The RoundHouse | 11/16/2017 11:12:00 PM

By Paul Suellentrop
 
Wichita State sent its volleyball team out to explore the American Athletic Conference.
 
On the court, the trail-blazing is a smashing success. The 21^st-ranked Shockers (24-3, 16-0 American) can clinch the conference title this weekend with matches at Tulsa (14-14, 8-8) on Friday and at second-place SMU (19-8, 13-3) on Sunday.
 
An unbeaten record in the American is in reach with four matches remaining, one against a team with a winning record (SMU).
 
In what is shaping up as a landmark season, it will seem fitting if this team joins the 2005 and 2008 teams that went 18-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
 
"Since we do have a lot of seniors, it does mean a lot to us," senior defensive specialist Hanna Shelton said. "We know how hard that is to go undefeated."
 
New destinations and long plane rides haven't slowed the Shockers.
 
The travel, with the longest trips behind them, remains an adjustment. That was to be expected when joining a conference that stretches from Kansas to Florida.
 
Different cities, Different directions. Coach Chris Lamb is making notes for next season.
 
"We definitely have been on-the-job training," he said. "Who knew that in the small town of Greenville (N.C.) there would be slow-moving traffic? Our hotel was not that far from the gym, yet we felt like we were on that bus forever trying to get there at that time of day. At UConn, you don't really stay near the school. There's no going back and forth."
 
Unusual weather patterns – the Shockers feared Hurricane Nate might affect their travel from New Orleans to Houston in early October.
 
"If we didn't get out sooner, we were worried they were going to ground the planes," Lamb said. "That's new."
 
The Shockers finish the regular season with five road matches and the season finale at home against Memphis on Nov. 24. Lamb said he is watching and listening for signs of fatigue. This week, the Shockers took Monday off and traveled to Tulsa by bus on Thursday. They practiced on Tuesday and Wednesday.
 
"I trust my starters," he said. "I talk to them all the time. It's not just the legs. It's the brain. It's school. All those things are all sort of taxing."
 
All volleyball teams are battling fatigue and injuries in late November.
"We don't have much room for complaining at this point – we just have to grind through it and do the best we can," junior outside hitter Tabitha Brown said. "it's nothing really new to us."
 
The plane trips are new. Flying to Florida, Philadelphia and North Carolina is taxing in a different way than an eight-hour bus ride to an MVC city. It is easy to stretch out and sleep on a bus. Air travel requires connecting flights, walks through terminals and tight spaces for long legs.
 
"We definitely do miss bus riding," Brown said.
 
Jet-lagged or not, the Shockers are dominating the American. They swept 12 of its 16 conference matches and Central Florida is the lone team to push a match to five sets. Lamb continues to find goals to push them toward.  In recent weeks, Lamb emphasized back-row defense and the Shockers responded.
 
"Our range as a defense, our ability to run down and pursue balls has improved a lot," Shelton said. "You can tell we've gotten a lot better at defense."
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.