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Morgan Weber

Volleyball Preview: Houston, Tulane

10/18/2022 4:46:00 PM

WICHITA STATE (10-8, 5-2 American)
 
Friday, Oct. 21 (7:00 p.m. CT) at #24 Houston (17-2, 8-0 American)
Houston, Texas (Fertitta Center)
Live Stats // Watch

Sunday, Oct. 23 (1:00 p.m. CT) at Tulane (6-13, 1-7 American)
New Orleans, Louisiana (Avron B. Fogelman Arena)
Live Stats // Watch
 

Fresh off a win in their first conference road match of the season, the Shockers travel to #24 Houston on Friday night followed by a Sunday afternoon showdown at Tulane.

Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+.

Track live scoring at shockerstats.com.

SCENE SETTERS:
  • Wichita State faces perhaps their toughest test of the 2022 campaign, going on the road to face #24-ranked and conference-leading Houston on Friday night, followed by a trip to Tulane on Sunday afternoon.
  • The Cougars will be the fourth ranked opponent the Shockers have faced this season. Wichita State previously fell against #18 Creighton, #19 Kansas, and #24 UCF.
  • The Shockers seek their first win against ranked opposition since 2017 on Friday. Wichita State defeated #8 Creighton on September 15, 2017 (also the program's highest-ever win) and have since lost 14 straight against teams in the AVCA Top 25.
  • Wichita State has not won in Houston since WSU's first season in The American in 2017, and have won only twice in New Orleans against the Green Wave (2017, 2019).
  • The Shockers were scheduled to play in New Orleans last September, but the impact of Hurricane Ida forced the match to be moved to Houston's Fertitta Center. The Green Wave claimed a 3-1 victory, though WSU responded with a home sweep in early November.
  • Friday's win over Cincinnati has the Shockers in early position for a top-four league finish, standing a game and a half clear of Memphis and two and a half games up on both Cincinnati and East Carolina. However, Wichita State's remaining schedule features road matches against two of the conference's top three teams (Houston and SMU) and a home date with UCF.
  • The Shockers RPI climbed 13 spots from last week to its present 68 ranking. Wichita State trails Houston (10), UCF (17) and SMU (57) among teams in The American. Tulane (236) has the lowest RPI in the conference.
LOOKING BACK:
  • Wichita State knocked off Cincinnati on Friday night at Fifth Third Arena, 25-21, 26-28, 25-20, 25-21 for the Shockers second-ever road victory over the Bearcats.
  • The Shockers set a new season high with 12 service aces against the Bearcats, highlighted by six in the first set and five courtesy of libero Lily Liekweg. Wichita State entered the match ranked 306th nationally in aces per set at just 1.11 per frame.
  • WSU also racked up 16.0 blocks in four sets, including eight solo blocks from six different players.
  • Liekweg and Morgan Weber each recorded 20 digs, the second time this season the duo has posted 20 or more in a match (Sep. 17 at Wright State; Liekweg 23 and Weber 22).
  • Liekweg is now just 50 digs shy of 1,000 in her collegiate career.
  • Though the Shockers were still without the services of injured opposite Sophia Rohling, who missed out on a fourth straight match, defensive specialist Lara Uyar returned from an elbow injury to notch three digs and 11 serve receptions.
  • Middle blocker Natalie Foster was named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll after finishing the week with 34 total kills, including a career-high 21 terminations against Tulsa when she hit .421. Liekweg joined her on the Honor Roll, averaging 5.9 digs per set over the course of the two wins.
  • Through the first 14 matches of the season, setter Kayce Litzau averaged 0.45 kills per set (23 kills, 51 sets). Over the last four matches, she has averaged 0.94 kills per set (16 kills, 17 sets). After reaching five kills in a match once in the first 14 tries, she posted 5+ putdowns against Memphis, Tulsa, and Cincinnati.
WSU-HOUSTON SERIES:
  • The Cougars lead the all-time series with the Shockers, 9-4. Houston has won seven of the last eight meetings after Wichita State won the first AAC matchup in 2017.
  • The Shockers are 2-3 against the Cougars in Houston, 1-4 in Wichita, and 1-2 in neutral site matches.
  • After suffering a sweep at the hands of Houston in late September of last season, the Shockers very nearly got a measure of revenge in Wichita. The two teams played a thrilling five-set battle, going to extra points in each of the first two sets. In the fifth frame, Houston led 12-4 before Wichita State scored nine of the next 11 points to pull within 14-13. A service error on the subsequent point sealed the win for Houston.
SCOUTING THE COUGARS:
  • The Cougars enter play on Friday with an overall record of 17-2, including an 8-0 mark in American Athletic Conference play following a pair of road sweeps over SMU and Memphis. On October 7, Houston handed previously unbeaten UCF their lone loss of the year to grab sole control of first place in The American.
  • Houston entered the AVCA Top 25 for the first time since 1994 this week. The Cougars check in at #24, garnering  117 votes.
  • Houston ranks third in the AAC in hitting percentage (.237), second in opponent hitting percentage (.176), and first in aces per set. (1.61). Abbie Jackson and Isabel Theut supply the firepower at 3.81 and 3.74 kills per set, respectively, while junior libero Kate Georgiades has been named AAC Defensive Player of the Week three times.
  • 2019 AAC Coach of the Year David Rehr has the Cougars on track for their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2000 after narrowly missing out a season ago. Now in his fourth season at Houston, Rehr won a pair of NJCAA national championships at Blinn College.
WSU-TULANE SERIES:
  • The Green Wave lead the all-time series 5-4, with all but one of the meetings taking place in AAC play.
  • Tulane won the only non-conference meeting in 1986, a 3-1 decision in Tulsa, Oklahoma as part of the Oral Roberts Invitational.
  • The two teams split a pair of matches in 2021, as Tulane claimed a 3-1 win in Houston before the Shockers swept the Green Wave at home later that season. The sweep was decided by just seven total points (25-22, 25-23, 26-24), easily the closest margin of victory in a three-set match for the Shockers in 2021.
SCOUTING THE GREEN WAVE:
  • The Green Wave check in with a 6-13 overall record, currently sitting in last place in The American with a 1-7 conference mark.
  • Tulane began the season 5-4 in non-conference action, but have dropped nine of their last ten and three consecutive matches in straight sets.
  • Four different Green Wave players have notched 160 or more kills this season (Mackenzie Martin, Kayla Kaiser, Melissa Kolurbasi and Amarachi Osuji) for a cumulative hitting percentage of .207 that ranks fifth in the league. Setter Kate Van Houten runs the show to the tune of 8.34 assists per set.
  • All five of those statistical leaders are seniors, and four of the five are in their first year with the program as transfers (all except Martin).
  • Defensively, Tulane allows opponents to hit .257, 17 points worse than the next-closest team, and averages just 1.32 blocks per set. Both figures rank 323rd nationally.
  • Head coach Jordana Price is in her first season in New Orleans after spending five years as associate head coach at Florida State. She replaces Jim Barnes, who now leads the program at Iowa.
UP NEXT:
  • The Shockers return to Charles Koch Arena to host South Florida on Oct. 28 and UCF on Oct. 30.
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