WICHITA STATE (18-9, 12-6Â American)
Â
Wednesday, Nov. 24Â (7:00Â p.m. CT) vs. SMUÂ (16-12, 12-6)
Wichita, Kan. (Charles Koch Arena)
Live Stats // ESPN+
Â
Friday, Nov. 26 (12 p.m. CT) vs. Memphis (12-18, 5-13)
Wichita, Kan. (Charles Koch Arena)
Live Stats // ESPN+
- The Shockers host their final two matches of the regular season against SMU and Memphis.
- Both matches will air on ESPN+. For more information about subscriptions, which start at $6.99/month, visit plus.espn.com.
- Track live scoring throughout the week at shockerstats.com.
SCENE SETTERS:
- Wichita State wraps up the regular season with home matches against SMU and Memphis.
- The Shockers are coming off a 1-1 road swing that began with a five-set loss to Cincinnati on Friday and ended with a thrilling four-set win against East Carolina on Sunday.
- The battle for second through fifth place in the American conference standings will go down to the final week of the season. Houston can clinch second with any win, while the Shockers would need two wins and two Houston losses to tie for second. WSU, SMU, and Cincinnati are all currently tied for third.
- The Shockers began the year 6-1, lost five straight matches, and have now won 12 of their last 15, including an eight-match winning streak from 10/3-10/29.
- The loss against Cincinnati dropped the Shockers to 7-3 on the season in five-set matches. Seven of those ten five-setters have come in American conference play.
- WSU finished the regular season with an 11-5 record away from Charles Koch Arena, including 7-5 in true road matches.
- Brylee Kelly was tabbed to the American Weekly Honor Roll after another historic performance on Sunday at ECU. The redshirt sophomore had 29 kills, the most in any four-set match in the rally scoring era of Shocker volleyball history.
- With the win on Sunday, the Shockers improved to 7-0 all-time against the Pirates.
- WSU stands at 66 in the latest RPI - fourth among AAC schools behind UCF (25), Cincinnati (48) and Houston (51).
LOOKING BACK:
- WSU rallied for a 29-31, 25-22, 35-33, 25-21 victory at East Carolina on Sunday afternoon.
- The Shockers trailed 15-5 and eventually 18-9 in the fourth set, before embarking on a 14-1 run to take a 23-19 lead. The stretch was highlighted by four blocks from Morgan Stout and Sophia Rohling, plus four Rohling kills.
- Brylee Kelly tied her career high with 29 kills, surpassing the previous program record of 24 kills in a four-setter, established by Camri Zwiesler (at Missouri State, 10/2/10) and Tabitha Brown (Miami OH, 9/2/17).
- Kelly had 11 kills in the first set and nine in the third, the two highest single-set kill totals for a Shocker this season.
- The match featured 17 total set points that were not scored.
- The third set ultimately produced 68 points, the most combined points in any set WSU has played this season.
- Freshman setter Hailey Plugge appeared in just her second match of the season and delivered a spark, handing out nine assists with nine digs and a service ace.
- Lily Liekweg led WSU with 23 digs and also provided a career-high eight assists.
- Wichita State's 63 kills were their most in any four-set match this season. In addition to Kelly's 29, Rohling chipped in 12 and is now averaging 2.84 kills per set over her last six matches.
- The Shockers were the beneficiary of 12 East Carolina service errors. Wichita State committed 11 miscues of their own, but racked up eight aces.
WSU-SMU SERIES:
- Wichita State and SMU have met 12 times in total dating back to the 1996 season, with the series tied at six wins apiece. SMU won the inaugural meeting, but WSU claimed non-conference wins in 2010 and 2012.
- The Shockers are 4-5 against SMU since joining the American.
- WSU is 3-3 at home, 3-2 in Dallas, and 0-1 on a neutral floor against the Mustangs.
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS:
- SMU enters the week 16-12, 12-6 in American conference play following sweep of Tulane and a four-set win against second-place Houston, both in Dallas.
- The Mustangs boast one of the conference's most potent attacks, with a team .232 hitting percentage that ranks third behind UCF and Tulane. Junior Alex Glover leads the conference individually with a .385 percentage and senior Kaylyn Winkler is third at .376.
- Setters Lily Heim and Zairyn Hemsley have SMU third in the AAC in assists per set (12.18).
- Winkler and Glover are fourth and sixth in the conference respectively in blocks per set (1.12, 0.97).
- Bria' Merchant was named AAC Defensive Player of the Week after notching 6.57 digs per set in the wins over Tulane and Houston. She also surpassed 1,000 digs for her career.
- SMU averages 0.97 aces per set, the sixth fewest in the nation (327th nationally).
WSU-MEMPHISÂ SERIES:
- The Shockers hold a 6-4 all-time advantage against the Tigers, including a 5-3 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 THE TIGERS:
- Memphis enters the week 12-18, 5-13 in American conference play after suffering sweeps at the hands of Houston and Tulane last weekend, both at home.
- The Tigers have lost four straight matches, winning just one set in that span.
- Memphis has four different players in the conference's top 25 in digs per set, led by sophomore Bailey Houlihan (4.53, third). As a team, the Tigers 16.23 digs per set ranks second.
- No individual Tigers rank in the top 15 of the conference in hitting percentage, as Memphis checks in at ninth in the AAC rankings with a .180 team mark.
- Wichita State knocked off Memphis in four sets earlier this season, led by 16 kills apiece from Brylee Kelly and Natalie Foster.
- The Tigers opened AAC play just 1-7, but then won four of their next six including a four-set victory over SMU and a five-set loss to Cincinnati.
UP NEXT:Â
