006.
Wichita State improved to 11-10 overall and 6-3 in the American Athletic Conference after notching its seventh consecutive win against the Tigers. Memphis fell to 4-5 in the conference.
Fifth-year setter Izzi Strand had a career day on the offensive and defensive side, leading the team with 44 assists while also finishing second on the team with nine kills and 20 digs, both career-highs.
“Last time we played Memphis, I also got quite a few dumps,” Strand said. “So I think rewatching and scouting them a bit, I knew that they were less aggressive on me and I knew that I could score against them a lot.”
Redshirt senior middle blocker Morgan Stout led the team in kills (18), aces (three) and blocks (10). Senior libero Annalie Heliste and junior libero Katie Galligan combined for 40 digs.
Stout was pumped up after the win.
“I would fling my body anywhere to make sure that to keep the ball from going over the net,” she said.
After a back-and-forth beginning to the first set, the Shockers went on a 6-0 scoring run to take a 16-11 advantage. After two timeouts, the Tigers went on a 3-0 scoring run to make the score 20-15 WSU and force the Shockers to call their first timeout.
The first set ended after a solo block by fifth-year middle blocker Sarah Barham. The Shockers held the Tigers to a -0.044 hitting percentage in the set.
In the second set, Memphis started on a 3-1 scoring run. The Shockers tied the game at 7-7 after a Tigers attacking error. The Shockers forced Memphis to call their first timeout of the set after going up 5 points, 20-15. The Shockers capped out the second set with a kill by Stout. The team finished with only one attack error in the set.
Junior outside hitter Emerson Wilford got a kill for the opening point of the third set, kickstarting a 3-0 run for WSU. Memphis answered with a 4-0 run, making the score 4-3. With the score at 5-5, WSU scored on an attack error, but Memphis challenged it, saying there was a touch. Memphis won the challenge but then Wichita State challenged the same call because of an alleged net violation. WSU lost the challenge and Memphis won the point after an extended break in play.
“(During challenges) we go over what’s going on the court,” Strand said. “What we’re going to run and we keep going over each of the rotations here we need to be on defense, where we’re blocking and just going over everything and keeping our minds fresh with what we (are) trying to accomplish.”
The Tigers went on a 5-0 scoring run, as Lamb called his first timeout behind 11-4. The Shockers fought back, tying the game at 21 after a Stout ace. Wichita State sent the set into extra points, but Memphis won after an attack error from junior outside hitter Brooklyn Leggett.
The fourth set began with a 3-0 Tigers run. That would be the biggest lead for either team in the set, as the squads were knotted the whole way through.
Memphis called a timeout after trailing 21-20 and would go on a 3-1 run and force WSU to call their first timeout. After two straight kills from Stout, Wichita State was at match point, 25-24. Memphis responded with a 3-0 run to win the set, finishing with a Wilford attack error that was challenged, unsuccessfully, by Lamb.
Stout rattled off back-to-back kills in the fifth set to give the Shockers a 7-5 lead. The Shockers tallied together three straight block assists to make the score 11-7 and force Memphis’ final timeout of the match. After two straight kills by Memphis, Wichita State called their first timeout.
Out of the timeout, the teams traded points until a spike kill by Leggett ended the game.
The Shockers will face another team they defeated earlier in the year on Sunday, Oct. 27, when they take on the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The first serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Charles Koch Arena.
