No. 3 Wichita State 3, No. 2 Missouri State 2
WSU (25-5); MSU (21-10)

OMAHA, Neb. - Wichita State advanced to the championship match of the 2009 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament with a thrilling five-set victory over Missouri State.  The Shockers (25-5) won by scores of 25-15, 23-25, 25-23, 22-25 and 15-12.

Emily Stockman led the Shockers with a career-high 30 kills, while Kim Wadsworth added a career-high 18 kills.  Mary Elizabeth Hooper collected a career-high 66 assists and Melissa Granville had a match-high 26 digs.

The Shockers jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the first set and increased it to 15-9 after a block by Sarah McGee and Emily Stockman.  A WSU hitting error pulled the Bears to within 18-14, but the Shockers ended the set on a 7-1 run to take a 25-15 win.

The two teams battled out to a 9-9 tie in the second, but back-to-back Shocker hitting errors put the Bears in front 11-9. The Shockers came back to tie it at 12 after a MSU hitting error, but a 4-0 run by the Bears gave them a 16-12 advantage.  A kill by McGee brought the Shocks to within 17-15 and back-to-back kills by Kim Wadsworth tied the score at 18. The teams went back-and-forth until three-straight MSU kills put the Bears up 24-22.  MSU held on to win the set 25-23.

The third set went back-and-forth until a kill by Amanda Backes put the Shocks in front 15-13.  Back-to-back kills by Katie Niggemeyer gave WSU an 18-15 lead, but a Bear block brought MSU to within 22-21.  The Shockers held on to take the set 25-23.

Four-straight MSU kills put the Bears in front 7-5 in the fourth set, but back-to-back kills by Emily Adney tied the score at seven.  The teams traded points until a service ace by the Bears gave MSU a 19-17 lead.  Back-to-back blocks by the Bears increased the lead to 22-19 and won the set 25-22.

WSU started the fifth set on a roll by jumping out to a 3-0 lead.  Back-to-back kills by Wadsworth put the Shocks up 8-5, but the Bears rallied to tie the set at nine.  A kill by Stockman put the Shocks in front 12-11 and two more Stockman kills gave WSU the win at 15-12.

The Shockers will play the winner of the UNI/Creighton match in the championship match at 3:07 p.m. on Sat., Nov. 28.