The RoundHouse | 11/15/2019 10:53:00 PM

 
The record will not look much different, but the mood around Wichita State volleyball is considerably different than a year ago. The Shockers are one match away from ending 2019 and they are looking forward to better things in 2020.
 
"These guys have listened to us as we try to make adjustments," coach Chris Lamb said. "We've thrown everything at them and I don't believe it's all been easy to hear. Here we are with some nice performances later in the year. It seems so much fresher around here, brighter, and we've got good young talent."
 
Lamb did not feel that way after last season's team finished 14-18. The current Shockers (8-19, 5-10 American Athletic Conference) are in a good place after Friday's 3-1 win (25-23, 25-14, 24-26, 25-19) over Tulsa in the home finale. 
 
"There's a big learning curve that comes with college volleyball and they've come in and worked hard and now they're understanding what we're trying to do," senior libero Kara Bown said. "They just started to run with that. Once they got that down, you can see how much better we've gotten."
 
That learning curve started with a schedule that included five teams currently ranked in the top 15 of the AVCA poll – No. 1 Texas, No. 6 Nebraska, No. 8 Penn State, No. 10 BYU and No. 14 Creighton.
 
"I gave them the toughest schedule . . . certainly the toughest we've ever had," Lamb said. 
 
The Shockers close the season on Sunday at East Carolina. Lamb called Friday's win over Tulsa (15-13, 8-7) one of the two best of the season, along with a sweep at Tulane earlier this month. 
 
Since then, and even through some defeats, several developments provide a path to a brighter 2020. 
 
Lamb feels better about his setting with the improvement of freshmen Kayce Litzau, who recorded 25 assists on Friday. Junior McKayla Wuensch added 22. Their progress – and improved passing - helps Wichita State's revived middle attack and freshman Chinelo Ogogor contributed eight kills and three block-assists. 
 
"I'm really, really happy to see how much more comfortable and sort of secure she feels out there," Lamb said. "She's really close, so often. Right there on this play and right there on that play."
 
Ogogor and Wuensch connected on a quick attack in the middle midway through the second set that set off the coaching staff. Lamb and associate head coach Sean Carter high-fived and Carter said "We look like the Shockers for once."
 
That action is one former Shockers such as Abbie Lehman and Ashley Andrade feasted on. The current crop of middles struggled to master the timing.
 
"We kind of abandoned it, because we just can't connect on it," Lamb said. "We trained it for so long it's kind of in their DNA. It was one of those fast transition plays that has been a staple of the program for years and it kind of showed up again. There it was. It was pretty great." 
 
Wichita State's production on the right-side is even more appealing to Lamb as junior Emma Wright and freshman Sophia Rohling turned that position into a plus. Wright hit .615 with nine kills and a superb blocking night. 
 
"You've seen some great right-side players in this conference and you see a lot of really good right-side play at the top of this conference," Lamb said. "Two of our best wins this year involved great right-side play with Emma and Sophia. At the beginning of the year, Sophia wasn't on the floor. Now, we just can't wait for her rotations to come back so she can go out there and physically impact the match."
 
Rohling hit .310 with 11 kills, her third straight match with eight or more.
 
"I'm a lot more relaxed on the court and that's helped me," she said. "I've been focusing on what I've done in practice . . . playing the way I play in practice."

Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.