The RoundHouse | 4/8/2022 3:16:00 PM

 
 
 Listen to Wichita State associate head coach Sean Carter discuss spring practices.

Wichita State volleyball coaches know Natalie Foster is an excellent middle blocker, a third-season sophomore who hit .334 last fall. This spring, they are imagining Foster as a powerful and rangy outside hitter, one who makes the offense more potent with her blend of height and shot-making.
 
Spring is the time to dream big dreams and see if the statistical reality can match them. The Shockers play four matches on Saturday at Koch Arena – vs. Air Force (9 a.m.), Missouri State (10 a.m.), Oklahoma (1 p.m.) and Tulsa (2 p.m.) Admission is free.
 
Foster, from Mattawan, Mich., earned second-team All-American Athletic Conference honors in the 2021 fall season. Wichita State coach Chris Lamb is spending the spring considering all options for Foster. She could remain in the middle, or she could move to the left or right.
 
"Natalie is freakishly comfortable with hitting angles, left and right," Lamb said. "She can attack with great range, and it's hard to defend. Results go her way a lot."
 
Foster (6-foot-4) came to Wichita State primarily with experience in the middle and as a right-side hitter. She looks at the spring as a learning experience. Outside hitters need to handle more out-of-system balls than middles, who often get short, quick sets when the offense is running. At outside hitter, Foster is adjusting her timing to longer, slower, unpredictable sets than she sees in the middle.
 
"I'm put in a position I'm not normally in," she said. "It's teaching me how to be better as an athlete. Be not as hard on myself and still improve. I can be more OK with making errors because I've haven't been there."
 
Lamb can look at Foster on the pins because his middles are strong. Lauren McMahon hit .370 and earned a spot on the conference weekly honor before a foot injury ended her season after six matches. Morgan Stout led the Shockers with 89 blocks.
 
Putting Foster on the pins could also help returning hitters such as Brylee Kelly, an all-conference pick who is aiming to play all six rotations in the fall, and Morgan Weber.
 
"This is our most physical lineup – how good can it play?" Lamb said. "We don't know. I think (Foster's) a first-team all-conference (middle). On the left, I don't know. We may find out. This needs to be explored and trained."
 
 

Her nickname is Frosty, right now she's anything but 🔥 @nat_1050 has SEVEN of our first 11 points in the fourth!

📺: https://t.co/0NnljyzLsg pic.twitter.com/cOLhoU5NDr

— Wichita State Volleyball (@GoShockersVB) November 26, 2021

Foster's work in the weight room is a big part of her growth. She played in nine matches in the COVID-delayed 2021 spring season and hinted at her fall season with a strong finish. She registered seven or more kills in her final six matches, highlighted by 11 and a .389 attack percentage against Tulane and 17 with a .556 attack percentage and six blocks in a 3-1 win over Houston.
 
 In the 2021 fall, she moved into a starting job.
 
"Natalie walked in the door as a Bambi, long and in need of strength," Lamb said. "This is the spring where I'm seeing strength work stick. She is a stronger athlete. Confident and hungrier."
 
The Shockers, with one of the youngest teams in the conference in 2021, went 19-10 and 13-7 in the American. Lamb wants to see the Shockers, and especially his veterans, play like they deserve to be regarded as one of the American's top teams.
 
"Now that we had a good season, we have that to back us up," Foster said. "We're more confident in what we're doing and more assured that we're on the right track."
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.