WICHITA, Kan. — Wichita State dropped the 2024 exhibition opener against (RV) Kansas State 29-27, 25-20, 25-17 on Saturday evening at Charles Koch Arena.
The Shockers took a 19-14 lead in the opening set, but Kansas State rallied with an 8-2 run to claim a slim 22-21 advantage. The two teams then traded the next 12 points as Wichita State fought off four set point opportunities, but eventually the Wildcats put the set away via a kill from Meg Brown and a Shocker attack error. Wichita State got five kills in the opening frame from Emerson Wilford and four from Brooklyn Leggett, hitting .216 in the set to the Wildcats .213. Morgan Stout added three kills, a solo block and two block assists.Kansas State pulled away in the middle stages of the second set, turning an 8-7 edge into a 16-10 lead thanks in large part to a spurt from outside hitter Aliyah Carter, who racked up seven kills in the set. The lead swelled to 20-12 before the Shockers responded with a 5-0 run of their own, forcing a Kansas State timeout. Stout was at the center of the action, notching two kills and two blocks around a Katie Galligan service ace to trim the deficit to 20-17. The Wildcats regrouped out of the timeout, lengthening the lead back out to five and eventually clinching the set with another termination from Carter.
Both teams went deep into the bench for the third set, which saw Kansas State sprint out to a 17-6 lead. Brown poured in six kills on eight swings for the Wildcats, who hit .324 as a team in the third set. WSU got as close as 21-14 following a mini run of three consecutive points, but the Shockers committed a trio of errors to help Kansas State close out the victory.
Carter led all scorers with 16 kills for Kansas State, followed by Brown with 12. Leggett paced the Shockers with 10 terminations, while Wilford produced nine and Stout seven. Annalie Heliste, who got the start at libero for WSU, piled up 14 digs, joined in double digits by Wilford (10) and Izzi Strand (10). Strand contributed 26 assists.
Wichita State opens the regular season next Friday at Kennesaw State. First serve of the opener is scheduled for 11:00 am CT.
