WEEKEND SCHEDULE - American Athletic Conference Play
» Friday, 11/2 at Cincinnati (19-6, 9-2) | 6:00 p.m. CT
» Sunday, 11/4 at ECU (12-10, 4-7) | 12:00 p.m. CT

Wichita State (11-11, 6-5) is slated to travel to Cincinnati (19-6, 9-2) and ECU (12-10, 4-7) for a pair of American Athletic Conference matches Friday, Nov. 2, and Sunday, Nov. 4. The Shockers are scheduled to face Cincinnati Friday at 7 p.m. ET at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio, before taking on ECU Sunday, Nov. 4, at 1 p.m. ET at Williams Arena at Minges in Greenville, N.C.

Quick Hits
• WSU enters the weekend with an overall record of 11-11 and an American Athletic Conference mark of 6-5 after a pair of 3-0 victories at home against UConn and Temple Oct. 26 and 28.
• In the victory over UConn, WSU hit a season-best .316, tallying 38 kills on 98 attempts with only seven errors.
• The Shockers are ranked 44th 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 (251 kills, 12 aces, 222 digs, 24 blocks), redshirt freshmen Megan Taflinger (237 kills, 25 aces) and Kora Kauling (391 assists, 87 digs), and sophomore Giorgia Civita (498 digs, 68 assists).
• Junior Alex Koon was named to The American Weekly Honor Roll after averaging 3.17 kills and hitting an impressive .478 in the Shocker's matches vs. UConn and Temple Oct. 26 and 28. Koon tallied 19 kills on 39 attempts with just one error in the two contests.
• Sophomore Regan Stiawalt matched her career-high with nine kills in Wichita State's win over Temple Oct. 28.
• 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 3rd in hitting percentage at .310.
• Freshman Grace Burken tied her career-high with 11 kills and hit a career-best .259 in WSU's match at Houston Oct. 21.
• Burken posted a career-best four block assists against UConn Oct. 26.
• Senior Tabitha Brown had a career-high 28 kills in the Shocker's home 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.
• Civita leads The American and ranks sixth nationally in digs per set (5.72). She ranks second in the conference and 18th nationally in total digs (498).
 

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Series History
Cincinnati: 2-2 (0-1 in 2018)
ECU: 3-0 (1-0 in 2018)

About Cincinnati
The Cincinnati Bearcats enter the weekend at 19-6 overall and 9-2 in The American after falling at Tulane Oct. 28, 3-1. Through 25 matches, Cincinnati is led by redshirt junior outside hitter Jordan Thompson, who currently leads the nation in kills (610), kills per set (6.04), points (678) and points per set (6.71), freshman setter Armania Heckenmueller (598 assists, 19 service aces, 146 digs) and freshman defensive specialist Abby Williams (316 digs, 89 assists). Thompson also has a team-high 39 service aces, while redshirt sophomore Dasha Cabarkapa has a team best 107 blocks. As a team, the Bearcats are averaging 13.6 kills, 12.9 assists, 1.3 aces, 14 digs and 2.1 blocks per set. Cincinnati leads the conference in hitting percentage (.262). The Bearcats are under the leadership of seventh season head coach Molly Alvey.

Series History vs. Cincinnati
Friday's showdown in the Queen City will be the fifth meeting in the all-time series that dates back to 2016. The series is tied, 2-2, after the Bearcats defeated the Shockers earlier this season in Wichita, 3-2.

Last Meeting vs. the Bearcats
Jordan Thompson had an American and Charles Koch Arena record 44 kills to lead Cincinnati to a 3-2 win over Wichita State Sunday, Oct. 14. The Bearcats won by scores of 23-25, 25-20, 29-31, 25-21 and 15-11. Thompson also set the Koch Arena record for attack attempts with 89. She also added two service aces, nine digs and two blocks, while hitting .404. Tabitha Brown had a career-high 28 kills for the Shockers and also added 12 digs and two blocks. Kora Kauling had a double-double with 51 assists and 11 digs, while Giorgia Civita had 26 digs.

About ECU
The East Carolina Pirates enter the weekend with an overall record of 12-10 and an American Athletic Conference record of 4-7 after losing at Memphis Oct. 28, 3-2. The Pirates are slated to host Tulsa Friday before taking on WSU Sunday. Through 22 matches, the Pirates are led by sophomore outside hitter Sydney Kleinman (174 kills, 26 assists, 15 service aces, 31 blocks), sophomore setter Shelby Martin (611 assists, 12 service aces, 142 digs) and junior defensive specialist Maggie Hallow (326 digs, 66 assists). As a team, ECU is averaging 12.5 kills, 11.4 assists, 1.3 aces, 15.7 digs and 1.9 blocks per set. The Pirates are under the direction of sixth season head coach Julie Torbett.

Series History vs. ECU
Sunday's contest in Greenville will be the fourth match in the all-time series that dates back to last season. Wichita State leads the series, 3-0, after defeating the Pirates earlier this season in straight sets, 3-0.

Last Meeting vs. the Pirates
Wichita State used seven service aces to earn a 3-0 win over ECU Friday, Oct. 12. The Shockers won by scores of 25-16, 25-12 and 25-21. Tabitha Brown led the Shockers with eight kills, two service aces and 13 digs, while Kora Kauling had 27 assists and two service aces. Giorgia Civita added 13 digs.
 

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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.