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WSU Carries Momentum on Road Swing

10/7/2021 10:21:00 AM

WICHITA STATE (7-6, 1-3 American)
 
Friday, Oct. 8 (6 p.m. CT) at Memphis (8-8, 1-3)
Memphis, Tennessee (Larry O. Finch Center)
Live Stats // ESPN+
 
Sunday, Oct. 10 (12 p.m. CT) at SMU (7-7, 3-1)
Dallas, Texas (Moody Coliseum)
Live Stats // ESPN+
 
 
Wichita State takes to the road for six of the next eight matches, beginning with a pair away from home against Memphis and SMU.
 
The Shockers look to continue the momentum from two strong performances over the weekend, pushing preseason favorite UCF to five sets and recording a convincing sweep of South Florida.
 
Friday night, WSU heads to Memphis before a Sunday matinee matchup with SMU. Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+. For more information about subscriptions, which start at $6.99/month, visit plus.espn.com.
 

SCENE SETTERS:
  • After splitting two matches at home against competition from the Sunshine State, Wichita State takes to the road for their first meeting of the season with Memphis and SMU. 
  • The Shockers pushed preseason conference favorite UCF to the brink on Friday night, taking a two-sets-to-one lead and grabbing an early advantage in set five, but the Knights rallied for a grueling 25-20, 21-25, 21-25, 25-12, 15-12 victory.
  • Freshman outside hitter Morgan Weber made her return to the lineup against UCF and provided an immediate boost, contributing 14 kills, nine digs, three assists, and two aces in her first action since August 28.
  • Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Brylee Kelly put together one of her most efficient outings of the season, racking up a season-high 18 kills on just 39 swings, good for a .359 hitting percentage.
  • Setter Kayce Litzau piled up 51 assists over the course of five sets, her second-highest total of the season. Five different Shockers recorded six or more kills thanks to Litzau's distribution.
  • WSU parlayed the momentum from Friday's strong performance into a convincing sweep of South Florida on Sunday, 25-17, 25-18, 25-17. Following a back-and-forth beginning to the first set, the Shockers rattled off a stretch where they snagged 17 of 18 points, winning the first set and a 9-0 lead in the second. WSU did not trail at any point over the final two sets.
  • The Shockers improved to 5-0 in American matches against the Bulls, losing just one set combined in those five meetings.
  • Litzau set a new season high for assists in a three-set match by dishing out 35 helpers, earning her a spot on the American Weekly Honor Roll.
  • Freshman hitter Sophie Childs delivered a well-rounded performance, firing 10 kills via a .444 hitting percentage and chipping in four blocks. As a team, WSU compiled nine blocks against the Bulls.
  • WSU hit .333 as a team for the match, as every attacker with more than three swings hit .217 or better.
  • The Shockers rank third in the American in opponent hitting percentage, limiting the opposition to just a .193 kill rate. The strong defensive numbers come despite the fact that WSU checks in second to last in the conference in blocks per set at 1.84.
  • Libero Lily Liekweg stands third in the conference in digs per set (4.62), leading the way for a WSU defensive unit that ranks third overall in digs.
  • Memphis has won each of the last three meetings against WSU, including two wins in Charles Koch Arena last season. The Shockers still hold the American series, 4-3, including sweeps in the first three matches after Wichita State joined the AAC in 2017. Only two of the seven matches have been played in Memphis, with WSU winning both.
  • The Tigers were picked in a tie for tenth in the American preseason poll, getting 18 points along with East Carolina.
  • The Shockers are 3-5 against SMU since joining the American, including a stretch of four straight losses from 2018-19. The teams split two meetings in Wichita last season, with WSU claiming a four-set win and SMU rallying from a two-set deficit to clip the Shockers in the second match.
  • SMU was picked third in the American preseason poll, garnering 66 points.
  • The Shockers rank 70th on the initial RPI leaderboard announced earlier this week.
  • During the nonconference portion of the schedule, WSU picked up wins over Missouri State (11-5) and Arkansas State (12-5) and took a five-setter against South Dakota (preseason favorite in the Summit League).
  • The Shockers won the A-State Invitational (Aug. 27-28) to open the season but subsequently missed the SDSU Invite and a significant stretch of practice time due to COVID-19 issues within the program. The Shockers returned to action Sep. 10-11 with a 2-1 weekend at the Kansas Invitational.
  • WSU is 3-0 in five-set matches (A-State, Delaware and South Dakota).
  • Head coach Chris Lamb recorded his 450th career win earlier this month. Lamb is one of only 24 active Division I coaches who have reached that milestone while winning more than two-thirds of their matches (452-211, .682).
  • The Shockers (9-8 last spring) return five starters, including all-conference opposite Sophia Rohling, and are picked eighth in the American Athletic Conference.
  • 18 of the 20 players on WSU's roster are underclassmen by eligibility and only four rotation players (Kelly, Liekweg, Litzau and Rohling) have been in the program for more than two seasons.

WSU-MEMPHIS SERIES:
  • The Shockers hold a 5-4 all-time advantage against the Tigers, including a 4-3 mark in American play.
  • The series dates back to the 1976 season, just the third season of Wichita State volleyball history. The Shockers took down Memphis 15-12, 15-7 in that first meeting.
 
SCOUTING MEMPHIS:
  • The Tigers enter the weekend 8-8 overall and 1-3 in the American. Memphis started the year with six consecutive sweeps, rolling through the Georgia State Invitational and Central Arkansas Invite. They have lost eight of ten since, including three straight five-set defeats at the SEMO Invitational.
  • Memphis has played three common opponents with Wichita State, beating Missouri State but losing in straight sets to Arkansas State and UT Martin. The Shockers played all three teams at the season-opening A-State Invitational.
  • The Tigers knocked off Temple for their lone conference win of the season, suffering defeats at SMU, Cincinnati and East Carolina.
  • Memphis boasts a strong defensive unit that ranks second in the AAC in opponent hitting percentage (.187) and digs per set (16.75).
  • Setter Sabrina Bianco tops the conference leaderboard with 10.3 assists per set.
  • Miaya Smith is the top attacking option for the Tigers, as the senior has racked up 164 total kills at a .333 attack percentage.

 
WSU-SMU SERIES:
  • Wichita State and SMU have met 11 times in total dating back to the 1996 season, with the Mustangs holding a slim 6-5 all-time advantage. SMU won the inaugural meeting, but WSU claimed non-conference wins in 2010 and 2012. 
  • The Shockers are 3-5 against SMU since joining the American. 
  • WSU is 3-3 at home, 2-2 in Dallas, and 0-1 on a neutral floor against the Mustangs.

 
SCOUTING SMU:
  • SMU enters the weekend 7-7 and 3-1 in conference play, sweeping East Carolina and losing in four sets to Cincinnati in a pair of road contests last week.
  • The Mustangs came in at number 73 in the first NCAA RPI rankings, three spots behind Wichita State.
  • The Mustangs played a challenging non-conference schedule, including three consecutive matches against teams either ranked or receiving votes (Oregon, Rice, Creighton).
  • SMU ranks third in the American with a .223 hitting percentage, but are allowing opponents to hit .230, the second worst mark in the conference.
  • Alex Glover and Kaylyn Winkler are 1-2 in the conference in hitting percentage, leading the way at .427 and .401, respectively. Those two also rank 4-5 in the AAC in blocks per set.
  • The Mustangs average the fewest service aces per set in the AAC, registering just 1.02 per set.
  • Head Coach Lisa Seifert has been the only head coach in program history, now in her 26th season at the helm. With a record of 430-337, Seifert has the second most wins for any head coach in SMU athletics history, trailing only Rhonda Rompola of women's basketball (439 wins).
 

UP NEXT:
  • The Shockers are back in Wichita for home matches against East Carolina and Cincinnati.
  • Friday the Shockers take on East Carolina at 7 p.m. CT.
  • Sunday's match against Cincinnati is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT.
  • Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+.
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