Wichita State outside hitter Brylee Kelly enjoyed a big night and she knew why.
 
"Right after the game, I told Kayce (Litzau) I was so proud of her," Kelly said. "That's the best I've seen her set. I've played with her for three years now and she looked great."
 
The Shockers fell to UCF 3-2 on Friday at Koch Arena, after leading 2-1, so coach Chris Lamb described a disappointed locker room. Considering the injury problems and an 0-2 road trip, pushing the preseason American Athletic Conference favorites to five (20-25, 25-21, 25-21, 12-25, 12-15) sets should lift the mood.
 
Wichita State (6-6, 0-3 American) plays host to USF (6-8, 0-3) at 1 p.m. Sunday. UCF (10-5, 3-0) plays at Tulsa.
 
 

Not sure what's more impressive, the up from @brynnnn1 or the down from @brylee_kelly 🤔

📺: https://t.co/LxXSzhmYcc pic.twitter.com/hak0g6gWas

— Wichita State Volleyball (@GoShockersVB) October 2, 2021

"I saw growth tonight," Lamb said. "The ceiling looks higher to me. And the floor might not be as low. We might have put some of that behind us."
 
Litzau's play leads the positive developments. She helped Kelly get 18 kills and hit .359. Her connection with Wichita State middles Morgan Stout and Natalie Foster is crisper. The Shockers hit .203 for the match, topping out at .310 in the second set and .286 in the third.
 
"The last couple weeks are the best Kayce Litzau's ever been as a volleyball player," Lamb said. "She can hold her own with some of the better setters in our conference."
 
Kelly started with four kills in the first set. She added five in the third set, highlighted by three kills that lifted the Shockers from an 11-all tie to a 15-13 lead. Litzau's setting gave her hitters enough good matchups to keep the Shockers in the match.
 
"(Litzau's) location, as Lambo said, was the best it's been and it was allowing us to score at a higher rate," Kelly said. "You could tell by the numbers the connection was a lot better between me and her."
 
Litzau finished with 51 assists and 14 digs. She has dealt with a short-handed roster, due to COVID-19 protocols and the loss of outside hitter Kalin Newsome and middle Lauren McMahon to injury. Morgan Weber returned for the first time since the season-opening tournament and contributed 14 kills, nine digs and two aces.
 
"We've been working a lot on it in practice, just over-exaggerating, especially on the outside and pushing it out there," Litzau said. "With the middles, too, just knowing their tendencies and knowing when they'll transition and understanding where they're at, based on the set, based on the situation. More reps with that helps out a lot."
 
Lamb liked the defense on UCF's McKenna Melville, the conference's 2020 Player of the Year. She recorded 23 kills but hit .167. Right-side Anne-Marie Watson exploited other areas of the Shocker defense for 17 kills, but Lamb saw his team follow a scouting report and adjust defenses in ways it didn't earlier in the season.
 
"There were some, what I call junk defenses, that we rolled out a little bit," Lamb said. "We were certainly reacting to certain things outside the norm, outside the box. Starting with (middles) Natalie Foster and Morgan (Stout), whose heads were spinning when I was trying to do these things a week ago, came a long way."
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.