The RoundHouse | 3/27/2021 4:56:00 PM
By
Paul Suellentrop
Wichita State 17 volleyball matches this spring, more than most of its American Athletic Conference rivals. Those 17 matches give coach
Chris Lamb plenty of data points to calculate over the next week or so as he meets with his Shockers and plans for the fall.
He is confident Wichita State showed it could return to a standard of defense that it wants. Scoring points, however, is an area in need of improvement. The Shockers started the season 8-0 with attackers such as
Sophia Rohling and
Nicole Anderson shining. When conference play began, teams adjusted and the Shockers struggled to score.
"Something that reared its ugly head here down the stretch is 'Where's scoring going to come from on the pins?'" Lamb said. "During that seven-game losing streak, when the middles weren't scoring, we were in trouble."
The Shockers (9-8, 4-6 American Athletic Conference) finished the season on Saturday with a 3-0 loss (25-21, 25-23, 25-18) to Houston.
On Friday, the Shockers handed Houston (13-5, 9-1) its lone conference loss (3-1), a result that showed the Shockers the value of consistency. Wichita State started the season 8-0. Then it lost seven in a row, three of those in five sets after leading 2-0 or 2-1.
"We have to learn how to be on in all areas," outside hitter
Brylee Kelly said. "That's one of our downfalls. We need to do two things good in a game, instead of only one thing."
Senior middles
Emma Wright and
Brooke Smith and setter
McKayla Wuensch said their farewells. The rest of the Shockers – with a rotation heavy on sophomores and freshmen – can start thinking about the lessons of the up-and-down season and what that win over AAC West champion Houston might say.
"It shows the potential that we can play at," setter
Kayce Litzau said. "We never stopped fighting. I think it's eye-opening for everyone on our team to realize that if we keep working hard and keep buying into the system, we are going to be so good."
Lamb said statistics show the Shockers are probably a bit better than their record. They entered the final weekend of the regular season ranked fifth in hitting percentage (.209) and second in opponent hitting percentage (.161). Wichita State's blocking and back-row defense improved significantly from the 2019 season. The foundation of a winning team is there, once the Shockers clean up mistakes.
"What Houston's good at it is winning," Lamb said. "When you out-hit teams, you out-dig teams, you out-assist teams and you don't win, like Memphis here, like Tulane there . . . I'm glad of the production, but what about all these crazy little errors that occur? Those are all worth points. When those go away, we will be on the good side of 22-25, not on the bad side."
There are several candidates to help Wichita State's scoring. Freshman middle
Natalie Foster came on strong in March to hit .385 in a loss at Kansas and record 17 kills in Friday's win over Houston.
"
Natalie Foster has great arm talent," Lamb said. "And she wants to be good. When she gets stronger, and a little more experience as a blocker, we probably have a four-year starter. Way ahead of schedule."
Freshmen outside hitters
Morgan Weber – who had 18 digs on Saturday – and
Marriah Buss are expected to fill bigger roles in the fall season. Freshmen setters
Lauren Phillips and
Hailey Plugge will join Litzau next season as options to run the offense.
Freshman middle
Morgan Stout sat out the spring with an injury.
"She's the most talented, by position, of any of the freshmen," Lamb said. "I would like to say in a year or two there's nothing on the volleyball court she shouldn't be able to do – she's just that fast, she's just that physical."
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
