WICHITA STATE (14-12, 9-6 American)
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Wednesday, Nov. 16 (6:00 p.m. CT) at Tulsa (12-15, 5-10 American)
Tulsa, Oklahoma (Reynolds Center)
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The Shockers complete the road portion of their travel partnership with Tulsa, heading down to Oklahoma for a midweek matchup on Wednesday in the Reynolds Center.
The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Track live scoring at shockerstats.com.
SCENE SETTERS:
- Wichita State takes aim at a seventh straight win against Tulsa on Wednesday evening. The Shockers completed a reverse sweep against the Golden Hurricane on October 12 in Charles Koch Arena, 20-25, 22-25, 25-15, 25-18, 15-12.
- The Shockers have won 17 straight home matches against the Golden Hurricane, but the going has proven tougher on the road. Tulsa claimed consecutive five-set wins at home in 2018 and 2019, though the Shockers have since won three in a row at the Reynolds Center (two in spring 2021, one in fall 2021).
- Sunday's loss against Houston snapped the Shockers three-match winning streak. Through 26 matches this season, Wichita State has not put together a winning or losing streak longer than three matches.
- WSU is 11-1 this season when winning the first set (only loss on Oct. 30 vs. UCF) and 3-11 when trailing 1-0.
- Wichita State's defensive unit got a little healthier over the weekend, as DS Annalie Heliste returned to the court against Tulane after missing four matches. Libero Lily Liekweg has not played since Oct. 21 due to injury.
- Middle blocker Natalie Foster is in the midst of the best stretch of volleyball in her young Shocker career. Over the last eight matches, the sophomore has bludgeoned volleyballs to the tune of a .445 hitting percentage (111 kills, 18 errors, 209 total attempts), raising her season mark to .371, third-best in the American Athletic Conference.
- The Shockers RPI did not move for a second consecutive week, staying put at 76. Wichita State trails UCF (15), Houston (18) and SMU (57) among teams in The American.
LOOKING BACK:
- Wichita State downed Tulane on Friday night (25-14, 25-22, 18-25, 25-23) before falling to #23 Houston on Sunday afternoon (11-25, 22-25, 20-25).
- There were just three total lead changes over the course of seven total sets (second set vs. Houston, third and fourth sets vs. Tulane).
- Houston posted a perfect sideout percentage in the first set (11-11).
- The Shockers did not have a player with double-figure digs for just the second time this season (10/2 vs. UCF).
- Natalie Foster hit .684 (14 kills-1 error-19 attempts) against the Cougars, the best hitting percentage by a Shocker this season with 12 or more kills. Combined with a 12 terminations on 26 attacks Friday, Foster hit a combined .533 to secure a Weekly Honor Roll spot for the second consecutive week.
- The 11 points Wichita State scored in the first set are the fewest recorded by the Shockers in a single set this season.
- Lara Uyar entered the match Friday without a service ace in 54 attempts this season. The sophomore libero went on to drop in five aces, matching Kelly and Lily Liekweg for the most in a single match in 2022.
- Redshirt sophomore defensive specialist Kylie Marneris notched her first career dig in the second set against Tulane.
- Tulane's Kayla Kaiser fired six aces, matching her total from the earlier meeting this season in New Orleans.
- Morgan Weber racked up 22 digs in Friday's win, the most by a Shocker in a four-set match in 2022. It's her fourth match this season with 20 or more digs, most on the squad. The sophomore leads all AAC outside hitters in digs per set in conference play (3.43).
WSU-TULSA SERIES:
- The Shockers hold a 37-15 lead in the all-time series. At one point, WSU won 23 of 24 matches in the series from 1985 to 1996.
- WSU is 5-0 against the Golden Hurricane in Wichita since joining the AAC and 4-2 in Tulsa.
- The Shockers rallied for a 3-1 victory in Tulsa last season, setting a season high with 94 digs in the process. Brylee Kelly paced the Shocker attack with 20 kills, and WSU forced Golden Hurricane star outside hitter Kayley Cassaday into 10 attack errors and a -.020 hitting percentage.
- Wichita State's last home loss to Tulsa came in 1980. The Shockers are 20-2 all-time against the Golden Hurricane in Wichita.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN HURRICANE:
- The Golden Hurricane enter play on Wednesday with an overall record of 12-15, including 5-10 in American Athletic Conference play. Tulsa completed a thrilling comeback on Sunday vs. Tulane, erasing a 2-0 deficit to win 15-25, 18-25, 25-23, 28-26, 15-13.
- Tulsa consistently ranks among the nation's leaders in both digs and team attacks per set, this year currently holding down the top spot nationally in both categories (18.51 digs per set, 39.93 attacks per set).
- Outside hitter Kayley Cassaday is the highest volume hitter in the country, averaging 13.82 attacks per set. She took 69 swings in Tulsa's win over Tulane on Sunday.
- Freshman Jolana Smidlova had seven kills all season heading into the Tulane match and went on to post a career-best 12 terminations against the Green Wave.
- The Golden Hurricane average just 1.31 blocks per set, the 10th-lowest mark in the nation.
- Tulsa played in Wichita twice this season, falling to UCF in a neutral court match on September 30 that was moved to Kansas after the landfall of Hurricane Ian disrupted the scheduled match in Orlando.
- Head coach Ryan Wills is in his ninth season at the helm of the Golden Hurricane, bringing a record of 136-123 into play on Wednesday. A Tulsa alum, Wills spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Alabama before returning to lead the Golden Hurricane.
UP NEXT:
- The Shockers are back in The Roundhouse for the final regular season home match of 2022, hosting the Cincinnati Bearcats on Sunday, November 20 at 1:00 pm.
