WEEKEND SCHEDULE - American Athletic Conference Play
» Friday, 10/26 vs. UConn (11-11, 3-6) | 7:00 p.m. CT
» Sunday, 10/28 vs. Temple (5-16, 2-7) | 1:00 p.m. CT

The Wichita State volleyball team (9-11, 4-5) is scheduled to return home to Charles Koch Arena for a pair of American Athletic Conference matches Friday, Oct. 26, and Sunday, Oct. 28. The Shockers are slated to host UConn (11-11, 3-6) Friday at 7 p.m. before taking on Temple (5-16, 2-7) Sunday at 1 p.m.

Quick Hits
• The Shockers come into the weekend with an overall record of 9-11 and a conference mark of 4-5 after dropping a pair of five-set matches at SMU and Houston on Oct. 19 and Oct. 21.
• The Shockers are ranked 42nd in the most recent NCAA RPI rankings. Wichita State has played the fourth-toughest schedule in NCAA Division I volleyball.
• Wichita State is led by senior Tabitha Brown (236 kills, 12 aces, 202 digs, 22 blocks), redshirt freshmen Megan Taflinger (221 kills, 23 aces) and Kora Kauling (348 assists, 81 digs), and sophomore Giorgia Civita (470 digs, 67 assists).
• Kauling posted a career-best 60 assists and 16 digs for her second career double-double in WSU's contest at Houston Oct. 21. The 60 assists rank 10th in single-match program history.
• Sophomore Abby Pugh tallied a career-high 13 kills and hit a career-best .417 in Wichita State's contest at SMU Oct. 19.
• In the latest American Athletic Conference stats, Pugh ranks 10th in hitting percentage at .295.
• Senior Tabitha Brown is hitting .236 with a team-high 73 kills (4.06 kills per set) in her last four matches.
• Brown posted her sixth career double-double with 15 kills and 19 digs at SMU Oct. 19.
• Brown had a career-high 28 kills in the Shocker's match against Cincinnati Oct. 14.
• Junior Kara Bown posted a career-high 17 digs in Wichita State's contest at SMU Oct. 19.
• Sophomore Brooke Smith compiled a career-best 14 kills on 22 attempts and hit an impressive .545 against Cincinnati.
• Freshman Grace Burken tied her career-high with 11 kills and hit a career-best .259 in WSU's match at Houston Oct. 21.
• Civita leads The American and ranks sixth nationally in digs per set (5.80). She also leads the conference and ranks 15th nationally in total digs (470).
 

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Series History
UConn: 2-0
Temple: 2-0

About UConn
The UConn Huskies enter the weekend with an overall record of 11-11 and are 3-6 in The American after losing at home to Memphis Oct. 21, 3-2. The Huskies have dropped their last three matches. Through 22 contests, UConn is led by freshman outside hitter Caylee Parker (292 kills, 13 aces, 172 digs, 33 blocks), senior setter Emma Turner (842 assists, 17 aces, 203 digs) and senior libero/defensive specialist Elizabeth Kline (347 digs). As a team, the Huskies are averaging 13.3 kills, 12.6 assists, 0.9 aces, 14.2 digs and 1.9 blocks per set. UConn is under the leadership of sixth season head coach Kris Grunwald.

Series History vs. UConn
The match Friday vs. the Huskies will be just the third meeting in the all-time series. The Shockers won the inaugural meetings last season with a pair of 3-0 sweeps.

Last Meeting vs. the Huskies
No. 21 Wichita State used 12 kills from Abbie Lehman to sweep UConn inside Charles Koch Arena and remain undefeated in The American Nov. 3, 2017. The Shockers [21-3, 13-0] won by scores of 25-14, 25-16 and 25-11. Mikaela Raudsepp added seven kills to go along with eight digs and two service aces for the Shockers. Emily Hiebert finished with 30 assists, with nine digs and hit .750 with six kills. Lehman hit .632 for WSU.

About Temple
The Temple Owls enter the weekend with an overall record of 5-16 and an American tally of 2-7 after falling at home against Tulane Oct. 21, 3-0. The Owls are scheduled to travel to Tulsa Friday before facing the Shockers Sunday. Through 21 matches, Temple is led by sophomore outside hitter Keterina Papazoglou (175 kills, 12 aces, 225 digs, 22 blocks), senior setter Hannah Vandegrift (428 assists, 97 digs) and senior defensive specialist/libero Mia Heirakuji (306 digs, 53 assists, 17 aces). As a team, the Owls are averaging 12.4 kills, 11.8 assists, one ace, 16.3 digs and two blocks per set. Temple is under the direction of eighth season head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam.

Series History vs. Temple
Sunday's match vs. Temple will be the third meeting in the all-time series. Wichita State won the opening two meetings last season, winning 3-1 on the road in Philadelphia and 3-0 at home in Wichita.

Last Meeting vs. the Owls
No. 21 Wichita State defeated Temple, 3-0, inside Charles Koch Arena Nov. 5, 2017, to remain unbeaten in conference play heading into the final six games of the season. The Shockers won by scores of 25-22, 25-16 and 25-23. Senior Abbie Lehman finished with 15 kills, hitting .577 along with 6 blocks.
 

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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.