TCU eliminates ailing Wichita State from NCAA volleyball

Wichita State was defeated in the opening round of the NCAA volleyball tournament Friday, though the loss truly began Tuesday.

TCU beat Wichita State 25-17, 25-23, 22-25, 25-20 at the Devaney Center. The Shockers (24-8) had to overhaul their offense after outside hitter Mikaela Raudsepp rolled an ankle during a practice. Raudsepp, who led the Shockers with 316 kills this season, was “just functional enough,” coach Chris Lamb said, to play Friday.

“She really couldn’t jump,” Lamb said.

Raudsepp was cleared to play Friday morning, and finished with eight kills and a .188 hitting percentage. With her limited, more of the offense shifted to Tabitha Brown, who had 18 kills on 56 attempts – the latter was a career high and the most by a Shocker in the NCAA Tournament.

“She’s a great volleyball player, and she’s a gamer,” TCU coach Jill Kramer said. “She’s at her best in the big matches.”

Brown, who was recruited by TCU, was less glowing about her performance.

“I only had 18,” Brown said.

Brown started hot, but in the final set had more errors (3) than kills (2).

“We started to know her tendencies,” TCU’s Natalie Gower said.

The Horned Frogs (15-12) led much of the first set. The Shockers scored four straight points to cut the deficit to 17-16, but TCU won eight of the last nine. Kayla Scheevel had two aces in the decisive run. The Shockers had more kills in the set, but had seven attack errors while TCU had none.

The Shockers used a 5-1 run to take an 18-16 lead in the second set, but TCU responded with four straight points out of a timeout. Brown’s kill on an over-pass tied the score at 23, but the Horned Frogs won the final two points, the latter when Jody Larson’s shot went wide.

An 8-1 run gave Wichita State an 11-6 lead in the third set. The lead swelled to 14-8 before TCU rallied to take an 18-17 lead on Natalie Gower’s kill. Gower had 11 kills and no errors. The Shockers regained control with a four-point run that included three straight blocks. They had seven in the set after two in the first two sets. Larson’s kill ended the set.

Wichita State never led in the final set as the Horned Frogs worked around the Shockers’ block. Ashley Smith, who tore knee ligaments in last year’s NCAA Tournament, started the year as a libero but converted to outside hitter. She had 17 kills, one error and hit .356 Friday.

TCU lost seven matches in a row this season, and needed three-straight, five-set wins to close the season to qualify for the tournament, but it looked like a team on a roll Friday.

Lamb could only wonder what-if about a season that saw him lose three starters to season-ending injuries.

“We were snake-bitten and always had to find ways to win week to week,” Lamb said. “The two worst things in sports are cheaters and injuries.”

Wichita State out-blocked TCU 12-8 and had 106 digs – 29 from senior libero Dani Mostrom – to TCU’s 91, but Lamb felt his team was “smoked in pass-and-serve. We left a few digs out there.”

Emily Hiebert, the Missouri Valley Conference’s Setter of the Year, had 38 assists and a .389 hitting percentage, while Larson, playing in her last match, had 21 digs, 11 kills, and eight assists.

“I’ve known her since she was a child. What a well-rounded, complete volleyball player,” Lamb said. “She was the carnivore of our team.”

Lamb also called his other seniors – Katy Dudzinski and Mostrom – “rags-to-riches stories” because each changed positions during their time at WSU.

“At the end of the match, I just told everyone how proud I was,” Mostrom said. “I’m blessed to have played with every one of them.”

Worth noting — Wichita State did not have an ace in its two matches in last year’s NCAA Tournament in Lincoln – the only times that happened in 2015. On Friday, it had one ace, equaling a season-low. … The Shockers are 7-10 in the NCAA Tournament; all appearances have been during Lamb’s tenure.… It was a rough tournament for the Missouri Valley as Northern Iowa and Missouri State also lost in the first round.… Freshman Kara Bown returned to her hometown Friday. The defensive specialist played at Lincoln East High School, and Friday was used extensively as a substitution server. She recorded three digs.

This story was originally published December 2, 2016 at 8:58 PM with the headline "TCU eliminates ailing Wichita State from NCAA volleyball."