WEEKEND SCHEDULE - North Texas Challenge
» Friday, 9/14 vs. Stephen F. Austin (10-2) | 11:00 a.m. CT
» Friday, 9/14 at North Texas (3-8) | 6:00 p.m. CT
» Saturday, 9/9 vs. #14 Cal Poly (7-1) | 1:00 p.m. CT

WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State's final tournament of the 2018 season sends the Shockers to Denton, Texas, for the North Texas Challenge on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 14-15. The Shockers will face Stephen F. Austin and North Texas on Friday and wrap up the challenge vs. No. 14 Cal Poly on Saturday.
 
Quick Hits
• Giorgia Civita is 40th nationally in total digs and 20th in digs per set
• WSU is 3-3 all-time against Stephen F. Austin, 7-2 against North Texas and 1-3 all-time against Cal Poly
• The Shockers last faced Stephen F. Austin in 2010, North Texas in 2014 and Cal Poly in 2017
• Kali Eaken needs one assist to reach 1,000 for her career
• Redshirt freshman Megan Taflinger was named to the all-tournament team at the Bluejay Invitational
• Junior Alex Koon was named to the all-tournament team at the BYU Nike Invitational
• The Shockers are receiving votes in the Sept. 10 AVCA Poll. WSU totaled six points
• The Shockers had 216 attack attempts in the five-set win at JMU. It was the most by a Shocker team since 2015
• The Shockers will have two matches televised on the American Digital Network including Oct. 14 vs. Cincinnati and Nov. 11 vs. SMU
• 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
• 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
• In 2017, WSU earned a national seed (No. 16) for the first time in school history
• In 2017, the Shockers hosted the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history
• WSU has won four conference tournament titles (2004, 2013, 2015, 2016)
• The Shockers have won seven conference regular-season championships (2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2017)
• Five Shockers earned all-conference honors last season including Emily Hiebert, Abbie Lehman, Mikaela Raudsepp and Tabitha Brown on the first team and Giorgia Civita on the second team
• WSU finished in the top-three in the conference standings for the last 15 years
 

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Series History
The Shockers are 11-8 all-time against the tourney field:
Stephen F. Austin - 3-3
North Texas - 7-2
Cal Poly - 1-3

Scouting Stephen F. Austin
The Ladyjacks started the 2018 season 10-2 with wins over Memphis, Arkansas State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Colgate, Louisiana-Monroe, Tennessee State, St. John's, Stetson, Grambling State and Rice. Losses have come against Princeton and Northwestern. As a team, SFA is hitting .243 while holding opponents to a .164 hitting percentage. Leading the way is Peyton Redmond who is averaging 2.81 kills per set, Ann Hollas who is averaging 6.30 assists per set and Sabrina Monaco who is averaging 3.92 digs per set. The Ladyjacks are led by head coach Debbie Humphreys.

Series History vs. SFA
The overall series with Stephen F. Austin is tied 3-3. Head Coach Chris Lamb is 2-1 all-time against the Ladyjacks. He earned a win in 2002 in Wichita and one in 2010 in Wichita.

Last Meeting vs. the Ladyjacks
The last meeting between the two teams was Sept. 3, 2010, in Wichita. The Shockers won 3-0 by scores of 25-16, 25-18 and 25-13. Camri Zwiesler led the Shockers with 13 kills, while Mary Elizabeth Hooper had 21 assists and Sarah Waldorf had 15 digs.

Scouting North Texas
The Mean Green started the 2018 season 3-8 with wins over Nicholls, Northeastern and Kent State. Losses have come against No. 12 Baylor, CSUN, Pepperdine, Idaho, Kansas State, Omaha, Oregon State and No. 2 Wisconsin. As a team, UNT is hitting .185 while holding their opponents to a .259 hitting percentage. Leading the way is Valerie Valerian who is averaging 3.20 kills and 2.29 digs per set and Karley York who is averaging 9.09 assists per set. The Mean Green are led by head coach Andrew Palileo.

Series History vs. UNT
Wichita State leads the overall series with North Texas 7-2. Head Coach Chris Lamb is 3-1 all-time against the Mean Green. He earned wins in Wichita in 2003, 2005 and 2007.

Last Meeting vs. the Mean Green
The last meeting between the two teams was Sept. 5, 2014, in San Marcos, Texas. North Texas won 3-2 by scores of 22-25, 18-25, 25-23, 25-13 and 15-10. Mikaela Raudsepp led the Shockers with 18 kills, while Emily Hiebert had 41 assists and Dani Mostrom had 16 digs.

Scouting Cal Poly
The Mustangs started the 2018 season 7-1 with wins over Pepperdine, Butler, Loyola Marymount, UTRGV, Utah State and No. 9 UCLA twice. The loss was to No. 20 Pittsburgh. As a team, CP is hitting .265 while holding opponents to a .243 hitting percentage. Leading the way is Torrey Van Winden who is averaging 4.57 kills per set, Avalon Denecochea who is averaging 9.87 assists per set and Katherine Brouker who is averaging 4.03 digs per set. The Mustangs are led by head coach Sam Crosson.

Series History vs. CP
Cal Poly leads the overall series with Wichita State 3-1. Head coach Chris Lamb is 1-2 against the Mustangs. The win came in 2008 in Norman, Okla.

Last Meeting vs. the Mustangs
The last meeting between the two teams was Sept. 9, 2017, in Eugene, Ore. Cal Poly won 3-2 by scores of 23-25, 21-25, 28-26, 25-16 and 15- 9. Tabitha Brown led the Shockers with 23 kills, while Emily Hiebert had 53 assists and Giorgia Civita had 31 digs.
 

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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.