WEEKEND SCHEDULE - American Athletic Conference Play
» Friday, 10/12 vs. ECU (12-4, 4-1) | 7:00 p.m. CT
» Sunday, 10/14 vs. Cincinnati (14-4, 5-0) | 1:00 p.m. CT

Wichita State is scheduled to return home to Charles Koch Arena Friday, Oct. 12, and Sunday, Oct. 14, for a pair of American Athletic Conference matches. The Shockers (8-8, 3-2) are slated to host the ECU Pirates (12-4, 4-1) Friday at 7 p.m. for Farmer Appreciation Night before entertaining the Cincinnati Bearcats (14-4, 5-0) for Wichita Eagle Family Day Sunday at 1 p.m.

Quick Hits
• WSU enters the weekend at 8-8 overall and 3-2 in The American after splitting a pair of matches in Florida last weekend. The Shockers defeated USF Oct. 5 in Tampa, 3-1, before falling at UCF Oct. 7 in Orlando, 3-1.
• The Shockers are ranked 37th in the most recent NCAA RPI rankings. Wichita State has played the fourth-toughest schedule in NCAA Division I volleyball.
• Freshman Grace Burken had a career day in WSU's match at UCF Oct. 7. The Cedar Falls, Iowa, native collected a career-best 11 kills, four digs, three blocks (one solo, two assisted), an ace, and hit .250.
• Sophomore Giorgia Civita was named to the American Athletic Conference's Weekly Honor Roll after averaging 7.25 digs per set last weekend at USF and UCF. For the week,
she compiled 58 digs and a perfect 1.000 reception percentage.
• Civita leads The American and ranks third nationally in digs per set (6.02). She also leads the conference and ranks 16th nationally in total digs (385).
• Redshirt freshman Megan Taflinger compiled a career-high three service aces for the third time this season in WSU's win at USF Oct. 5. She also had a trio of aces against Stephen F. Austin and at Creighton.
• In the latest American Athletic Conference stats, Taflinger ranks fourth in service aces (0.33 aces per set, 21 total aces) and seventh in kills (3.08 kills per set, 197 total kills).
• Wichita State had its 22-match American Athletic Conference winning streak snapped with a 3-2 loss at Tulsa Sept. 29. The streak dated back to last season when WSU went a perfect 20-0 in conference play.
• WSU and Tulsa scored a combined 80 points in the first set Sept. 29, with the Shockers winning, 41-39. The 41 points were the most points scored in a single set in program history.
• Senior Kali Eaken's career-high 68 assists in the match at Tulsa are the most assists in a five-set match in NCAA Division I so far this season.
• Sophomore Giorgia Civita's career-best 42 digs at Tulsa rank third-most in a five-set match in NCAA Division I this season.
• Civita surpassed 1,000 career digs in WSU's five-set win over Tulane Sept. 21. The sophomore from Milan, Italy, is the fastest player in program history to reach 1,000 career digs. She sits at 1,105 digs entering Friday's contest vs. ECU.
• Taflinger compiled her second career double-double in the loss at Tulsa with a career-high 24 kills and 17 digs.
 

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Series History
ECU: 2-0
Cincinnati: 2-1

About ECU
The ECU Pirates enter Friday with an overall record of 12-4 and an American Athletic Conference record of 4-1 after defeating Temple Oct. 7 on the road, 3-1. Through 16 matches, the Pirates are led by junior middle blocker Toya Osuegbu (132 kills, 19 digs, 45 blocks, .277 attack percentage), sophomore setter Shelby Martin (436 assists, 11 service aces, 99 digs) and junior defensive specialist Maggie Hallow (231 digs, 40 assists). Osuegbu is the reigning American Offensive Player of the Week. As a team, ECU is averaging 12.8 kills, 11.6 assists, 1.3 aces, 15.5 digs and 1.9 blocks per set. The Pirates are second in the conference in opponent hitting percentage, limiting adversaries to just .167 hitting. ECU is under the direction of sixth season head coach Julie Torbett.

Series History vs. ECU
WSU and ECU first met last season when the Shockers swept the Pirates in a pair of matches, 3-0.

Last Meeting vs. the Pirates
No. 20 Wichita State hit .400 on the way to a sweep at ECU Nov. 10, 2017, in Greenville, N.C. The Shockers won by scores of 25-13, 25-16 and 25-14. Abbie Lehman led WSU with 12 kills and hit .524.

About Cincinnati
The Cincinnati Bearcats enter the weekend at 14-4 overall and a perfect 5-0 in The American after winning at UConn Oct. 7, 3-1. Cincinnati is receiving votes in the latest AVCA poll. The Bearcats are scheduled to play at Tulsa Friday before coming to Wichita Sunday. Through 18 matches, Cincinnati is led by redshirt junior outside hitter Jordan Thompson, who currently leads the nation in kills (431), kills per set (6.07), points (475) and points per set (6.69), freshman setter Armania Heckenmueller (483 assists, 17 service aces, 119 digs) and freshman defensive specialist Abby Williams (204 digs, 61 assists). Thompson also has a team-high 25 service aces, while redshirt sophomore Dasha Cabarkapa has a team-best 72 blocks. As a team, the Bearcats are averaging 13.6 kills, 12.8 assists, 1.5 aces, 13.9 digs and two blocks per set. Cincinnati leads the conference in hitting percentage (.265), and ranks second in kills (13.61 per set) and assists (12.83 per set). The Bearcats are under the leadership of seventh season head coach Molly Alvey.

Series History vs. Cincinnati
Wichita State and Cincinnati have met three times in the all-time series dating back to the inaugural meeting in 2016. The Shockers are 2-1 against the Bearcats. Last season, WSU swept Cincinnati, 3-0, in matches at home and in Cincinnai. The lone loss in the series was a 3-1 setback at home in 2016.

Last Meeting vs. the Bearcats
No. 20 Wichita State pushed its winning streak to 16 with a 3-0 win at Cincinnati Nov. 12, 2017. The Shockers won by scores of 25-10, 25-22 and 25-20. Abbie Lehman led the Shockers with 12 kills and nine blocks and hit .400.
 

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Brown Garners North Texas Challenge All-Tournament Team Honors
Senior outside hitter Tabitha Brown was selected to the North Texas Challenge all-tournament team. In the three matches, she tallied 38 kills and averaged 3.45 kills per set.

Taflinger Named to All-Tournament Team
Redshirt freshman outside hitter Megan Taflinger was named to the all-tournament team at the Bluejay Invitational. In the two matches, she averaged 3.50 kills, 0.50 aces and 1.00 digs per set, while hitting .281.

Two Matches Selected for American Digital Network
Wichita State will have two volleyball matches televised on the American Digital Network in 2018. The two matches selected include Sun., Oct. 14 against Cincinnati and Sun., Nov. 11 against SMU. Both matches are in Wichita and start at 1 p.m. CT. Productions on the American Digital Network will again be streamed on Facebook on the conference's live event page, The American Digital Network Plus (facebook.com/ AmericanDigitalNetworkPlus).

Newcomers Debut
Four Shocker newcomers made their debut on opening weekend. Redshirt senior setter Kali Eaken, who transferred from Louisville, redshirt freshman outside hitter Megan Taflinger, redshirt freshman setter Kora Kauling and freshman middle blocker Grace Burken all made their debut for the Shockers. Redshirt sophomore Regan Stiawalt made her Shocker debut during the BYU Nike Invitational.

Koon Named to All-Tournament Team
Junior outside hitter Alex Koon was named to the all-tournament team at the BYU Nike Invitational, Aug. 31-Sept. 1, in Provo, Utah. She averaged 2.40 kills, 2.70 digs and 0.60 blocks per set, while hitting .274 in the three matches.
 

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Shockers Picked First in Preseason American Poll
The Wichita State volleyball team is picked first in the 2018 American Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll.  The Shockers received six first-place votes and 113 points in the poll. The Shockers return nine letterwinners and three starters from a team that went 29-4 overall and 20-0 in American Athletic Conference play in 2017. Last season, the Shockers won the American regular-season title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 16 overall seed.
 
Brown and Civita Named to Preseason All-Conference Team
Senior outside hitter Tabitha Brown and sophomore libero Giorgia Civita were named to the preseason all-conference team. Brown earned honorable mention All-America and first team all-conference honors in 2017 and averaged 3.47 kills and1.81 digs per set, while hitting .268. Civita earned second team all-conference honors in 2017 and averaged 5.22 digs per set.