CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - Wichita State grabbed early leads in each set of the 2011 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship match, but the top-seeded Northern Iowa Panthers fought back in each to win, 3-0, and claim their third-straight MVC Tournament title.
The No. 12-ranked Panthers (32-1) won by scores of 25-23, 29-27 and 25-20 Saturday in front of a crowd of 1,859 at the McLeod Center.
The No. 3-seeded Shockers fell to 21-10 overall, as their seven-match winning streak came to a close. Wichita State made its fifth tournament championship appearance in school history.
Shocker Emily Adney posted a match-high 15 kills and Sarah Waldorf led all players with 24 digs. Mary Elizabeth Hooper posted 36 assists and 16 digs. Camri Zwiesler had 13 kills and 10 digs for the Shockers.
Adney and Hooper represented the Shockers on the all-tournament team.
The Shockers broke a 6-6 tie in the first set with three-straight kills from Adney, Zwiesler and Elizabeth Field to take a three-point lead. An Adney kill and attack error by UNI gave the Shockers an 11-7 edge. The Shockers held a 15-12 lead before the Panthers went on a six-point run to take an 18-15 advantage and the lead for good in the set. UNI went on to take the first set, 25-23.
In the second set, the Shockers took a 3-1 early lead on a block by Ashley Andrade and Adney. Four-straight points from Adney, including three kills and a block, pushed the Shockers ahead, 8-4. Back-to-back UNI kills later gave the Panthers a 15-12 lead. Kills by Field and Adney tied the score, 16-16, but the Panthers answered with two points to regain the lead. Kills from Field and Zwiesler, followed by a Hooper and Andrade block, gave Wichita State a 20-19 lead. The Shockers gained a 24-22 lead on a UNI attack error, but the Panthers fought back to tie the score, 24-24. The teams then traded points until a Wichita State attack error closed the set, giving the Panthers a 29-27 win.
Five-straight points for the Shockers boosted Wichita State to a 7-3 advantage in the third set. A four-point run by UNI later tied the match, 9-9. The score tied twice more before the Panthers used a 6-1 run to take a 17-12 lead. Four-straight points by the Shockers cut the Panther lead to 17-16. Three consecutive Shocker kills cut UNI's lead to 23-20, but the Panthers went on to win the set, 25-20.
With Saturday's win, the Panthers claimed an automatic bid into the 2011 Division I women's volleyball NCAA Tournament. The field of 64 teams for the NCAA Tournament will be announced at 5 p.m. Central Sunday, Nov. 27 on ESPNU.
The Shockers have participated in the NCAA Tournament five times, including each of the last four years, and hold a 4-5 overall NCAA Tournament record.
