Panthers end Shockers' run

Not many volleyball teams can make Wichita State feel inferior defensively. Northern Iowa did on Saturday night and won the Missouri Valley Conference title as a result.

The 22nd-ranked Panthers defeated WSU 3-2 (25-15, 19-25, 25-19, 20-25 15-9) to wrap up the title and the top seed in the conference tournament. WSU fell back into a tie for second with Missouri State with two matches remaining.

"They were far more steady," WSU coach Chris Lamb said. "We were really good, and then not. And really good and not. We were a team bouncing up and down."

Credit several factors for that, chiefly UNI's back-row defenders and its serving. The Shockers (21-5, 12-4 MVC) hit .121, their third-lowest percentage this season. Kim Wadsworth led WSU with 13 kills, but committed eight errors. Emily Stockman totaled 12 kills with a .109 attack percentage, her second lowest this season.

"Their littles are great," Wadsworth said. "It didn't feel like you could put a ball away. You would feel like you hit the ball really hard, and there would be somebody there to get it."

Lamb lamented WSU's inability to score behind the setter. As the match wore on, the Shockers attack became predictable. Wadsworth and Stockman, playing on the left, combined for 91 of WSU's 182 attempts.

"Balls we counted on for scoring, there were no guarantees," Lamb said. "We just couldn't keep up with them in scoring, especially in distribution."

UNI (26-2, 16-0) ended WSU's seven-match win streak and its two-year reign as MVC champion. The Panthers won their 24th consecutive match by forcing the Shockers into errors and scrambling the WSU offense with its serving and blocking.

"We give up some (service) errors to really fight to get teams out of system," UNI coach Bobbi Petersen said. "We're not the biggest blocking team there is, so any time we can take one of their offensive options out of there, we need to."

Lamb spent a longer-than-normal time in the locker room after the match. He wanted to make it clear that the Shockers need to quickly regroup after an emotional loss on senior night. WSU will travel to Illinois State and Indiana State to end the regular season.

"We had a lot of tears in the locker room after that match, and this team hasn't cried much this year," he said. "There's still a lot more volleyball in this season for us."

Wichita State didn't give up the Valley Conference title easily. The Shockers pulled away late in the fourth set but couldn't maintain that momentum.

UNI grabbed a 5-2 lead in the fifth set, forcing WSU coach Chris Lamb to call timeout.

That only slowed the Panthers momentarily. A service error by WSU's Emily Stockman stopped the Shocker momentum and gave UNI a 7-4 lead. Kim Wadsworth's attack attempt sailed long and UNI setter Bre Payton scored for a 9-4 lead.

Lamb again called timeout.

WSU cut the lead to 9-5 then gave up three straight points. The Panthers won it on a kill by Amy Braun and celebrated briefly in a huddle on the court.

Service errors haunted WSU throughout the match. UNI scored four of its first eight points on service errors in the first set. The Shockers finished with 12.

Braun led UNI with 12. Shannon Aschoff added 11 and hit .219. Payton hit .375 with 11 kills.