WSU volleyball has uphill climb in MVC

Wichita State’s volleyball team will need help from an unlikely source to finish second in the Missouri Valley Conference.

The Shockers (18-8, 12-4 MVC) enter the final regular-season weekend tied with Northern Iowa for second place. WSU must play at fifth-place Indiana State (17-11, 9-7) on Friday and at first-place Illinois State (22-5, 16-0) on Saturday. Northern Iowa (18-10, 12-4) faces a significantly easier weekend with matches at last-place Bradley and seventh-place Loyola, neither of which qualified for the MVC Tournament. UNI owns the tiebreaker over WSU after sweeping the Shockers. Lurking one match back is fourth-place Missouri State (18-10, 11-5), which flips opponents with WSU.

The No. 2 seed in the MVC Tournament earns a bye into the semifinals. Illinois State, which won its first MVC title since 1997, clinched the top seed. WSU, UNI and MSU remain in the running for second. MSU can drop as far as fifth. Indiana State and Southern Illinois have also locked up spots in the six-team tournament, which begins Nov. 27 in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Illinois State appears to be the lone MVC team with a chance to earn an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. The Redbirds are No. 44 in the NCAA’s power ranking (RPI). WSU is No. 67, although a weekend sweep might move the Shockers into a position of some hope entering the MVC Tournament. The Shockers are 4-8 against teams in the top 100, with their best win over No. 58 Baylor. They are 0-4 against the top 50 with losses to No. 13 Kentucky, No. 31 Creighton, Illinois State and No. 50 Virginia Tech.

The Shockers swept Indiana State in the first meeting with middle blocker Abbie Lehman recording 10 kills. The Redbirds swept WSU at Koch Arena, holding it to a season-low .066 attack percentage.

Maize libero signs with WSU — Meghan Grimes, a 5-foot-8 senior, is one of four athletes to sign with the volleyball team. Grimes totaled 398 digs and 55 aces for Maize and earned honorable mention All-AV-CTL honors.

Warhill (Va.) High outside hitter Alex Koon (6-3) had 337 kills and 262 digs this season and earned Conference 25 Player of the Year honors. Outside hitter Emily Panchak (6-1) earned All-State honors as a junior and senior at Concord (Del.). Setter Jordan Roberts (5-10) recorded more than 1,200 assists and 200 digs during her senior season at Calallen High in Corpus Christi, Texas.

One men’s basketball team needed — The eight-team field at 2015 Orlando Classic will include Alabama, Iowa, Notre Dame and Wichita State.

Organizers announced seven members on Thursday. One slot remains open, with Dayton, Xavier and Southern California completing the bracket at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando, Fla. Games begin on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26, with the second round on Nov. 27 and final games on Nov. 29.

The Shockers played in the tournament (then called the Old Spice Classic) in 2008, losing to Georgetown, defeating Siena and losing to Michigan State.

WSU will play in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the 2016-17 season and make a return to the Maui Invitational in 2017-18.

Tables available for Final Four reunion — WSU’s 1965 Final Four team will hold a 50th reunion on Feb. 6 at the Drury Plaza Hotel.

Five tables are available for public purchase at a price of $5,000 each. For information, e-mail Robert Powers at robertpowers14@gmail.com.

The event will include a discussion led by radio broadcasters Mike Kennedy and Bob Hull, and a speech by current WSU coach Gregg Marshall.

Signing days — Women’s golfer Gavrilla Ayra and men’s tennis player Edward Stoica signed with WSU.

Ayra, from Indonesia, won the Indonesian National Junior Golf Championship in 2011 and 2012. Stoica, from Romania, attends Saint Kentigern College in New Zealand, where is a three-time World Secondary Schools championship qualifier.

This story was originally published November 20, 2014 at 2:02 PM with the headline "WSU volleyball has uphill climb in MVC."