WICHITA STATE (9-8, 4-2 American)
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Friday, Oct. 14 (5:00 p.m. CT) at Cincinnati (4-12, 2-4 American)
Cincinnati, Ohio (Fifth Third Arena)
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The Shockers kick off a three-match road swing with a trip to Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati on Friday night at 5:00 pm CT.
The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Track live scoring at shockerstats.com.
SCENE SETTERS:
- Wichita State hits the road for the first time since September 17, kicking off a three-match stretch away from Charles Koch Arena against Cincinnati on Friday evening.
- The Shockers finished their extended homestand 4-2, suffering sweeps at the hands of UCF and SMU but besting Temple, East Carolina, Memphis and Tulsa, the latter two in five sets. Wichita State played six straight matches at home due to the relocated match against UCF on October 2, originally scheduled to be played in Orlando before the landfall of Hurricane Ian.
- Wednesday's win has the Shockers in early position for a top-four league finish, standing a full-game clear of Memphis and East Carolina and owning the initial tiebreaker against both. Friday's slate of matches will go a long way toward determining the upper tier of the conference standings, as second place SMU hosts undefeated conference leader Houston.
- The Shockers and Bearcats played a pair of thrilling five-set matches last season, with the home team winning each. Wichita State rallied from a two-sets-to-one deficit to knock off the Bearcats on October 17 in Wichita, but Cincinnati returned the favor 33 days later at Fifth Third Arena.
- Cincinnati is coming off two five-set matches last weekend, downing Temple before losing to East Carolina.
- The Shockers RPI climbed five spots from last week to its present 81 ranking.
- The 2022 home opener against Temple brought 2,316 fans out to Charles Koch Arena, the most for a match since the 2019 season when 2,387 paid to see the Shockers battle #3 Texas as part of the Shocker Volleyball Classic.
LOOKING BACK:
- Wichita State completed their first reverse sweep of the season on Wednesday night, erasing a two-set deficit to knock off Tulsa 20-25, 22-25, 25-15, 25-18, 15-12 at Charles Koch Arena.
- The come-from-behind win was Wichita State's 17th consecutive home win against the Golden Hurricane. The Shockers have not lost to Tulsa in Wichita since 1980.
- The Shockers were shorthanded for the third consecutive match, as opposite Sophia Rohling and defensive specialist Lara Uyar were sidelined due to injury.
- Several Shockers produced career-best performances in the win. Natalie Foster set a new personal best with 21 kills, hitting .421 in the process. Lily Liekweg posted the first 30+ dig match of her career, notching 33 ups to spearhead the Shocker defense. Annalie Heliste got her first start of the season and responded with a career-high 12 digs.
- Liekweg is now just 70 digs shy of 1,000 in her collegiate career.
- Brylee Kelly continues to fill the scoring void caused by Rohling's absence, delivering 18 kills on Wednesday night, including the match winner. Kelly has averaged nearly 12 attempts per set in the last three matches, well above her season average.
- Kayce Litzau has averaged 10.5 assists per set over the last three matches, and has also contributed offense of her own. After reaching five kills in a set just once in the first 14 matches of the season, the junior setter has reached five twice in the last three outings.
- Wichita State and Tulsa entered the match with two of the lowest aces per set averages in the nation, and combined for just six over the course of five sets.
WSU-CINCINNATI SERIES:
- The Bearcats hold a 5-3 lead in the all-time series, with seven of the eight meetings coming in AAC play.
- Cincinnati won the lone non-conference meeting, a four-set victory in Wichita in 2016.
- The Shockers have not won in Cincinnati since the 2017 season, Wichita State's first in the American.
- In the 2018 match at Charles Koch Arena, Cincinnati's Jordan Thompson set a conference record with 44 kills in a five-set Bearcat win.
- Last season's WSU win at home was highlighted by a career-best performance from outside hitter Sophie Childs, who delivered 14 kills and hit .278 in the five-set victory.
- The Shockers won that match despite five Cincinnati hitters reaching double-digit kills, led by 22 from Maria Mallon. Mallon added 18 more in the return match later that season.
SCOUTING THE BEARCATS:
- Cincinnati comes into play on Friday with an overall record of 4-12, including 2-4 in American Athletic Conference action.
- The Bearcats feature a balanced offensive attack, with three different hitters (Avry Tatum, Carly Glendinning, Abby Walker) currently between 162 and 178 kills on the season.
- Friday will be a matchup of two of the conference's youngest rosters. The Bearcats lean heavily upon youth in the regular rotation, featuring a freshman and a sophomore at the setter position and each of the four leading hitters as underclassmen.
- Cincinnati has struggled to slow down opposing attacks this season, allowing opponents to hit .245 for the second-worst mark in the conference and 310th nationally.
- The Bearcats played a loaded non-conference schedule, highlighted by five straight matches against teams either ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA poll. Cincinnati went 1-4 in those contests, beating Florida State and pushing #10-ranked Pittsburgh to five sets.
- Head coach Molly Alvey is the third-winningest active coach in The American, with 230 overall wins. Now in her 11th season at Cincinnati, Alvey guided the Bearcats to a stretch of three NCAA tournament appearances in four years from 2016-2019.
UP NEXT:
- The Shockers continue the three-match road swing with showdowns against conference-leader Houston and Tulane, before returning home to battle South Florida and UCF.
