WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State opens the home portion of the schedule with the Shocker Volleyball Classic, Sept. 15-17, in Charles Koch Arena. The Shockers will play No. 8 Creighton at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 15 and host No. 19 Iowa State at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 17.
On TV
Both of Wichita State's matches this weekend will be televised on Cox YurView Kansas (22/2022). Shane Dennis and Denning Gerig will be calling the action.
On the Web
Both of Wichita State's matches this weekend at the Shocker Volleyball Classic will be on the internet at www.goshockers.com/listen with Mike Kennedy calling the action.
Quick Hits
• Redshirt freshman libero
Giorgia Civita was named to The American Honor Roll this week
• Lamb needs nine wins to reach 400 for his career
• The Shockers are tied for 26th in this week's AVCA Top-25 poll.
• WSU is 24-16-1 in home openers overall and 13-4 in home openers under Head Coach
Chris Lamb
•
Tabitha Brown led the Shockers with 41 kills last weekend and hit .347
•
Giorgia Civita averaged 5.27 digs last weekend for WSU
• Senior setter
Emily Hiebert collected her 4,000 career assist against Cal Poly
• Senior middle blocker
Abbie Lehman collected her 1,000th career kill against IUPUI
• The Shockers are 7-0 for the first time since 2008
• Redshirt freshman
Aspen Kridner's birthday is Sept. 9
• It is just the second time (1992) in program history that the team started the season with three sweeps
• Wichita State is playing its first season in the American Athletic Conference. The Shocker volleyball program was a member of the Missouri Valley Conference from 1992-2017
• WSU is now 20-20 in season openers and 11-7 under
Chris Lamb
• Head Coach
Chris Lamb is in his 18th season with the Shockers
• WSU returns four starters including
Abbie Lehman,
Emily Hiebert,
Mikaela Raudsepp and
Tabitha Brown
• Lamb needs 10 wins to reach 400 for his career
• The Shockers are picked first in the preseason American Athletic Conference poll
•
Emily Hiebert and
Abbie Lehman were both named to the preaseason all-conference team
• WSU ranked 12th in the nation in attendance last season (2,264 average) and had a season-high crowd of 3,122 Oct. 28 against UNI at Charles Koch Arena
• WSU has won 20 or more matches for 14-straight years
• WSU won four MVC Tournament titles (2004, 2013, 2015, 2016)
• The Shockers won six MVC regular-season championships (2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2013, 2015)
•
Emily Hiebert became the first Shocker to earn Valley Setter of the Year honors in 2016
• Five Shockers earned all-Valley honors last season including
Emily Hiebert,
Abbie Lehman and
Jody Larson on the first team and
Mikaela Raudsepp and
Tabitha Brown on the second team
• WSU finished in the top-three in the Valley standings for the last 14 years
Series History vs. Tourney Field
The Shockers are 22-33-1 all-time against the 2017 tourney field:
Creighton - 22-25
Iowa State - 0-8-1
Scouting Creighton
The Bluejays have started the year 7-2 with wins over Saint Mary's, Pitt, No. 3 Washington, No. 13 Kentucky, Northern Iowa, Belmont and No. 7 Kansas. Losses are to No. 18 USC and No. 17 Purdue. This season, CU has been led by Jaali Winters who is averaging 3.48 kills per set. Lydia Dimke averages 10.52 assists and Brittany Witt averages 3.62 digs per set. As a team, the Bluejays are hitting .274, while holding opponents to a .216 clip. The Bluejays are led by head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth.
Last Meeting vs. the Bluejays
The last meeting between the two teams was Aug. 27, 2016, in Ames, Iowa. The Shockers won 3-2 by scores of 21-25, 21-25, 25-23, 25-23 and 15-7.
Jody Larson led the Shockers with 19 kills, while
Emily Hiebert had 35 assists and
Giorgia Civita had 21 digs.
Scouting Iowa State
The Cyclones are 7-1 this season with wins over Kent State, Omaha, New Mexico, Dayton, Pitt, Iowa and Northern Illinois. Their lone loss is to UNI. ISU is led by Samara West who is averaging 2.65 kills per set, while Monique Harris averages 7.00 assists and Hali Hillegas averages 5.31 digs per set. As a team, the Cyclones are hitting .236, while holding opponents to a .126 clip. ISU is led by head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch.
Last Meeting vs. the Cyclones
The last meeting between the two teams was Aug. 26, 2016, in Ames, Iowa. The Cyclones won 3-0 by scores of 25-16, 25-21 and 25-20.
Mikaela Raudsepp and
Abbie Lehman led the Shockers with nine kills, while
Emily Hiebert had 21 assists and
Dani Mostrom had eight digs.
Shockers Receiving Votes
The Wichita State volleyball team is just outside the top-25 in a tie for 26th in the Sept. 11 AVCA Top-25 Poll. The Shockers are receiving 37 points in the poll. WSU is hosting the Shocker Volleyball Classic this weekend and will face two teams in the poll including No. 8 Creighton and No. 19 Iowa State.
Home Opener
Wichita State opens up the home portion of the schedule on Fri., Sept. 15 against Creighton. 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.
Moving on Up
Senior middle blocker
Abbie Lehman and senior setter
Emily Hiebert continue to climb the Shocker career records list for blocks and assists. Lehman is now fifth in career total blocks with 416 and needs 13 more to move into fourth place. She is also fourth in career block assists with 362 and needs 19 more to move into third place. Hiebert is fourth in assists with 4,030 and needs 283 more to move into third place.
Civita Named to American Honor Roll
Wichita State volleyball student-athlete
Giorgia Civita has been named to the American Athletic Conference Honor Roll for the week of Sept. 4-10. Civita, a redshirt freshman libero from Milan, Italy, averaged 5.27 digs and 0.91 assists per set in three matches for the Shockers at the Nike Classic in Eugene, Ore., over the weekend. In the three-set win over Duquesne, she had 15 digs, four assists and a service ace. In three sets against No. 14 Oregon, she had a match-high 12 digs and in five sets against Cal Poly, she had a career-high 31 digs along with five assists.
4,000 Assists
Senior setter
Emily Hiebert recorded her 4,000th career assist on Sept. 9 against Cal Poly. She now has 4,030 assists and is just the fourth player in school history to reach the 4,000-assist mark. She joins Mary Elizabeth Hooper (4,820), Michele Hallagin (4,476) and Kori Rosenkranz (4,313).
Lehman Earns All-Tournament Team Honors
Senior middle blocker
Abbie Lehman earned all-tournament team honors at the Nike Classic. She averaged 2.82 kills, 0.55 digs and 0.91 blocks per set, while hitting .362 in the three matches.
Career-Highs
Several Shockers collected career-highs at the Nike Classic in Eugene, Oregon over the weekend. Junior outside hitter
Tabitha Brown hit a career-best .579 in the three-set win over Duquesne. Sophomore outside hitter
Alex Koon had a career-high eight kills against Cal Poly and redshirt freshman libero
Giorgia Civita collected a career-high 31 digs in five sets against the Mustangs.
Smith's Impact
Freshman middle blocker
Brooke Smith made her collegiate debut in the third set against Marquette. In that come from behind win, she had five kills on eight swings and hit .625. She also added five blocks. In the four-set win over Miami, she had seven kills on 14 swings and hit .500, while also adding a dig and two blocks.
Comeback
The Shockers earned a come from behind win on Sept. 2 against Marquette. The Golden Eagles won the first two sets before the Shockers fought back to win the match in five sets. It was the first time the Shockers came back from an 0-2 deficit to win since Aug. 27, 2016 when they did it against No. 18 Creighton.
1,000 Kills
Senior middle blocker
Abbie Lehman collected her 1,000th career kill on Sept. 1 at IUPUI. She is just the 12th Shocker to record 1,000 career kills. She now has 1,030 for her career.
All-Tournament Team Honors
Junior outside hitter
Tabitha Brown earned MVP honors at the IUPUI Hampton Inn Invitational over the weekend. Senior setter
Emily Hiebert and senior middle blocker
Abbie Lehman were also named to the all-tournament team. Brown averaged 4.58 kills, 2.67 digs and 0.58 blocks per set, while hitting .316 in the three matches. Hiebert averaged 10.50 assists, 1.33 kills, 2.42 digs and 0.50 blocks per set, while Lehman averaged 2.92 kills, 0.33 digs, 1.08 blocks per set and hit .354.
Block Party
Wichita State collected 15 blocks in the season opening three-set win over Lipscomb. It was the fourth-most blocks in a three-set match for the Shockers in school history in the rally scoring era (2001-16).
500 Kills
Junior outside hitter
Tabitha Brown collected her 500th career kill in the win over ETSU on Aug. 26. Brown had 161 kills in her freshman season at Alabama and 325 as a sophomore at Wichita State.
Shocker Debuts
Four Shocker freshmen made their collegiate debuts opening weekend. Redshirt freshman
Emma Wright,
Abby Pugh and
Lauren Hinrichs all played along with true freshman
Chase Jackson.
Shockers Picked First in Preseason American Poll
The Wichita State volleyball team is picked first in the 2017 American Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. The Shockers received seven first-place votes and 116 points in the poll. The Shockers return eight letterwinners and four starters from a team that went 24-8 overall and 15-3 in Missouri Valley Conference play in 2016. Last season, the Shockers won the MVC tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Lehman and Hiebert Named to Preseason All-Conference Team
Senior middle blocker
Abbie Lehman and senior setter
Emily Hiebert were named to the preseason all-conference team. Lehman earned honorable mention All-America and first team all-Valley honors in 2016 and averaged 2.68 kills and 1.27 blocks per set, while hitting .384. Hiebert earned first team all-Valley and Setter of the Year honors in 2016 and averaged 10.64 assists, 0.59 blocks and 2.81 digs per set.
Family Connection
Two Shocker volleyball players have siblings who compete in other sports at Wichita State. Junior
Tabitha Brown's brother Zach is a senior on the men's basketball team, while redshirt freshman
Regan Stiawalt's brother Chandler is a freshman on the men's track and field team.
International History
Redshirt freshman libero
Giorgia Civita returns to the team in 2017. Civita is from Milan, Italy and is 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).
WSU Joins The American
On April 7, 2017, Wichita State accepted an invitation to the American Athletic Conference. Commissioner Mike Aresco announced the addition of Wichita State to the American Athletic Conference beginning on July 1, 2017. The American's Board of Directors unanimously voted to accept Wichita State as its newest member. The Shockers officially joined The American on July 1, 2017 and conference members include the University of Central Florida, the University of Cincinnati, the University of Connecticut, East Carolina University, the University of Houston, the University of Memphis, Southern Methodist University, the University of South Florida, Temple University, Tulane University, University of Tulsa, the U.S. Naval Academy and Wichita State University. Navy is a football-only member and Wichita State is a basketball and Olympic sports-only member.
Four Starters Return
The Shockers return four starters (
Abbie Lehman,
Emily Hiebert,
Mikaela Raudsepp,
Tabitha Brown) in 2017 from a team that went 24-8 a year ago. Starters not returning from last year's team are
Jody Larson and
Katy Dudzinski and libero
Dani Mostrom, who all graduated.
Lamb Returns for 18th Season
Head coach
Chris Lamb, four-time MVC Coach of the Year, returns for his 18th season after guiding the Shockers to 14-straight 20-win seasons. In 2011, he became the winningest coach in Shocker volleyball history and in 2013 he won his 300th career match.
The Chris Lamb Radio Show
The
Chris Lamb Radio Show will air on Monday's from 6:30-7 p.m. on 98.7 FM and 1330 KNSS. Mike Kennedy will host the show and it gets underway on Mon., Aug. 28.
