#24 Wichita State Survives 5-Set Scare from UCF Knights

  0 Bill Stadick | October 27th, 2017 | College - Women's Indoor, Division I Mid-Major, News

MATCH NOTES

The #24 Wichita State Shockers came back from a 2-1 set deficit to beat the UCF Knights and remain undefeated in American Athletic Conference play. It was the first time any conference opponent has pushed the Shockers to five sets.

Wichita State was led offensively by junior outside Tabitha Brown, who notched 24 kills on .349 hitting, and senior middle Abbie Lehman, who added 23 kills while hitting at .415 clip. Senior setter Emily Hiebert dished out 62 assists, and freshman libero Giorgia Civita led the back-row defensive effort with 26 digs.

For UCF, two Knights recorded double-doubles: junior setter Miranda Watkins (26 assists, 10 digs) and senior outside Kia Bright (17 kills, 11 digs). Junior libero Jordan Pingel registered 20 digs.

In set one, UCF scored two of the final three points, including the final kill by freshman outside Anne-Marie Watson to secure the 25-23 victory. Set two was all Shockers, with the visitors winning 25-14 on a kill by sophomore outside Alex Koon.

The Knights bounced back in the third, scoring five of the final six points to win 25-17. Wichita State answered in the fourth, forcing a fifth set after a Brown kill gave them the 25-14 victory.

The tiebreaker set stayed close until Lehman took over, notching two straight kills to give the Shockers a 12-9 advantage, then three more to seal a 15-10 victory for Wichita State.

Next up, Wichita State travels to play USF on Sunday, while UCF hosts Memphis, also on Sunday.

PRESS RELEASES

Courtesy: Wichita State Athletics

No. 21 Shockers Come Back for 3-2 Win at UCF

ORLANDO, Fla. – No. 21 Wichita State came back for a 3-2 win at UCF to improve to 19-3 overall and 11-0 in The American. The Shockers won by scores of 23-25, 25-14, 17-25, 25-15 and 15-10.

Tabitha Brown led the Shockers with 23 kills and 11 digs and hit .349, while Abbie Lehman had a career-high 22 kills along with eight blocks and hit .415.

They are the first Shocker duo to each have 20 or more kills in a match since Sara Lungren and Emily Stockman did it against Kansas State on Aug. 25, 2007.

Emily Hiebert added 62 assists and 12 digs, while Giorgia Civita had 26 digs.

SET 1:
• The Knights held on for a 25-23 win in the first set
• UCF used a 4-1 run to go in front 13-8
• Abbie Lehman‘s kill pulled the Shockers with 20-17
• The Knights took a 23-18 lead on a kill, but Tabitha Brown answered with three-straight kills and a block with Brooke Smith to cut the lead to 23-22
• UCF scored two of the final three points for a 25-23 win
• Brown had six kills in the set, while Hiebert had 16 assists

SET 2:
• WSU ran away with a 25-14 win in the second set
• A Lehman kill gave the Shockers an early 5-1 lead
• Lehman’s service ace and Brown’s kill pushed the lead to 11-4 and Hiebert’s kill gave the Shockers a 10-point advantage at 20-10
•  WSU won the set 25-14 on a kill by Alex Koon

SET 3:
• UCF pulled away for the 25-17 win
• The set went back and forth until the Knights used a 5-1 run to go in front 16-12
• The Knights scored five of the final six points for the 25-17 win

SET 4:
• The Shockers forced a fifth set with a 25-15 win
• WSU got off to a quick start and took a 7-2 lead on a block by Lehman and Koon
• Kills from Brown and Lehman pushed the lead to 15-7
• Another Lehman kill gave WSU a 21-10 advantage and Brown’s kill gave WSU the 25-15 win

SET 5:
• WSU won the match with a 15-10 win in the fifth
• Brown’s kill gave WSU the early 5-2 lead
• UCF came back to tie it at eight
• Two kills from Lehman gave WSU the 12-9 lead and Lehman ended the set with three-straight kills for the 15-10 win

NEXT MATCH:
• The Shockers are next in action on Sun., Oct. 29 at USF at 11 a.m. CT

Courtesy: UCF Athletics

VolleyBowl X Thriller

Knights Force No. 21 Shockers to Five Sets in VolleyBowl X

ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – In the 10th edition of VolleyBowl, the UCF volleyball team opened with a bang, taking the opening set against No. 21 Wichita State on Friday night in The Venue. The Knights (11-12, 4-7) pushed the American Athletic Conference leaders to the brink, but the Shockers (19-3, 11-0) rallied to take the match in five sets (23-25, 25-14, 17-25, 25-15, 15-10). The match was Wichita States’ first five-set contest as a member of the AAC.

Kia Bright delivered an inspired performance on the attack with 17 kills and 11 digs. The redshirt senior took 60 swings on the night and committed just six errors. Sophomore Alli Sabol drilled 12 kills on 37 attempts in her fourth straight double-figure kill outing. Kristina Fisher hit .259 on the evening with 10 kills. Though UCF finished with a .161 attack percentage for the match, the Knights hit .382 and .310 in the first and third sets, respectively.

While the offense was pummeling the WSU back row with attacks, the UCF defense was on point. Libero Jordan Pingel led a quartet of Knights in double-figure digs. Jeanne Westney disrupted the Wichita State attack with five block assists, as the Knights racked up eight rejections. Taylor Wickey tallied the lone solo block for the Black and Gold. With the match tied at 1-1 coming out of the break, the Knights never allowed the Shockers to find their rhythm, as UCF held the Shockers to an .025 clip at the net. Of the 10 Knights that played in all five sets, eight recorded multiple digs.

HOT START
• The Knights were all over the Shockers in the opening frame, never looking back after taking a 4-3 lead.
• Bright powered the offense with seven kills and a service ace.
• An 8-5 run that extended the lead to five for the Black and Gold in the middle of the game proved vital in the late stages.
• Wichita State shaved the Knights’ advantage down to one at 23-22, but a rejection by Wickey and a kill by Anne-Marie Watson gave the hosts the first set.

BRINGING IT OUT OF THE BREAK
• After the Shockers leveled the match with a second set win, UCF responded by going point for point in the third.
• Tied at 11-11, Sabol hammered a kill through the block to give the Knights the lead.
• The sophomore’s drive spurred a 9-3 run, capped by a Westney, Bright rejection.
• After Wichita State cut the lead down to four, the Black and Gold fired back with five of the final six points.
• Fisher was perfect on the attack, going 4-for-4 in the third.

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