WICHITA, Kan. - The final weekend of the regular season awaits the Wichita State volleyball team this weekend with two crucial matches, as the Shockers remain in the hunt for the Missouri Valley Conference Championship. The Shockers begin with a showdown vs. Southern Illinois Friday night at 7 p.m. and finish the regular season at Evansville on Saturday at 7 p.m.
 

REGULAR SEASON FINALE

Carbonale, Ill.

Davies Gym

Game Notes

Evansville, Ind.

Carson Center

Game Notes

MATCH 28

WSU (20-7, 13-3) at SIU (21-9, 12-4)

Nov. 18

7 P.M. CT

The Valley on ESPN3

GoShockers.com

GoShockers.com

MATCH 29

WSU (20-7, 13-3) at Evansville (5-24, 1-15)

Nov. 19

7 P.M. CT

GoShockers.com

GoShockers.com

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SERIES HISTORY

Shockers vs. SIU: 40-21

Last Meeting: Oct. 10, 2016 (WSU 3-0)

Shockers in Carbondale: 15-13

Shockers vs. UE: 37-9

Last Meeting: Sept. 26, 2016 (WSU 3-0)

Shockers in Evansville: 15-7

MVC STANDINGS

1. Missouri State (23-7, 14-2)

2. Wichita State (20-7, 13-3)

3. Northern Iowa (21-8, 12-4)

4. Southern Illinois (21-8, 12-4)

5. Illinois State (16-12, 9-7)

6. Loyola (13-17, 8-9)

7. Drake (15-15, 6-10)

8. Indiana State (10-18, 4-12)

9. Bradley (7-21, 2-15)

10. Evansville (5-24, 1-15)

Quick Hits
• WSU is 4-6 against the RPI top-50 and 6-7 against the top-100
• WSU is listed at 37 in the latest NCAA RPI with SIU at 57 and Evansville at 254
• Wichita State leads the series with SIU, 40-21 and is 15-13 in Carbondale, Ill.
• WSU leads the series with Evansville, 36-9 and is 15-7 against the Aces in Evansville
• Tabitha Brown is the MVC Player of the Week this week
• Dani Mostrom is the MVC Defensive Player of the Week this week
• WSU is ranked seventh nationally in hitting percentage, seventh in assists per set and seventh in kills per set
• Abbie Lehman is ranked 11th nationally in hitting percentage, while Emily Hiebert is ranked 54th in assists per set
• Hiebert collected her 3,000th career assist on Sept. 26 against Evansville
• The Shockers are 16-2 in three-set matches, 2-4 in four-set matches and 2-1 in five-set matches this season
• WSU is ranked 12th in the nation in attendance (2,140 average) and had a season-high crowd of 3,122 Oct. 28 against UNI at Charles Koch Arena
• The Shockers are 7-3 on the road this season
• WSU is hitting .282 in 10 road matches
• On the road, Abbie Lehman is hitting .384, Katy Dudzinski is hitting .336, Hiebert is hitting .333 and Mikaela Raudsepp is hitting .270
• Wichita State is 8-2 in the last 10 matches
• In the last 10 matches, WSU is hitting .282 while holding opponents to a .159 hitting percentage
• Lehman is hitting .393 in the last 10 matches, while Hiebert is hitting .347, Dudzinski is hitting .338 and Brown and Jody Larson are hitting .254
• Hiebert and Larson lead the Shockers with 14 double-doubles
• WSU has had four different players with 15 or more kills in a match this season: Brown, Lehman, Raudsepp and 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 14-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
Both matches will be on the Internet at www.goshockers.com/listen with Mike Kennedy calling the action. Friday's match will also be on The Valley on ESPN3.
 
Scouting Southern Illinois
The Salukis are 21-9 overall and 12-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Wins this season have come against Central Michigan, Duquesne, IUPUI, Central Florida, Western Michigan, Murray State, Cincinnati, SEMO, Youngstown State, UNI, Drake twice, Missouri State, Bradley twice, Indiana State twice, Illinois State twice, and Evansville twice. Losses have come against Northern Arizona, Michigan State, Loyola Marymount, Dayton, Loyola twice, Wichita State and UNI. As a team, they are hitting .241, while holding opponents to a .203 clip. They are led by Andrea Estrada who is averaging 2.84 kills per set, while Hannah Kaminsky averages 6.18 assists and Mariana Pilon averages 3.68 digs per set. The Salukis are led by head coach Justin Ingram.

Series History vs. the Salukis
Wichita State leads the overall series with the Salukis 40-21. WSU also leads the series in Carbondale, 15-13. WSU head coach Chris Lamb is 29-6 overall against the Salukis and 12-4 in Carbondale. The Shockers have won 27 of the last 30 meetings overall.

Last Meeting vs. SIU
The last meeting between the two teams was Oct. 10, 2016, in Wichita. The Shockers won 3-0 by scores of 25-21, 25-15, and 25-18. Mikaela Raudsepp and Katy Dudzinski each had 11 kills for the Shockers, while Emily Hiebert had 42 assists and Raudsepp had 14 digs.

Scouting Evansville
The Purple Aces are 5-24 overall and 1-15 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Wins this season have come against SEMO, Kent State, UL-Monroe, Nicholls State and Bradley. Losses have come against Marshall, Indiana, Northern Kentucky, Green Bay, SIUE, Austin Peay, Dayton, Kennesaw State, Jacksonville State, Drake twice, UNI twice, Wichita State, Loyola twice, Bradley, Illinois State twice, Indiana State twice, and Missouri State. As a team, they are hitting .139, while holding opponents to a .246 clip. They are led by Mildrelis Rodriguez who is averaging 2.89 kills per set, while Jelena Merseli averages 6.45 assists and Olivia Goldstein averages 3.15 digs per set. The Purple Aces are led by head coach Manolo Concepcion.

Series History vs. the Purple Aces
Wichita State leads the overall series with the Purple Aces 37-9. The Shockers also lead the series in Evansville 15-7. WSU head coach Chris Lamb is 29-4 overall against the Purple Aces and 13-3 in Evansville. The Shockers have won 29 of the last 30 meetings overall.

Last Meeting vs. UE
The last meeting between the two teams was Sept. 26, 2016, in Wichita. The Shockers won 3-0 by scores of 25-15, 25-7 and 25-12. Tabitha Brown led the Shockers with nine kills, while Emily Hiebert had 31 assists and Dani Mostrom had 13 digs.

Last Time Out
WSU defeated Illinois State 3-1 on Friday night by scores of 25-13, 28-30, 25-15 and 25-18. Tabitha Brown led the Shockers with 20 kills, while Emily Hiebert had 37 assists and Dani Mostrom had 19 digs. WSU defeated Indiana State 3-0 on Saturday night by scores of 25-20, 25-14 and 25-9. Brown led the Shockers with 17 kills, while Hiebert had 39 assists and D. Mostrom had 25 digs.

Shockers in the RPI
Wichita State is 37th in the sixth official RPI release of the season. WSU is 4-6 against the top-50 and 6-7 against the top-100. Wins include Creighton (17), Marquette (35), Missouri State (47), Colorado State (43), Southern Illinois (57) and Texas State (83). Losses are against Texas (1), Cincinnati (34), Iowa State (30), Missouri State (47), UNI twice (45) and UTSA (69). 

Brown and Mostrom Honored
Wichita State volleyball student-athletes Tabitha Brown and Dani Mostrom have been honored by the Missouri Valley Conference for their play the week of Nov. 7-13.

The duo led the Shockers to wins over Illinois State and Indiana State over the weekend.

Brown, a sophomore outside hitter from Spring, Texas, earned Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week honors. She averaged 5.29 kills, 1.43 digs, 1.14 blocks and 5.86 points per set, while hitting .438 on the left side. In the four-set win over Illinois State, she had a career-high 20 kills on 43 swings and hit .395. She also tied her career-high with four block assists and also added one assist and four digs. In the three-set win over Indiana State, she had 17 kills on 30 swings and hit .500. She also tied her career-high with four block assists and added six digs.

Mostrom, a senior libero from Springfield, Mo., earned Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors. She averaged 0.43 assists and 6.29 digs per set in the two wins. She also had a perfect reception percentage in 43 total chances.

In the four-set win over Illinois State, she had a team-high 19 digs. In the three-set win over Indiana State, she had a match-high 25 digs along with three assists. She had seven digs in each of the first two sets against the Sycamores and 11 in the third set.

It is Brown's first MVC Player of the Week honor of her career and Mostrom's fourth MVC Defensive Player of the Week honor of her career.

Dudzinski's Efficient Night
Senior middle blocker Katy Dudzinski had 11 kills on 13 swings and hit .846 against Southern Illinois on Oct. 10. The hitting percentage put her fourth in the Shocker record books for hitting percentage in a match with a minimum of 10 attempts. The school record is 1.000 set by Abbie Lehman in 2014, while Janelle Watton hit .917 in 1991 and Chelsey Feekin hit .900 in 2013.

Hiebert's Double-Doubles
Junior setter Emily Hiebert has double-doubles in 14 of 27 matches this season and owns 39 career double-doubles, which ranks her eighth 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 1,879 and needs 323 more to move into first place, while Hiebert is fifth in assists with 3,513 and needs 452 more to move into fourth place. Lehman is 10th in block assists with 306 and needs 17 more to move into ninth place.

20 Wins
The Wichita State volleyball team collected its 20th win of the season on Saturday against Indiana State. It is the 14th-straight 20-win season for the Shockers, all under Head Coach Chris Lamb. During the last 14 years, the Shockers are averaging 24.5 wins per season.

Career Night for Two Shockers
Sophomore outside hitter Tabitha Brown and junior outside hitter Mikaela Raudsepp both collected career-highs in kills on Friday against Illinois State. Brown collected 20 kills in the four-set match, which beat the 17 she had against Northern Illinois in 2015. Raudsepp had 19 kills in the four-set match, which beat the 18 she had against North Texas in 2014.

Team Effort
Wichita State hit a blistering .461 as a team on Oct. 10 against SIU. The Shockers had 49 kills on 89 swings with just eight errors. It was a season-best in hitting percentage for the Shockers and just missed the top-10 in hitting percentage at Koch Arena. The .461 ranks 11th in the record books for team hitting percentage at WSU's home venue. The record is .583, which WSU set against Drake in 2003.

Dudzinski Heating Up
Senior middle blocker Katy Dudzinski has heated up over her last 13 matches. She is averaging 2.09 kills per set and hitting .420. She had a career-high 12 kills at UTSA on Sept. 17 and had 11 kills on 13 swings and hit .846 against Southern Illinois on Oct. 10.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.