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Bears humble Shocker volleyball at home on Astini News

Wichita State's volleyball team isn't used to being dismissed this rudely in its own gym.

Missouri State swept WSU (25-23, 25-21, 26-24) on Friday at Koch Arena, leaving the Shockers disappointed and bewildered.

"It just seemed like everyone was terrified, everyone was very tense," WSU setter Mary Elizabeth Hooper. "Statistically, we outplayed them. But effort and energy and things going right, they won."

WSU (8-5, 2-1 Missouri Valley Conference) failed to win a set at home for the first time since 2007 (Cal Poly) and at home against an MVC opponent for the first time since 2003 (Northern Iowa).

As Hooper said, most of the numbers didn't point to big advantages for MSU (10-3, 3-0). The Bears, however, rarely trailed, snuffed out every Shocker rally and hit WSU with scoring from a variety of players.

"They're just really scrappy, and they play with a lot of heart," WSU outside hitter Emily Adney said. "That's something that gets teams really far."

MSU did win one facet convincingly. Its serving game controlled the match by keeping WSU's offense off-balance. The Shockers responded by serving meekly in the first two sets and overcompensating in the third and banging balls out. They totaled eight service errors, five in the third set.

The Bears totaled five aces, three in the third set, and two service errors.

"We served so soft, and it was a feeding frenzy for their side-out offense," WSU coach Chris Lamb said.

The Bears hit .198 for the match, but .234 in the second set and .242 in the third. The Shockers held seniors Callie Norman (seven kills) and Kelley Michnowicz (six) to reasonable numbers. Setter Carly Thomas found freshman Olivia Brand and sophomore Christine McCartney for 11 kills each. McCartney, who hit .300, had five kills in the second set and four in the third.

"I was disappointed on the way we dealt with her," Lamb said.

MSU's defense kept WSU's outside hitters from taking over. Camri Zwiesler finished with eights kills, but didn't have one in the second set. Emily Adney totaled nine, hitting .182.

"The teams that have beaten Wichita State, and we had seen enough film, were the teams that were able to do a good job on the outside hitters," MSU coach Melissa Stokes said. "It's hard to contain both. I said if we could slow them down, or take one of them out, we had a good chance to win."

The Bears pulled away late in the first set, breaking a 19-19 tie with three straight points. Thomas scored two of those. In the second set, MSU took a 3-2 lead and never trailed. Norman hurt the Shockers in the middle, scoring four of her kills.

The Shockers rallied in the third set after trailing 18-14. A block by Hooper and Ashley Andrade gave WSU a 23-22 lead. Andrade's kill put the Shockers up 24-23. McCartney tied it with a long tip that landed in the corner. Her ace then landed in almost the same spot to give the Bears a 25-24 lead. Karen Rivatto ended the match by tipping over WSU's double block into an empty spot in the middle of the court.

Stokes wanted no part of a fourth set, given the history of the rivalry. Eleven of the previous 19 matches went to five sets.

"I reminded our team that they had come back last week after being down 2-0 (against Oklahoma)," she said. "I knew the crowd would get into it. I wanted us to play with the confidence that we were up 2-0, but the urgency that we were down 2-0."

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