WEEKEND SCHEDULE - BYU Nike Invitational
» Friday 8/31 vs. West Virginia | 4:00 p.m. CT
» Saturday, 9/1 vs. #1 Stanford | 11:00 a.m. CT
» Saturday, 9/1 @ #9 BYU | 8:00 p.m. CT

WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State is set to face a pair of top 10 teams in the BYU Nike Invitational this weekend in Provo, Utah. The Shockers will match up against West Virginia, No. 1 Stanford and No. 9 BYU over two days of play.
 
Quick Hits
• WSU is off to a 3-0 start for the second-straight year 
• Giorgia Civita is this week's American Defensive Player of the Week
• Civita is fifth nationally in total digs and sixth in digs per set
• WSU has never played West Virginia or Stanford
• WSU is 1-1 all-time against BYU with a win in Provo in 2010 and a loss in Wichita in 2012
• The Shockers will face off against the No. 1 team in the country for the first time since 2004 when they played No. 1 Nebraska in the NCAA Tournament
• The Shockers are receiving votes in the Aug. 27 AVCA Poll. WSU totaled 74 points, good for 29th
• The Shockers had 216 attack attempts in the five-set win at JMU. It was the most by a Shocker team since 2015
• Wichita State is playing its second season in the American Athletic Conference. The Shocker volleyball program was a member of the Missouri Valley Conference from 1992-2017
• WSU is now 21-20-2 in season openers and 12-7 under Chris Lamb
• Head Coach Chris Lamb is in his 19th season with the Shockers
• WSU returns three starters including Tabitha Brown, Alex Koon and Emma Wright along with libero Giorgia Civita
• Wichita State will be playing in Utah for the first time since 2013
• The Shockers are picked first in the preseason American Athletic Conference poll
• Tabitha Brown and Giorgia Civita were both named to the preseason all-conference team
• WSU received votes in the preseason AVCA poll
• Head Coach Chris Lamb was the 2017 Volleyball Magazine National Coach of the Year
• WSU ranked seventh in the nation in attendance last season (3,401 average) and had a school record crowd of 7,258 Dec. 2 against Missouri at Charles Koch Arena
• WSU has won 20 or more matches for 15-straight years
 

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Series History
The Shockers are 1-1 all-time against the tourney field:
West Virginia - 0-0
Stanford - 0-0
BYU - 1-1
 
Scouting West Virginia
The Mountaineers started the 2018 season 2-1 with wins over Georgia Southern and UConn and a loss to Wright State. In the three matches, WVU hit .194 while holding their opponents to a .089 hitting percentage. Leading the way was Natania Levak and Katelyn Evans who both averaged 2.55 kills per set, while Erin Slinde averaged 9.00 assists and Lindsay Proctor averaged 3.45 digs per set. The Mountaineers are led by head coach Reed Sunahara.

Scouting Stanford
The Cardinal started the 2018 season 2-0 with wins over American and Howard. In the two matches, Stanford hit .273 while holding opponents to a .063 hitting percentage. Leading the way was Kathryn Plummer who averaged 3.50 kills and 2.83 digs per set. Jenna Gray averaged 11.33 assists and Morgan Hentz averaged 5.00 digs per set. The Cardinal are led by head coach Kevin Hambly.

Scouting BYU
The Cougars started the 2018 season 2-0 with two road wins at Duke. In the two wins, BYU hit .266 while holding their opponents to a .189 hitting percentage. Leading the way was McKenna Miller who averaged 3.86 kills per set and Mary Lake who averaged 6.14 digs per set. The Cougars are led by head coach Heather Olmstead.

Last Meeting vs. the Cougars
The last meeting between the two teams was Aug. 31, 2012 in Wichita. The Cougars won 3-2 by scores of 25-16, 24-26, 25-17, 24-26 and 18-16. Emily Adney led the Shockers with 15 kills and 15 digs, while Chelsey Feekin had 44 assists and 10 kills and Jackie Church had 19 digs.
 

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Civita Named American Defensive Player of the Week
Wichita State volleyball student-athlete Giorgia Civita has been named the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the opening week of the season. Civita, a sophomore libero from Milan, Italy, led the Shockers to a 2-0 weekend with two road wins at James Madison and at Howard. She averaged 6.78 digs, 0.22 kills, 0.67 assists and 0.11 aces in the two wins. In the five-set win at JMU, she had a career-high 34 digs along with two assists and a service ace. In the four-set win at Howard, she had 27 digs along with two kills and four assists.

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.

Career-High Performances
Several Shockers put up career numbers over the weekend. At JMU, Alex Koon had a career-high 19 kills, while Emma Wright added a career-high 17 kills. Tabitha Brown tied her career-high with 19 digs, while Giorgia Civita had a career-high 34 digs. Kara Bown added a career-high nine digs. At Howard, Chase Jackson had a career-high eight kills and at VCU, Abby Pugh had a career-high nine kills, while Alex Koon had a career-high 13 digs and Giorgia Civita tied her career-high with 34 digs. Jordan Roberts also had a career-high in assists (23) and digs (12).

Season Openers
Wichita State is now 21-20-2 in season openers overall and 12-7 in season openers under head coach Chris Lamb. 
 

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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.