WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State returns to the friendly confines of Charles Koch Arena for three straight home contests, beginning with Loyola Friday night at 7 p.m. and Bradley Saturday at 7 p.m., before wrapping up the homestand Monday evening vs. Southern Illinois at 7 p.m. Friday's match vs. Loyola is Dig Pink Night where fans are encouraged to wear pink to the match.
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MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAY
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Wichita, Kan. |
Charles Koch Arena |
Buy Tickets |
Promotions |
Game Notes |
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MATCH 16 |
Loyola (8-9, 3-1) at Wichita State (10-5, 3-1) |
Oct. 7 |
7 P.M. CT |
The Valley on ESPN3 |
GoShockers.com (Mike Kennedy) |
GoShockers.com |
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MATCH 17 |
Bradley (6-9, 1-3) at Wichita State (10-5, 3-1) |
Oct. 8 |
7 P.M. CT |
The Valley on ESPN3 |
GoShockers.com (Mike Kennedy) |
GoShockers.com |
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SOCIAL |
@GoShockersLIVE | #watchus |
@goshockers | #watchus |
Go Shockers |
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SERIES HISTORY |
Shockers vs. Loyola: 6-0 |
Last Meeting: Nov. 13, 2015 (WSU 3-2) |
Shockers in Wichita: 3-0 |
Shockers vs. Bradley: 41-18 |
Last Meeting: Nov. 14, 2015 (WSU 3-0) |
Shockers in Wichita: 22-6 |
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MVC STANDINGS |
1. Southern Illinois (13-6, 4-1) |
2. Illinois State (11-6, 4-1) |
3. Wichita State (10-5, 3-1) |
4. Loyola (8-9, 3-1) |
5. Northern Iowa (12-7, 3-3) |
6. Missouri State (11-7, 2-2) |
7. Drake (11-8, 2-3) |
8. Indiana State (7-9, 1-3) |
9. Bradley (6-9, 1-3) |
10. Evansville (4-14, 0-5) |
Quick Hits
• WSU is 2-1 against the RPI top-50 and 5-5 against the top-100
• WSU is listed at 42 in the latest RPI with Loyola at 118 and Bradley at 272
• WSU leads the series with Loyola 6-0 and is 3-0 in Wichita
• WSU leads the series with Bradley 41-18 and 22-6 in Wichita
• The Shockers have won 26 straight against the Braves
• WSU is ranked eighth nationally in hitting percentage, 31st in assists per set and 34th in kills per set
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Abbie Lehman is ranked 11th nationally in hitting percentage, while
Emily Hiebert is ranked 50th in assists per set
• Hiebert collected her 3,000th career assist on Sept. 26 against Evansville
• The Shockers are 8-1 in three-set matches, 0-3 in four-set matches and 2-1 in five-set matches this season
• WSU is ranked 18th in the nation in attendance (1,969 average) and had a season-high crowd of 2,370 Sept. 26 against Evansville at Charles Koch Arena
• The Shockers are 3-1 at home this season
• Wichita State is 7-3 in the last 10 matches
• In the last 10 matches, WSU is hitting .314 while holding opponents to a .202 hitting percentage
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Abbie Lehman is hitting .447 in the last 10 matches, while
Emily Hiebert is hitting .351,
Katy Dudzinski is hitting .345,
Jody Larson is hitting .320,
Mikaela Raudsepp is hitting .266 and
Tabitha Brown at .262
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Emily Hiebert leads the Shockers with 10 double-doubles, while
Jody Larson has six
• WSU has had three different players with 15 or more kills in a match this season:
Abbie Lehman,
Mikaela Raudsepp and
Jody Larson
• WSU has had four different players with 15 or more digs in a match this season:
Dani Mostrom,
Jody Larson,
Emily Hiebert, and
Giorgia Civita
• WSU has won 20 or more matches for 13-straight years
• WSU has finished in the top-three in the Valley standings for the last 13 years
• The Shockers have won six MVC regular-season titles and three MVC Tournament titles
On the Web
All three matches will be on the Internet at www.goshockers.com/listen with Mike Kennedy calling the action. Friday and Saturday's matches will be on
The Valley on ESPN3 with Chris Solwecki and Jenne' Blackburn, while Monday's will be on COX and ESPN3 with Mike Kennedy and Cori Broddle.
Scouting Loyola
The Ramblers are 8-9 overall and 3-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Wins this season have come against College of Charleston, Davidson, Wake Forest, Mississippi State, Northern Kentucky, Indiana State, Evansville and Southern Illinois. Losses have come against DePaul, Iowa, Northern Illinois, Miami, Kansas State, Illinois-Chicago, Butler, Arizona and Illinois State. As a team, they are hitting .194, while holding opponents to a .198 clip. They are led by Morgan Reardon who is averaging 3.36 kills per set, while Delilah Wolf averages 9.47 assists and Maddy Moser averages 4.58 digs per set. The Ramblers are led by head coach Chris Muscat.
Series History vs. the Ramblers
Wichita State leads the overall series with the Ramblers 6-0. WSU also leads the series in Wichita, 3-0. WSU head coach
Chris Lamb is 6-0 overall against the Ramblers.
Last Meeting vs. LU
The last meeting between the two teams was Nov. 13, 2015, in Chicago. The Shockers won 3-2 by scores of 25-18, 23-25, 25-21, 21-25 and 15-13.
Mikaela Raudsepp and
Shimen Fayad led the Shockers with 13 kills each, while
Emily Hiebert had 42 assists and
Dani Mostrom had 15 digs.
Scouting Bradley
The Braves are 6-9 overall and 1-3 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Wins this season have come against Western Illinois, Akron, South Dakota State, Omaha, Cornell and Evansville. Losses have come against Milwaukee, Northern Illinois, UTEP, North Dakota State, UMKC, Indiana State, Western Michigan, Illinois State and Southern Illinois. As a team, they are hitting .199, while holding opponents to a .216 clip. They are led by Erica Haslag who is averaging 3.69 kills per set, while Erin Olson averages 6.18 assists and Abby Ihrke averages 3.98 digs per set. The Braves are led by head coach Carol Price-Torok.
Series History vs. the Braves
Wichita State leads the overall series with the Braves 41-18. WSU leads the series in Wichita 22-6. WSU head coach
Chris Lamb is 27-6 overall against the Braves and 14-2 in Wichita. The Shockers have won the last 26 meetings overall.
Last Meeting vs. BU
The last meeting between the two teams was Nov. 14, 2015, in Peoria, Ill. The Shockers won 3-0 by scores of 25-16, 25-18 and 25-10.
Mikaela Raudsepp led the Shockers with 10 kills, while
Emily Hiebert had 29 assists and
Dani Mostrom had 10 digs.
Last Time Out
Wichita State swept Drake on Friday in Des Moines by scores of 25-17, 25-20 and 25-18 and fell in four sets at UNI on Saturday by scores of 25-20, 18-25, 23-25 and 22-25. Against Drake,
Tabitha Brown led the Shockers with 11 kills, while
Emily Hiebert had 41 assists and 13 digs and
Jody Larson had 13 digs. Against UNI, Larson had 17 kills and 20 digs, while Hiebert had 45 assists.
Shockers in the RPI
Wichita State is 42nd in the first official RPI release of the season. WSU is 2-2 against the top-50 and 5-5 against the top-100. Wins include Creighton (29), Marquette (44), Missouri State (67), Colorado State (68) and Texas State (92). Losses are against Texas (3), Cincinnati (55), UTSA (56), UNI (65) and Iowa State (69). Loyola is 118, Bradley is 272 and Southern Illinois is 59.
Hiebert's Double-Doubles
Junior setter
Emily Hiebert has double-doubles in 10 of 15 matches this season and owns 35 career double-doubles, which ranks her 10th in the Shocker record books.
Moving on Up
Senior libero
Dani Mostrom and junior setter
Emily Hiebert continue to climb the Shocker career records list for digs and assists. Mostrom is now second in career digs with 1,705 and needs 497 more to move into first place, while Hiebert is seventh in assists with 3,099 and needs 15 more to move into sixth place.
Dudzinski Heating Up
Senior middle blocker
Katy Dudzinski has heated up over her last five matches. She is averaging 2.05 kills per set and hitting .398. She had a career-high 12 kills at UTSA on Sept. 17 and had seven kills on nine swings and hit .778 against Evansville on Sept. 26.
Lehman Sizzling
Junior middle blocker
Abbie Lehman has been on fire in her last 12 matches. She is averaging 2.93 kills per set and hitting .455 in the last 12 matches. In 246 total swings, she has just 11 errors. In 15 total matches this season, she is hitting .419.
Seven Points
Wichita State held Evansville to seven points in the second set of the win on Sept. 26 in Wichita. That is tied for the second fewest points allowed by WSU in a set in the 25-point scoring era. It ties the seven that WSU gave up to Grambling State on Sept. 5, 2009. The record is four which WSU gave up to Evansville on Nov. 21, 2015.
Double-Digit Kills
Wichita State used a balanced offensive attack to earn a five-set road win at Missouri State on Sept. 23. The Shockers got double-digit kills from five players including 15 from
Mikaela Raudsepp, 13 from
Tabitha Brown, 11 from
Katy Dudzinski and
Abbie Lehman and 10 from
Jody Larson. It was the first time the Shockers had five players in double-digit kills since Oct. 23, 2015 when they won in five sets at Illinois State. In that match, Larson had 19,
Shimen Fayad had 14, Lehman and Raudsepp each had 12 and
Katie Reilly had 11.
MVC Opener
Wichita State opened Missouri Valley Conference play on the road at Missouri State on Sept. 23. With the win, the Shockers are now 18-16 overall in conference openers and 12-5 under head coach
Chris Lamb. The Shockers are also 17-16 in conference road openers and 12-5 under Lamb. It was the first time the Shockers opened MVC play on the road since 2012.
Hiebert and Lehman Named to All-Tourney Team
Junior setter
Emily Hiebert and junior middle blocker
Abbie Lehman both earned all-tournament team honors at the Roadrunners Roundup. In the three matches, Hiebert averaged 1.36 kills, 10.91 assists, 0.09 aces, 3.09 digs and 0.45 blocks per set while hitting .375. Lehman averaged 2.91 kills, 0.09 aces, 0.64 digs and 1.09 blocks per set while hitting .372.
Hiebert and Larson Earn All-Tourney Honors
Junior setter
Emily Hiebert and senior outside hitter
Jody Larson earned all-tournament team honors at the Rams Volleyball Classic. The tournament consisted of just the matches against Colorado State and Texas. In those two matches, Hiebert averaged 12.00 assists, 1.43 kills, 0.29 aces, 3.00 digs and 0.71 blocks per set, while hitting .471. Larson averaged 4.86 kills, 2.00 digs and 0.57 blocks per set, while hitting .354.
Hiebert Named MVP
Junior
Emily Hiebert earned MVP honors at the Shocker Volleyball Classic, while senior
Jody Larson and junior
Mikaela Raudsepp were both named to the all-tournament team. Hiebert averaged 11.40 assists, 1.30 kills, 0.20 aces, 2.90 digs and 0.70 blocks per set in the three matches. Larson averaged 3.00 kills, 0.60 assists, 0.20 aces, 3.70 digs and 0.60 blocks per set, while Raudsepp averaged 2.80 kills, 0.40 digs and 0.30 blocks per set.
Tournament Title
Wichita State won the Shocker Volleyball Classic title after defeating Marquette in three sets on Saturday night. It was the first time the Shockers had won their own tournament since 2009 when tournament MVP Emily Stockman led them to the title. Other champions since that time include Portland (2010), BYU (2012), Hawaii (2013) and Illinois (2015).
Home Opener
Wichita State opened up the home portion of the schedule on Fri., Sept. 2 against Cincinnati. With the four-set loss, WSU is 24-16-1 in home openers overall and 13-4 in home openers under Head Coach
Chris Lamb. The four losses were in 2001, 2004, 2014 and 2016.
Top-20 Win
Wichita State earned a top-20 win on Saturday at the Iowa State Challenge. The Shockers defeated No. 18 Creighton in five sets. It was the first top-20 win for Wichita State since Dec. 1, 2012, when the Shockers defeated No. 20 Kansas 3-1 to advance to the Sweet 16.
20 Digs
Freshman
Giorgia Civita collected 21 digs against No. 18 Creighton on Aug. 27. She is the first true freshman to have 20 or more digs in a match since
Mikaela Raudsepp had 20 against Texas State on Sept. 5, 2014.
Raudsepp and Hiebert Named to All-Tournament Team
Juniors
Mikaela Raudsepp and
Emily Hiebert both earned all-tournament team honors at the Iowa State Challenge. Raudsepp, an outside hitter from Dundee, Ore., averaged 2.88 kills, 0.25 aces and 0.62 digs per set, while hitting .333 in the two matches. Hiebert, a setter from Newton, Kan., averaged 7.00 assists, 0.88 kills, 0.25 aces, and 2.50 digs per set, while hitting .353 in the two matches.
Family Connection
Sisters
Dani Mostrom and
Gabi Mostrom are the fifth set of sisters to play volleyball at Wichita State. They are only the second set to play together at WSU joining Marsha and Pam Olmsted who played together for the Shockers in 1976. The other Shocker sisters include: Valerie and Kim Wadsworth, Jessica and Taylor Keys and Angie and Michele Hallagin.
Sophomore
Tabitha Brown, who transferred from Alabama, joins her brother Zach Brown at Wichita State. Zach is a junior on the men's basketball team.
International History
WSU welcomes freshman libero
Giorgia Civita to the team in 2016. Civita is from Milan, Italy and is looking to become just the seventh international player to play for the Shockers. Others include Kim Henry (1989-92) from Canada, Swee Ng (1992) from Malaysia, Marsha Van Cedar (1994-95) from Canada, Tomoko Matsuda (1996) from Japan, Lucia Zhanje (2000) from Zimbabwe and
Shimen Fayad (2014-15) from Canada. One other international player was on the roster in 1992, but never played in a match (Tamie Bearup, Italy).
Season Openers
Wichita State is 19-20-2 in season openers overall and 10-7 in season openers under head coach
Chris Lamb.
WSU Receives Votes in AVCA Poll
The Wichita State volleyball team received votes in the AVCA Preseason Poll, which was released Aug. 10. The Shockers received 21 points in the poll.
The Shockers open the season on the road Aug. 26, at the Iowa State Challenge in Ames, Iowa, against Iowa State.
WSU returns five starters and nine letterwinners to a team that went 27-9 in 2015 and won the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season and tournament titles and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Shockers will play five teams in 2016 that are ranked or receiving votes in the preseason poll including Texas (2nd), Creighton (18th), Colorado State (25th), Iowa State (RV) and Marquette (RV).28, at the Chevron Rainbow Wahine Invitational in Honolulu, Hawaii, against Oregon State.
Shockers Picked First in Preseason MVC Poll
The Wichita State volleyball team is picked first in the 2016 Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. The Shockers received seven first-place votes and 97 points in the poll. The Shockers return nine letterwinners and five starters from a team that went 27-9 overall and 15-3 in Missouri Valley Conference play in 2015. Last season, the Shockers won the MVC regular-season and tournament titles and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Lehman and Hiebert Named to Preseason All-Valley Team
Junior middle blocker
Abbie Lehman and junior setter
Emily Hiebert were named to the preseason all-conference team. Lehman earned honorable mention All-America and first team all-Valley honors in 2015 and averaged 2.97 kills and 1.11 blocks per set, while hitting .423. Hiebert earned first team all-Valley honors in 2015 and averaged 10.43 assists, 0.26 aces and 2.23 digs per set.
Five Starters Return
The Shockers return five starters (
Abbie Lehman,
Emily Hiebert,
Mikaela Raudsepp,
Jody Larson,
Katy Dudzinski) in 2014 from a team that went 27-9 a year ago. WSU also returns libero
Dani Mostrom. Starters not returning from last year's team are
Katie Reilly, who graduated, and
Shimen Fayad, who transferred to Cal State Fullerton.
Television Schedule Announced
Nineteen Wichita State volleyball matches during the 2016 season will be televised on The Valley on ESPN3 – the league's co-branded digital network with ESPN. The regular-season live events will be produced and transmitted by production units on each of the league's campuses. Three of the Wichita State home matches will be produced by COX Channel Kansas and made available for ESPN3 clearance, but subject to blackout restrictions. The three matches that will be televised on COX are Sept. 26 against Evansville, Oct. 10 against Southern Illinois and Nov. 11 against Illinois State.
Shockers 15th Nationally in Attendance in 2015
WSU volleyball ranked in the top-15 nationally in attendance in 2015. The Shockers had a total attendance figure of 31,650 and averaged 2,261 fans per match, which was 15th nationally.
Lamb Returns for 17th Season
Head coach
Chris Lamb, four-time MVC Coach of the Year, returns for his 17th season after guiding the Shockers to 13-straight 20-win seasons. In 2011, he became the winningest coach in Shocker volleyball history and in 2013 he won his 300th career match.
Valley Titles
WSU has won six out of the last 12 MVC regular-season titles. The Shockers collected titles in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2013 and 2015.
Shockers on the Web
All Wichita State volleyball matches will be broadcast on goshockers.com/listen in 2016. WSU Hall of Famer Mike Kennedy will perform play-by-play duties for all of the matches.