Wichita State overpowers UTEP to win NIVC

Not only did Wichita State win, the Shockers swept at UTEP on Tuesday to win the NIVC and claim the first postseason championship in program history.

The Shockers (26-8)  of the American Athletic Conference won their sixth in a row as five players had five or more kills in the 25-14, 25-22, 25-22 victory.

Emerson Wilford led with 11 kills, a dig and three blocks, one solo. Sophia Rohling had eight kills, Natalie Foster had seven kills, hitting .364 and had two digs and a block. Izzi Strand had two kills in four errorless tries, 29 assists, an ace, a block and seven digs. Her team hit .292. Gabi Maas had 12 digs, four assists and an ace.

Wichita State, which dropped only one total set in its five tourney victories, had its most wins since 2017.

UTEP of Conference USA finished its season 25-10 and made the deepest postseason run in program history. The Miners, who hit .135, got nine kills from Alianza Darley, who had three digs and two blocks. Torrance Lovesee and Maria Ovalle had eight kills each. 

There were 3,271 fans inside Memorial Gym, the third UTEP sellout in a row. 

The tournament began November 29 with 32 of the top teams that missed out on the NCAA Tournament.