WEEKEND SCHEDULE - American Athletic Conference Play
» Friday, 9/21 vs. Tulane (12-3) | 7:00 p.m. CT
» Sunday, 9/23 vs. Memphis (7-5) | 1:00 p.m. CT

After playing its first 11 matches away from home, the Wichita State volleyball team is scheduled to open American Athletic Conference play with a pair of matches in the friendly confines of Charles Koch Arena Friday, Sept. 21, and Sunday, Sept 23. The Shockers will take on the Tulane Green Wave in the home opener at 7 p.m. Friday prior to welcoming
Memphis to Wichita Sunday at 1 p.m.

Quick Hits
• Giorgia Civita is 41st nationally in total digs (229) and 24th in digs per set (5.33).
• Sophomore Abby Pugh ranks 57th nationally in hitting percentage (.376). In the American Athletic Conference, she ranks third.
• Civita is 51 digs shy of 1,000. The Sophomore from Italy is on pace to become the fastest player to reach 1,000 digs in program history, as she has only played in 193 sets in her career.
• Senior Tabitha Brown needs just 12 kills to surpass 1,000 for her career.
• Brown was named to the North Texas Challenge all-tournament team.
• Senior Kali Eaken surpassed 1,000 career assists in WSU's match against Stephen F. Austin Sept. 14. The Kansas City, Mo., native has 1,079 assists entering Friday's home opener.
• Sophomore Emma Wright collected a career-high three service aces in the Shockers win over North Texas Sept. 14
• Redshirt freshman Megan Taflinger matched her career-best with three service aces against Stephen F. Austin Sept. 14. The Leona Valley, Calif., native also posted three aces at Creighton earlier this season.
• Sophomore Regan Stiawalt collected a career-high nine kills in WSU's match against 14th-ranked Cal Poly Sept. 15.
• Sophomore Emma Wright tallied a career-high three service aces against North Texas Sept. 14.
• The Shockers had a combined 25 services aces in their three matches in the North Texas Challenge Sept. 14-15. WSU collected nine aces against Stephen F. Austin, and eight against both North Texas and Cal Poly. All were season-highs.
 

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Series History
Tulane - 1-1
Memphis - 3-1

About Tulane
The Tulane University Green Wave enter Friday's match with an overall record of 12-3 after defeating Clemson at home Sept. 15, 3-2. Tulane has won six straight matches entering the week. Through 15 matches, The Green Wave are paced by sophomore Lexie Douglas (135 kills, .280 attack pct.), junior Kaylie McHugh (239 digs, 4.51 digs/set, 27 service aces) and freshman Taylor Henigsman (300 assists). McHugh ranks second in the American Athletic Conference in aces. As a team, Tulane is hitting .242 while limiting its opponents to .144 hitting. The Green Wave have 134.5 total blocks, 856 digs, 750 kills, 711 assists and 91 aces. Tulane leads The American in opponent hitting percentage (.144) and blocks (2.49/set), and is second in assists, kills and aces. Tulane was picked to finish 10th in The American preseason poll. The Green Wave are under the direction of third season head coach Jim Barnes.

Series History vs. Tulane
The Shockers and Green Wave have only met twice in the all-time series, with each team winning a contest. Last season, WSU swept Tulane in New Orleans, 3-0. Prior to last season, the only other meeting was in 1986 when the Green Wave downed the Shockers in Tulsa, Okla., 3-1.

Last Meeting vs. the Green Wave
The last meeting in the series was in New Orleans last season. The Shockers defeated Tulane, 3-0, winning 25-23, 25-16 and 25-16. Emily Hiebert (38 assists, 10 digs) and Tabitha Brown (14 kills, 10 digs) both had double-doubles in the match.

Scouting Memphis
The Memphis Tigers enter the week with an overall record of 7-5 after defeating Ole Miss Sept. 11, 3-2. The Tigers have won five consecutive matches entering their conference opener Friday at Tulsa. Through 12 contests, Memphis is paced by sophomore Hannah Flowers (159 kills, .321 attack pct., 28 service aces), freshman Molly Murrihy (420 assists) and freshman Kaitlyn Gehler (150 digs). Flowers' 28 aces are tops in The American. As a team, the Tigers are hitting .222 while holding their adversaries to .204. Memphis has 95.5 total blocks, 661 digs, 72 aces, 582 assists and 613 kills. The Tigers were picked to finish 12th in The American preseason poll. Memphis is under the leadership of first season head coach Sean Burdette.

Series History vs. Memphis
Sunday's match will mark the fifth meeting in the all-time series that dates back to 1976. Wichita State leads the series, 3-1. Last season, the Shockers claimed 3-0 wins over the Tigers in Memphis, Tenn., and at home.

Last Meeting vs. the Tigers
The last meeting against Memphis was Nov. 24, 2017, at Charles Koch Arena. The Shockers rolled to a 3-0 triumph, winning 25-17, 25-14 and 25-11, finishing the 2017 with a perfect 20-0 record in The American. Abbie Lehman led WSU with 11 kills and four blocks, and hit .733.
 

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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.