Championship-bound: Wichita State volleyball punches ticket to NIVC finals with win
The Wichita State volleyball team will play for a postseason championship on Tuesday.
The Shockers punched their ticket to the finals of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship with a three-set sweep of Montana State — 25-21, 26-24, 25-19 — on Saturday afternoon at Koch Arena.
WSU will wait to find out whether it will play American Athletic Conference foe South Florida or UTEP in Tuesday’s final. The location of the final match will also be determined following the conclusion of the other semifinal on Sunday.
With its second straight sweep in the NIVC bracket, WSU improved to 25-8 on the season and registered the 10th 25-win season for head coach Chris Lamb and the first since 2017. If WSU is selected to host and wins Tuesday’s match, the Shockers would match the 1992 team for the most home wins in program history with 14.
WSU junior middle hitter Morgan Stout, a Nickerson native, continued her strong play in the postseason and delivered a match-high 14 kills on Saturday on a .565 hitting percentage. The Shockers’ offense, run by Izzi Strand with 32 assists, finished with a .306 hitting percentage. Sophia Rohling added eight kills, while Ba Koehler chipped in with seven and Natalie Foster had six. The back-row play was spearheaded by Gabi Maas (13 digs) and Morgan Weber (12 digs).
In the first set, WSU broke a 17-17 tie with three straight points that included kills by Strand and Koehler. When Montana State clawed back to within 21-20, Rohling registered a termination and the combination of Foster and Rohling stuffed a shot at the net to give WSU breathing room. A kill by Rohling finished off the 25-21 victory.
Montana State led 24-23 in the second set, but a kill by Rohling kept the Shockers alive and then a service ace by Strand put them in front. Following a timeout, WSU made it three straight points when Foster and Rohling again teamed up for a block to secure the set victory.
The momentum carried over to the third set, as WSU jumped out to a 5-1 lead following a slew of mistakes by Montana State. The Shockers were content to essentially trade points the rest of the way, as they maintained at least a two-point lead until a kill by Foster ended the match.
This story was originally published December 9, 2023 at 2:38 PM.
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