MATCH STATS
- Wichita State (RV) def. #7 Creighton 3-1 (25-20, 16-25, 25-19, 25-22)
- Wichita State moves to 8-2; Creighton falls to 7-3
- Wichita, Kansas
- Attendance: 2,857
- Box Score
WICHITA, Kan. – Wichita State (RV) was the more efficient team in a four-set upset of No. 7 Creighton on Friday night at the Shocker Volleyball Classic.
The Shockers outhit the Bluejays .200 to .166 and outblocked them 10-7. Creighton tallied one more kill (53-52) and one more ace (3-2) in the match, but committed six more hitting errors (27-21).
Junior outside hitter Tabitha Brown downed a match-high 17 kills, while senior outside Mikaela Raudsepp and senior middle blocker Abbie Lehman followed with 11 and 10 respectively to lead the Shockers. Redshirt freshman middle Emma Wright and sophomore outside Alex Koon added six blocks apiece, while redshirt freshman libero Giorgia Civita held down the back court with a match-best 29 digs. Senior setter Emily Hiebert chipped in 10 digs to go with her 42 assists and complete a double-double.
A trio of players turned in double-digit kill efforts for Creighton, but it was not enough to lift the Bluejays to victory. Sophomore middle Megan Ballenger (16), senior middle Marysa Wilkinson (11) and junior outside Jaali Winters (10) made up the group. Ballenger hit at a match-high .500 clip, while Winters and Wilkinson added four blocks apiece. Winters also served up two of the team’s three aces. Four Bluejays notched double-digit dig performances: sophomore libero Brittany Witt (20), senior setter Lydia Dimke (15), senior defensive specialist Kenzie Crawford (14) and junior defensive specialist Samantha Bohnet (12). Dimke rounded out a double-double with 40 assists and seven kills on a .500 hitting effort.
Creighton went up 7-3 in Set 1 with help from a trio of WSU errors and two blocks. Wichita State battled back to knot the score at 9-all en route to an 11-10 lead. Brown and Lehman turned in two kills apiece in the rally. After a tie at 13, the Shockers broke away with a 4-0 run. An ace by Hanna Shelton and a handful of Bluejay miscues later gave WSU a 21-15 edge. A stuff by Wright and Koon put WSU on the hill at 24-18 and a kill by Brown sealed the win at 25-20.
The Bluejays jumped out to a 6-1 lead in Set 2 including a pair of aces. The Creighton lead stood at seven at 16-9 midway through the stanza as five different players managed kills. Wichita State would get no closer than six the rest of the way. Creighton ended the set on a 4-1 run, capped by a Wilkinson putaway.
After falling behind 6-4 in Set 3, WSU rallied to tie things up at seven and 10. Two Koon kills and two Creighton miscues aided the rally. The teams split the next 10 points leading to a 15-all tie. A Raudsepp kill capped a 5-0 Shocker run, which pushed the margin to four at 19-15. A Brown putaway topped off a 3-0 run to close out the 25-19 win for Wichita State.
The Shockers closed out the upset after surging ahead 8-4 early in Set 4. Creighton scored six of the next eight to tie the score at 10, with help from three WSU errors. The Bluejays took the lead at 15-14 on a Wichita State error, but kills by Brown and Raudsepp put the Shockers back on top at 17-16. WSU built a three-point advantage at 22-19 with two kills each by Raudsepp and Lehman. A stuff by Koon and Wright gave the Shockers their first match-point try at 24-21. A Brown kill two plays later sewed up the win.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy: Wichita State Athletics
Wichita State defeated No. 8 Creighton 3-1 in the home opener Friday night in Charles Koch Arena in front of 2,857 fans. The Shockers won by scores of 25-20, 16-25, 25-19 and 25-22.
It was the second top-10 win in school history with the other coming in 2008 against No. 10 Cal Poly.
Tabitha Brown led the Shockers with 17 kills, while Mikaela Raudsepp had 11 and Abbie Lehman had 10. Emily Hiebert had 42 assists and 10 digs, while Giorgia Civita had 29 digs.
SET 1:
• Shockers won the first set 25-20 after trailing 7-3
• A kill from Tabitha Brown evened the set at nine
• Kills from Koon and Lehman gave the Shockers the 15-13 lead at the media timeout
• Two CU errors pushed the lead to 17-13
• Brown’s kill gave WSU the 25-20 win
• Brown led the Shockers with five kills
• Giorgia Civita had nine digs
SET 2:
• Creighton pulled away to win the second set 25-16
• Civita recorded nine digs
• CU jumped out to a 6-1 lead
• The Bluejays used a service ace to push the lead to 18-10
• The teams traded points the rest of the way in a 25-16 CU win
SET 3:
• Shockers pulled away late for the 25-19 win
• The set went back and forth until the Shockers used a 5-0 run to take a 19-15 lead
• CU pulled within 22-19 with a kill, but the Shockers scored the final three points for the 25-19 win
• Brown had five kills and Koon had four kills in the set
SET 4:
• WSU won a back and forth set with a 25-22 win
• Shockers jumped out to an 8-4 lead
• CU came back to tie it at 10
• Two kills from Raudsepp put the Shockers up 21-18
• The Shockers reached match point at 24-21 on a block from Koon and Wright
• Brown’s kill gave WSU the 25-22 win
• Brown and Raudsepp each recorded five kills, Lehman added four
NEXT MATCH:
• The Shockers are next in action on Sun., Sept. 17 when they host No. 19 Iowa State at 2:30 p.m. inside Charles Koch Arena
Courtesy: Creighton Athletics
A career-high 16 kills from sophomore Megan Ballenger wasn’t enough as No. 8 Creighton Volleyball lost a four-set match at Wichita State on Friday night to open play at the Shocker Volleyball Classic.
Scores in favor of the victorious hosts were 25-20, 16-25, 25-19, 25-22.
Creighton fell to 7-3 while Wichita State improved to 8-2.
Wichita State won the opening set, 25-20, as the Jays were unable to string consecutive points together for much of the frame. The Jays led 7-3 early on, only to see Wichita State take its first lead at 11-10. The Shockers would not let Creighton score consecutive points again until it had built a 24-18 margin, and eventually closed out the set with a 25-20 victory.
Creighton never trailed in the second set, rolling to a 25-16 victory. Samantha Bohnet served Creighton to a 4-0 lead to open the set and the Jays never looked back. CU would extend the lead to 18-10 and hit .381 in the set. Middle blockers Ballenger and Marysa Wilkinson each had five kills in the second set for CU.
The third set featured 11 ties by the media timeout, where Creighton owned a 15-14 lead. But the Shockers came out of the break with five straight points to jump-start an 8-2 run to move ahead by five en route to a 25-19 victory. Ballenger had four kills in the set for CU, while Tabitha Brown paced WSU with five kills and Giorgia Civita added eight digs in the third frame.
The fourth set featured nine ties and a pair of lead changes. With the score knotted at 18-all, WSU scored the next three points. The Jays got within one at 22-21 to force a Shocker timeout, but WSU would reel off three of the final four points to close out the match between the former Missouri Valley Conference rivals.
Ballenger hit .500 on 26 swings, adding three digs and two blocks. Lydia Dimke (40 assists, 15 digs, seven kills) added a double-double, while Wilkinson (11) and Jaali Winters (10) also had double-figure kills. Brittany Witt scooped 20 digs. CU hit .166 and had 53 kills, three aces, 72 digs and 7.5 blocks overall.
Tabitha Brown had 17 kills to pace WSU, with Mikaela Raudsepp adding 11 kills in a supporting role. The Shockers hit .200 and had 52 kills, two aces, 70 digs and 10 blocks. Civita had 29 digs in the contest.
Creighton returns to action on Saturday with a match against No. 19 Iowa State (7-1). That match will also have live stats and can be heard in Omaha on 1180 AM.
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