WEEKEND SCHEDULE - American Athletic Conference Play
» Friday, 10/5 at USF (13-3, 2-1) | 6:00 p.m. CT
» Sunday, 10/7 at UCF (12-3, 3-0) | 12:00 p.m. CT

The Wichita State volleyball team (7-7, 2-1) is scheduled to continue American Athletic Conference play with a pair of road matches in Florida Friday, Oct. 5, and Sunday, Oct. 7. The Shockers are slated to take on the USF Bulls (13-3, 2-1) Friday at 6 p.m. CT in Tampa prior to facing the UCF Knights (12-3, 3-0) Sunday at noon CT in Orlando.

Quick Hits
• 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.
• In the first NCAA RPI rankings released this week, Wichita State ranks 42nd, which is the second-highest in The American.
• 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 is seventh nationally in digs per set (5.84 per set) and 26th in total digs (327). She is ranked second in the American Athletic Conference in digs going into the weekend.
• 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 1,047 digs entering Friday's showdown at USF.
• Redshirt freshman Megan Taflinger compiled her second career double-double in the loss at Tulsa with a career-high 24 kills and 17 digs.
• Taflinger ranks seventh in the American Athletic Conference in service aces with 17 aces in 56 sets.
• Playing in her first match of the season, sophomore Brooke Smith posted a career-best 13 kills and hit .423 in WSU's contest at Tulsa Sept. 29.
• Eaken recorded a career-high three service aces in Wichita State's wins over Tulane and Memphis.
• Eaken ranks seventh in The American with 401 assists and 7.16 assists per set coming into Friday's contest at USF.
• Sophomore Emma Wright ranks sixth in the conference in hitting percentage at .315, while fellow sophomore Abby Pugh is 10th at .296.
 

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Series History
USF: 3-0
UCF: 2-0

About USF
The USF Bulls enter the weekend with an overall record of 13-3 and are 2-1 in The American after winning at Tulane Sept. 30, 3-0. USF has won its last three matches entering Friday's contest. Through 16 matches, the Bulls are led by junior outside hitter Jac'cara Walker (184 kills, .236 attack pct., 149 digs), redshirt senior middle blocker Clara Payne (157 kills, .295 attack pct., 18 service aces), senior setter Briana Stowell (543 assists, 8.48 assists/set, 16 service aces, 155 digs), and freshman libero CC Clausen (310 digs, 4.84 digs/set). As a team, USF is averaging 12.8 kills, 11.9 assists, 1.4 aces, 17 digs and two blocks per set. USF is under the direction of seventh season head coach Courtney Draper.

Series History vs. USF
Wichita State and USF have only met three times in the all-time series. WSU is a perfect 3-0 in the series. Last season, the Shockers swept the Bulls in a pair of matches, winning 3-0 in Tampa and at home.

Last Meeting vs. the Bulls
Wichita State swept the Bulls, 3-0 (25-11, 25-12, 25-18), in Tampa, Fla., Oct. 29. Abbi Lehman led WSU with 11 kills and seven blocks and hit .625.

About UCF
The UCF Knights enter the weekend with an overall record of 12-3 and are undefeated in The American at 3-0 after winning at Memphis Sept. 30, 3-0. UCF hosts Tulsa in Orlando Friday before facing the Shockers Sunday. Entering Friday's match against Tulsa, the Knights have won their last nine contests. Through 15 matches, UCF is paced by freshman outside hitter McKenna Melville (230 kills, .259 attack pct., 13 service aces, 186 digs, 6 solo blocks), junior setter Erin Olson (346 assists, 130 digs) and senior libero Jordan Pingel (238 digs). Melville ranks second in The American in kills. As a team, UCF is averaging 14.1 kills, 13.4 assists, 0.9 aces, 15.8 digs and 2.3 blocks per set. The knights lead the conference in assists and kills, and rank second in hitting percentage (.256) and blocks. In the first NCAA RPI rankings of 2018, UCF ranks 14th -- the highest in The American. UCF is under the leadership of 11th season head coach Todd Dagenais.

Series History vs. UCF
The Shockers and Knights have only met two times in the all-time series. Wichita State won both meetings last season, defeating UCF 3-1 in Wichita and 3-2 in Orlando.

Last Meeting vs. the Knights
WSU rallied to claim a 3-2 (23-25, 25-14, 17-25, 25-15, 15-10) victory at UCF Oct. 27. Tabitha Brown led the Shockers with 23 kills and 11 digs and hit .349.
 

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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.

Shockers Receive Votes in Sept. 10 Poll
The Wichita State volleyball team received votes in the Sept. 10 AVCA Poll. The Shockers received six points in the poll. WSU has received votes in each of the polls this season.

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.