CEDAR FALLS, IOWA - Indiana State battled well early but could not sustain the effort as the Wichita State Shockers stopped the Sycamores 3-0 (25-16, 25-15, 25-16) in the opening game of the 2011 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Volleyball Tournament. Indiana State ends their best season in seven years with a 14-17 record.
"It was a learning experience for this team and they will come back better than ever," Traci Dahl, Indiana State volleyball coach, said. "I am very proud of the leadership from our seniors this year. They have laid a great foundation of success for years to come."
Sophomore Monique Morris led Indiana State with eight kills while junior Morgan Dall had seven, junior Shea Doran six, sophomore Molly Murphy four, senior Stacy Qualizza three, and freshman Samantha Kersting had one kill. Senior Shelbi Fouty had 26 assists while Morris led the team in digs with 17. Qualizza had two blocks.
The opening set was tight through the first half of the action with the score tied five times. Indiana State rallied to take a 4-3 led on a Morgan Dall kill but the Shockers came back with three straight to regain the advantage. The Sycamores continued to fight and tied the set at nine after two straight kills by Molly Murphy.
ISU fell behind again by two but came back on kills by Shea Doran and Dall. A Doran kill tied the set for the final time at 12. From there, the Sycamore defense couldn't stop the Shockers as Wichita State limited ISU to just four more points in a 25-16 opening set win.
The second set belonged to the Shocker although Indiana State did rally from a 7-2 deficit to trail 10-8. However, the Shockers regained the momentum with an 8-1 run and went on to take a 25-15 set win.
Indiana State fell behind 6-2 early in the third set and rallied to trail 8-5 after a kill by Monique Morris but that was as close as the Sycamore would get. The Shockers help off several Sycamore rallies down the stretch to defeat ISU 25-16 and win the game three sets to none.
