WEEKEND SCHEDULE - American Athletic Conference Play
» Friday, 10/19 at SMU (6-11, 3-4) | 7:00 p.m. CT
» Sunday, 10/21 at Houston (13-9, 0-7) | 1:00 p.m. CT

Wichita State volleyball (9-9, 4-3) is scheduled to continue American Athletic Conference play with a pair of matches in Texas Friday, Oct. 19, and Sunday, Oct. 21. The Shockers are slated to face the SMU Mustangs (6-11, 3-4) Friday at 7 p.m. in Dallas before taking on the Houston Cougars (13-9, 0-7) Sunday at 1 p.m. in Houston.

Quick Hits
• The Shockers come into the weekend with an overall record of 9-9 and an American Athletic Conference tally of 4-3 after splitting a pair of matches at home vs. ECU and Cincinnati Oct. 12 and 14. WSU defeated ECU, 3-0, before falling to first-place and conference undefeated Cincinnati, 3-2.
• The Shockers are ranked 30th in the most recent NCAA RPI rankings. Wichita State has played the fourth-toughest schedule in NCAA Division I volleyball.
• Senior Tabitha Brown enjoyed a career day against Cincinnati Oct. 14, as she tallied a career-high 28 kills on a career-best 74 attempts.
• Brown was named to The American's Weekly Honor Roll for her performance in WSU's two matches vs. ECU and Cincinnati.
• Redshirt freshman Kora Kauling secured her first career double-double with a career high 51 assists and 11 digs in the match vs. Cincinnati.
• Sophomore Brooke Smith compiled a career-best 14 kills on 22 attempts and hit an impressive .545 against Cincinnati.
• 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 leads The American and ranks fifth nationally in digs per set (5.89). She also leads the conference and ranks 17th nationally in total digs (424).
• 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 (0.32 aces per set, 21 total aces) and seventh in kills (3.06 kills per set, 199 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.
• The Shockers are a perfect 9-0 when winning more sets than their opponents this season, but are 0-9 when losing more sets.
• 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.
• 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 1,144 digs entering Friday's contest at SMU.
• Sophomore Emma Wright ranks fifth in the conference in hitting percentage at .315, while fellow sophomore Abby Pugh is ninth at .294.
• Brown eclipsed 1,000 career kills in the Shockers' victory against Tulane Sept. 21. The Spring, Texas, native has 1,070 career kills entering the weekend.
 

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Series History
SMU: 4-1
Houston: 3-2

About SMU
The SMU Mustangs enter the weekend at 6-11 overall and 3-4 in The American after losing at Memphis Oct. 14, 3-2. Through 17 matches, SMU is led by senior outside hitter Brittany Adams (192 kills, 11 aces, 201 digs, 19 blocks), junior setter Kendall Patterson (403 assists, 15 aces, 154 digs) and junior libero Montana Watts (353 digs, 13 aces, 51 assists). As a team, the Mustangs are averaging 12.9 kills, 12 assists, one ace, 16.8 digs and 2.2 blocks per set. SMU ranks second in The American in digs (16.8 per game) and third in blocks (2.19 per game). The Mustangs are under the direction of 23rd season head coach Lisa Seifert.

Series History vs. SMU
Friday's match at SMU will be the sixth meeting in the all-time series that dates back to 1996. Wichita State leads the series, 4-1. Last season, the Shockers went 2-0 against the Mustangs, winning 3-1 in Wichita before sweeping SMU in Dallas.

Last Meeting vs. the Mustangs
No. 21 Wichita State earned its first American Athletic Conference title with a dominating three-set win at second-place SMU Nov. 19, 2017. The Shockers (26-3, 18-0) won by scores of 25-15, 25-11 and 25-17. Mikaela Raudsepp led the Shockers with 14 kills, while Emily Hiebert had 34 assists, 10 digs and seven blocks.

About Houston
The Houston Cougars enter the weekend with an overall record of 13-9 and an American Athletic Conference mark of 0-7 after falling at Tulane Oct. 14, 3-1. Houston is slated to host Tulsa Friday before facing the Shockers Sunday. Through 22 contests, the Cougars are paced by junior outside hitter Megan Duncan (235 kills, 21 aces, 166 digs, 44 blocks), sophomore setter Abby Irvine (457 assists, 30 kills, 16 aces, 137 digs) and junior libero Katie Karbo (412 digs, 86 assists, 19 aces). As a team, Houston is averaging 12.6 kills, 11.7 assists, 1.5 aces, 15.3 digs and two blocks per set. The Cougars rank second in The American in both opponent hitting percentage (.176) and aces (1.55 per set). Houston is under the leadership of seventh season head coach Kaddie Platt.

Series History vs. Houston
Sunday's showdown at Houston will mark the sixth meeting in the all-time series that dates back to 1987. The Shockers lead the series, 3-2. Last season, WSU swept the Cougars in Houston, 3-0.

Last Meeting vs. the Cougars
No. 24 Wichita State hit .396 on the way to a 3-0 win at Houston Oct. 8, 2017. The Shockers (14-3, 6-0) won by scores of 25-14, 25-8 and 25-18. Abbie Lehman led the Shockers with 16 kills and five blocks, while Tabitha Brown had 15 kills and 15 digs.
 

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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.