WICHITA STATE (15-12, 10-6 American)
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Sunday, Nov. 20Â (1:00 p.m. CT) vs. Cincinnati (9-18, 7-10 American)
Wichita, Kansas (Charles Koch Arena)
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The Shockers host Cincinnati on Sunday afternoon in the final regular season home match of the season.
Wichita State looks to sweep the season series against the Bearcats after knocking off Cincinnati in four sets on October 14 at Fifth Third Arena.
The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Track live scoring at shockerstats.com.
SCENE SETTERS:
- Wichita State rounds out the home portion of the regular season schedule with a Sunday afternoon battle against Cincinnati at Charles Koch Arena.
- While the Shockers do not have any true seniors on the roster, libero Lily Liekweg will be playing in her final home match on Sunday. Listed as a junior athletically due to the lost 2020 COVID season, Liekweg will be graduating from Wichita State in December with a degree in Finance.
- Liekweg has missed the last eight matches due to injury, with Lara Uyar handling the libero duties in her absence.
- Wichita State is 17-5 in regular season home finales under head coach Chris Lamb. The Shockers knocked off Memphis in last season's final match.
- The Shockers are attempting to sweep the season series from the Bearcats for the first time since the 2017 season. Wichita State bested the Bearcats 25-21, 26-28, 25-20, 25-21 on October 14 at Fifth Third Arena.
- Last Sunday's loss against Houston snapped the Shockers three-match winning streak. Through 27 matches this season, Wichita State has not put together a winning or losing streak longer than three matches.
- WSU is 12-1 this season when winning the first set (only loss on Oct. 30 vs. UCF) and 3-11 when trailing 1-0.
- Middle blocker Natalie Foster has hit better than .400 in eight of her last nine matches, with only three attack errors in her last 69 attempts.
- 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 picked up a road win at Tulsa on Wednesday night, 25-19, 21-25, 25-21, 25-17.
- It was the seventh straight win in the series for the Shockers against their closest geographical foe in the American Athletic Conference.
- Four Shockers had double-digit digs, led by career highs from Lara Uyar (20) and Katie Galligan (11).
- Tulsa native Sophie Childs made her first appearance since October 14 in the third set and provided a boost on both sides of the ball, delivering two blocks and four kills, including the match-winner in the fourth set.
- Morgan Weber put together her fourth career double-double, racking up 12 kills and 13 digs. The sophomore outside hitter was at her best in the opening frame, putting down six kills on a career-high 15 attempts in addition to two blocks.
- Morgan Stout authored her best performance since the start of conference play, putting down nine kills and six blocks, both one shy of her season high.
- Seven different Shockers notched multiple blocks, led by Stout and Natalie Foster with six apiece. WSU finished with 14 team rejections compared to just four for Tulsa.
- Foster finished with a team-high 16 kills, and proved dominant in first ball attack situations. She terminated seven balls on just 11 attempts, good for a .636 hitting percentage.
- The win secured an 18th season with 15 or more wins in Chris Lamb's tenure.
- Tulsa's Kayley Cassaday finished with 20 kills, matching her total from earlier this season against the Shockers. It took 63 swings to do it, giving Cassaday the two most attempts against WSU this season (65 on 10/12).
WSU-CINCINNATI SERIES:
- The Bearcats hold a 5-4 lead in the all-time series, with eight of the nine meetings coming in AAC play.
- Cincinnati won the lone non-conference meeting, a four-set victory in Wichita in 2016.
- The Shockers claimed a 25-21, 26-28, 25-20, 25-21 victory in Cincinnati on October 14 thanks to a season-high 12 aces and 16 blocks. Lily Liekweg racked up five aces and Katie Galligan had three, both season highs.
- The Bearcats finished with more kills (53 to 51) but hit just .168 for the match due to 26 attack errors.
- 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.
SCOUTING THE BEARCATS:
- Cincinnati comes into play on Sunday with an overall record of 9-18, including 7-10 in American Athletic Conference action.
- The Bearcats swept Tulsa on the road Friday night, marking three wins in their last four matches.
- The Bearcats feature a balanced offensive attack, with four different hitters (Carly Glendinning, Abby Walker, Avry Tatum, Shaye Eggleston) currently between 196 and 278 kills on the season.
- Sunday 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 .247 for the second-worst mark in the conference and 309th 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 234 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 wrap up the regular season with road matches at SMU (Wednesday, November 23) and Memphis (Friday, November 25).
