WEEKEND SCHEDULE - Blujay Invitational
» Saturday, 9/8 vs. Iowa State | 4:00 p.m. CT
» Sunday, 9/9 at #14 Creighton | 2:00 p.m. CT

WICHITA, Kan. - Another tough test awaits the Wichita State volleyball team this weekend when the Shockers travel to Omaha, Neb., for the Bluejay Invitational. The Shockers will face Iowa State on Saturday and No. 14 Creighton on Sunday in the three-team tournament.
 
Quick Hits
• Saturday's match will be video streamed on gocreighton.com, while Sunday's match will be on Fox Sports Go 
• Giorgia Civita is 38th nationally in total digs and 30th in digs per set
• WSU is 0-9-1 all-time against Iowa State and 23-25 all-time against Creighton
• Junior Alex Koon was named to the all-tournament team at the BYU Nike Invitational
• The Shockers are receiving votes in the Sept. 3 AVCA Poll. WSU totaled 26 points, good for 31st
• 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 23-34-1 all-time against the tourney field:
Iowa State - 0-9-1
Creighton - 23-25

Scouting Iowa State
The Cyclones started the 2018 season 5-2 with wins over Ole Miss, Virginia, No. 17 Northern Iowa, Gonzaga and Montana. Losses have come against Oregon State and Utah. As a team, Iowa State is hitting .256 while holding opponents to a .148 hitting percentage. Leading the way is Jess Schaben who is averaging 3.20 kills per set, Piper Mauck who is averaging 10.91 assists per set and Hali Hillegas who is averaging 5.64 digs per set. The Cyclones are led by head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch.

Series History vs. ISU
Iowa State leads the overall series with Wichita State 9-0-1. Head Coach Chris Lamb is 0-4 all-time against the Cyclones. ISU has won 3-0 in the last three meetings. The tie was in Lincoln, Neb. in 1977.

Last Meeting vs. the Cyclones
The last meeting between the two teams was Sept. 17, 2017 in Wichita. The Cyclones won 3-0 by scores of 25-21, 37-35 and 25-23. Mikaela Raudsepp led the Shockers with 19 kills, while Emily Hiebert had 48 assists and Giorgia Civita had 26 digs.

Scouting Creighton
The Bluejays started the 2018 season 4-2 with wins over No. 5 Kentucky, Arkansas State, NC State and SMU. Losses have come against Northern Iowa and No. 10 USC. As a team, CU is hitting .228 while holding their opponents to a .207 hitting percentage. Leading the way is Jaali Winters who is averaging 4.00 kills per set, Madelyn Cole who is averaging 11.18 assists per set and Brittany Witt who is averaging 4.50 digs per set. The Bluejays are led by head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth.

Series History vs. CU
Creighton leads the overall series with Wichita State 25-23. The Bluejays also lead the series in Omaha 13-7. The Shockers last won a match in Omaha in 2008. The Bluejays have won five-straight against the Shockers in Omaha, but WSU has won the last two meetings overall (2016 in Ames, Iowa & 2017 in Wichita). Head Coach Chris Lamb is 17-16 all-time against the Bluejays.

Last Meeting vs. the Bluejays
The last meeting between the two teams was Sept. 15, 2017 in Wichita. The Shockers won 3-1 by scores of 25-20, 16-25, 25-19 and 25-22. Tabitha Brown led the Shockers with 17 kills, while Emily Hiebert had 42 assists and Giorgia Civita had 29 digs.
 

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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.

Shockers Receive Votes in Sept. 3 Poll
The Wichita State volleyball team received votes in the Sept. 3 AVCA Poll. The Shockers received 26 points in the poll, which would put them 31st.

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.

Career-High Performances
Several Shockers put up career numbers over the weekend. Against West Virginia, Alex Koon had a career-high 16 digs, while Jordan Roberts tied her career high with 23 assists and two service aces. Kali Eaken also tied her career-high with three kills against WVU.

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.