RPI report treats Wichita State volleyball well entering tournament
Wichita State heads to the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in good shape for an NCAA bid.
The second-seeded Shockers are No. 35 in Monday’s NCAA power ranking (RPI), a spot that usually produces at-large teams. No. 44 Northern Iowa and No. 46 Missouri State, which won the MVC and owns a 16-match win streak, are also in the picture.
The MVC Tournament begins Thursday with quarterfinal matches in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Shockers earned a bye into a semifinal at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The tournament winner receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
All three teams could get a chance to add another top-50 victory to their NCAA resume on Friday, depending on who wins in the quarterfinals. WSU and third-seeded Northern Iowa could meet on Friday in a semifinal.
The Shockers are 4-6 against the top 50 of the RPI, highlighted by wins over No. 18 Creighton and No. 36 Marquette. The Shockers split with Missouri State and went 0-2 against UNI.
The NCAA field will be announced at 8 p.m. Sunday on ESPNU.
Brown repeats — WSU sophomore Tabitha Brown earned MVC offensive player of the week honors for a second straight period.
Brown, an outside hitter, averaged 4.1 kills, 1.50 digs and 4.33 points a set in wins over Evansville and Southern Illinois. She hit .392, including .483 with 16 kills in Saturday’s sweep at Evansville.
Paul Suellentrop: 316-269-6760, @paulsuellentrop
MVC Volleyball
Cedar Falls, Iowa
Thursday’s quarterfinals
- No. 4 Southern Illinois vs. No. 5 Illinois State, 5 p.m.
- No. 3 Northern Iowa vs. No. 6 Loyola, 7:30 p.m.
Friday’s semifinals
- No. 1 Missouri State vs. SIU/ISU winner, 5 p.m.
- No. 2 Wichita State vs. UNI/LU winner, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday’s final
- Semifinal winners, 4 p.m.
All games on ESPN3.com
The NCAA Tournament selection show is at 8 p.m. Sunday (ESPNU)
This story was originally published November 21, 2016 at 4:14 PM with the headline "RPI report treats Wichita State volleyball well entering tournament."