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Brylee Kelly

Volleyball Preview: Tulane, Houston

11/10/2022 5:35:00 PM

WICHITA STATE (13-11, 8-5 American)
 
Friday, Nov. 11 (7:00 p.m. CT) vs. Tulane (8-17, 3-11 American)
Wichita, Kansas (Charles Koch Arena)
Live Stats // Watch

Sunday, Nov. 13 (12:00 p.m. CT) vs. #23 Houston (23-2, 14-0 American)
Wichita, Kansas (Charles Koch Arena)
Live Stats // Watch
 

Wichita State returns home seeking a measure of revenge against Tulane and Houston, who each knocked off the Shockers in five sets earlier this season.

Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+.

Track live scoring at shockerstats.com.

SCENE SETTERS:
  • Wichita State looks to build off a pair of four-set victories last weekend with home matches against Tulane on Friday night and #23-ranked Houston on Sunday afternoon.
  • The Shockers have one final opportunity on Sunday to knock off a ranked foe. WSU has gone 0-5 this year against teams in the AVCA Top 25 poll (Creighton, Kansas, UCF 2x, Houston).
  • Wichita State picked up 20.0 blocks over the course of eight sets last weekend (2.50 per set), continuing a strong trend that has seen WSU move up to second in The American in that category (2.27 per set). Four Shockers (Morgan Stout, Lauren McMahon, Natalie Foster and Sophia Rohling) average better than 0.80 blocks per set.
  • Since the start of conference play, outside hitter Morgan Weber leads all AAC outsides in digs per set (3.39).
  • Middle blocker Natalie Foster is in the midst of the best stretch of volleyball in her young Shocker career. Over the last six matches, the sophomore has bludgeoned volleyballs to the tune of a .421 hitting percentage (85 kills, 16 errors, 164 total attempts), raising her season mark to .358, fifth-best in the American Athletic Conference.
  • The Shockers attacking trio of Foster, outside hitter Brylee Kelly and opposite Sophia Rohling all reached double-figure kills in three of the last four matches after doing so just once in the first 20 matches of the season. With one more Kelly kill on Sunday at Temple the streak would have reached four in a row.
  • The Shockers RPI did not move from last week, staying put at 76. Wichita State trails UCF (14), Houston (18) and SMU (51) among teams in The American.
LOOKING BACK:
  • Wichita State notched two four-set road wins last time out, downing East Carolina (27-25, 25-15, 22-25, 25-16) and Temple (25-13, 25-18, 21-25, 25-20).
  • The Shockers continued their dominance against East Carolina, improving to 9-0 all time against the Pirates.
  • Foster earned a third weekly honor from the American Athletic Conference after putting down 16 kills in each match with a combined hitting percentage of .439.
  • Filling in for the injured Lily Liekweg at libero, sophomore Lara Uyar established a new career high for digs in two consecutive matches, capped off by 19 in the win against East Carolina. She did not commit a reception error over the weekend in 43 attempts.
  • Wichita State saved their best offensive performance for the fourth set in both wins. The Shockers hit .419 with just two errors to close out East Carolina on Friday, then posted a .414 mark with a single attack error in the fourth frame at Temple.
  • Setter Kayce Litzau handed out 17 assists in the first set against the Pirates, the most assists by a Shocker setter in a single stanza this season.
  • The Shockers opened the match at Temple with eight consecutive points, the most WSU has scored to open a set this season. It was a complete reversal from Friday, when East Carolina kicked off the match by scoring the first five points. 
  • Morgan Weber nearly equaled her match high for blocks in a single set Sunday, recording three rejections in the first frame against Temple. Her high-water mark is four blocks in a win over Cincinnati on October 14.
  • Sophia Rohling equaled the single-match high for a Shocker with nine blocks in the win over East Carolina, including two solo blocks.
WSU-TULANE SERIES:
  • The Green Wave lead the all-time series 6-4, 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.
  • Tulane bested the Shockers in a wild five-set affair earlier this season in New Orleans. The match featured two  noteworthy sets, as Wichita State rallied from an 18-8 deficit to win set three, but also managed just four points in the deciding fifth set. The four points was the fewest Wichita State has scored in a set in the rally scoring era.
SCOUTING THE GREEN WAVE:
  • The Green Wave check in with an 8-17 overall record, including 3-11 in American Athletic Conference action. Tulane has lost three straight entering play on Friday, including road defeats at Houston and Cincinnati last weekend.
  • Despite the record, Tulane showcased their potential in the opening match of the conference slate when they pushed league leaders Houston to five sets at Fogelman Arena.
  • Outside hitter Mackenzie Martin authored perhaps the single most impressive match of the entire 2022 slate among American squads, setting an individual conference best with 29 kills and 31.0 points in a five-set win against Lamar.
  • Kayla Kaiser ranks third on the circuit with 0.37 aces per set. She notched six earlier this season against WSU.
  • Head coach Jordana Price is in her first season in New Orleans after spending five years as associate head coach at Florida State. She replaced Jim Barnes, who now leads the program at Iowa.
WSU-HOUSTON SERIES:
  • The Cougars lead the all-time series with the Shockers, 10-4. Houston has won eight of the last nine meetings after Wichita State claimed the first AAC matchup in 2017.
  • The Shockers are 2-4 against the Cougars in Houston, 1-4 in Wichita, and 1-2 in neutral site matches.
  • The two teams battled to the limit in a five-setter on October 21 in Houston. Wichita State took sets two and three to take the initiative, but the Cougars roared back to seize the fourth and then won two crucial challenges late in the fifth set to escape with a 15-11 win.
SCOUTING THE COUGARS:
  • The Cougars sit atop the American Athletic Conference standings at 14-0, with a sterling overall mark of 23-2. Houston has won 15 consecutive matches entering play on Friday.
  • After the Shockers battled Houston to five sets on October 21, the Cougars have not dropped a set. Houston has swept their last five opponents.
  • Houston entered the AVCA Top 25 for the first time since 1994 earlier this season. The Cougars check in at #23, garnering  219 votes.
  • The Cougars possess the conference's best serving unit, leading the league with 1.63 aces per set on the back of Abbie Jackson's 43 total aces. Jackson is also a talented hitter, checking in fourth in the AAC with 3.91 kills per set.
  • Libero Kate Georgiades leads the league with 5.25 digs per set.
  • 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. 
UP NEXT:
  • The Shockers complete the road portion of their travel partnership with Tulsa, heading down to Oklahoma for a midweek matchup next Wednesday. WSU will not play Friday, then rounds out the home portion of the regular season slate on Sunday versus Cincinnati.
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