WEEKEND SCHEDULE - American Athletic Conference Play
» Saturday, 9/29 at Tulsa (10-4, 2-0) | 6:00 p.m. CT

The Wichita State volleyball team faces Tulsa for Havoc in the Heartland Saturday, Sept. 29, at 6 p.m. at the Donald W. Reynolds Center in Tulsa, Okla. The match is the first of a three-match road swing for WSU. The Shockers are 7-6 overall and 2-0 in American Athletic Conference play after earning wins over Tulane and Memphis at home last weekend. Tulsa is 10-4 overall and 2-0 in The American coming into the match after conference wins over Memphis and Tulane Sept. 21 and 23, and a non-conference victory against North Texas Wednesday.

Quick Hits
• Giorgia Civita is 13th nationally in digs per set (5.59 per set) and 27th in total digs (285). She is ranked second in the American Athletic Conference in digs coming into Saturday's match at Tulsa.
• Sophomore Abby Pugh ranks fifth in the American Athletic Conference in hitting percentage (.316), while fellow sophomore Emma Wright is sixth in the conference (.315).
• 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 1,005 digs entering Saturday's match at Tulsa.
• Senior Tabitha Brown eclipsed 1,000 career kills in the Shockers' victory against Tulane Sept. 21. The Spring, Texas, native has 1,009 career kills entering the weekend.
• Civita was named the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season Sept. 24. She averaged seven digs per set in WSU's two matches last weekend. In the three-set win over Memphis Sept. 23, Civita tallied 29 digs -- tying for the fourth-most digs in a three-set match in program history.
• Redshirt freshman Megan Taflinger was named to The American Honor Roll Sept. 24 after averaging a team-best 4.12 kills per set against Tulane and Memphis. The Leona Valley, Calif., native posted her first career double-double with a career-high 17 kills and 13 digs in the victory over Tulane Sept. 21. She added a team-high 16 kills and hit .297 in the triumph over Memphis Sept. 23.
• Taflinger ranks 10th in the American Athletic Conference in service aces with 15 aces in 51 sets.
• Senior Kali Eaken recorded a career-high three service aces in Wichita State's wins over Tulane and Memphis.
• Eaken ranks eighth in The American with 333 assists and 6.53 assists per set coming into Saturday's showdown at Tulsa.
• The Shockers are a perfect 7-0 when winning more sets than their opponents this season.
 

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Series History
Tulsa - 30-13

About Tulsa
The Tulsa Golden Hurricane are 10-4 overall and 2-0 in The American after claiming a 3-2 win over North Texas in a non-conference match Wednesday evening in Tulsa, Okla. Tulsa is a perfect 6-0 at home this season. Through 14 matches, the Golden Hurricane are led by senior outside hitter Emily Thorson (169 kills, 12 service aces, 12 solo blocks), junior setter Mariah Pardo (394 assists, 115 digs) and junior defensive specialist/libero Taylor Horsfall (296 digs, 5.92 digs per set). Horsfall lead The American in digs through 14 contests. As a team, Tulsa is averaging 13 kills, 11.9 assists, 0.9 aces, 17.8 digs and two blocks per set. The Golden Hurricane are under the leadership of fifth season head coach Ryan Wills (72-56 career record).

Series History vs. Tulsa
Wichita State and Tulsa will meet for the 44th time in the all-time series Saturday night. WSU leads the series, 30-13, after sweeping the Golden Hurricane, 3-0, in two matches last season.

Last Meeting vs. the Golden Hurricane
The Shockers swept the Golden Hurricane, 3-0 (25-19, 25-12, 25-15), to claim at least a share of the American Athletic Conference title Nov. 17 in Tulsa, Okla. Junior Tabitha Brown earned Havoc in the Heartland MVP honors with 15 kills and a .478 attack percentage.
 

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Civita, Taflinger Recognized by The American
Giorgia Civita and Megan Taflinger were honored by the American Athletic Conference for their performances during the week of Sept. 17-23. Civita was named the Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season, while Taflinger was selected to the Honor Roll.

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.