The RoundHouse | 8/31/2022 2:11:00 PM

 
Sophia Rohling looked at her breakfast and got that weird feeling in her stomach. Most of the food didn't look appealing on the morning of Wichita State's opening volleyball match in Laramie, Wyo.
 
"I ate all the bacon, of course," she said. "Once I got to the pancakes and French toast, I started to go 'No, I'm too nervous.'"
 
Rohling ate enough to get her through the day, which started with a career-high 20 kills in a 3-2 win over Wyoming. By the end of the weekend, she had handled her nerves with ease.
 

 
Wichita State went 2-1 with a 3-1 loss to No. 18 Creighton and a 3-2 win over Iowa State, picked third in the Big 12 preseason poll. Rohling hit .330 for the three matches, totaling 49 kills and 14 errors. She added 15 blocks and 12 digs to earn American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors.
 
Wichita State goes back on the road to play Omaha (2-1) (7 p.m. Thursday) and Northern Colorado (3-0) (5 p.m. Friday) in the Omaha Challenge. Omaha won the Summit League last season. Northern Colorado owns wins over North Carolina and Colorado State. The Bears won the Big Sky title in 2021.
 
Against Iowa State, she recorded 15 kills and eight blocks. A line shot she worked on frequently since last spring paid off against the Cyclones. She also showed more back-row scoring than in the past.
 
 

You: can you post all 20 of Sophia's kills against Wyoming

Us: say less pic.twitter.com/Rr6ciNyet1

— Wichita State Volleyball (@GoShockersVB) August 29, 2022

 
 
"Because my team was able to pass the way they were and play the way they were, it allowed me to be successful," she said. "We were able to run our offenses and it made it difficult for other side to set up blocks."
 
The nerves disappeared during warmups before the Wyoming match – she gave herself a pep talk during hitting drills - and never returned.
 
"I woke up nervous, didn't know how it was going to go," she said. "I've been really stressed out and nervous about what I went through in the past season. I'm trying to leave that behind and be the player I know I can be – the player I was this weekend."
 
Rohling, a junior right-side hitter from Thayer, did struggle early in 2021. She rebounded to finish strong by recording 12 or more kills in six of her final eight matches, including 19 against Houston.
 
Coach Chris Lamb considers the opening weekend a continuation of Rohling's stretch run in 2021. He wants Rohling to use her height and power more often and cut back on off-speed attacks.
 
"She brought power with her to the match," Lamb said. "That's what she must do. She's not out there to be cute 25 percent of the time. She can be a game manager 15 percent of the time. But when things are good, she needs to bring her physicality to the game."
 
He learned that talking statistics with Rohling is counterproductive, so he stopped mentioning numbers and told her to trust her ability and have fun. Lamb uses stats to evaluate almost everything on the court. Rohling, however, isn't the first Shocker for which he altered his conversations. Outside hitter Mikaela Raudsepp, an All-American Athletic Conference pick in 2017, also preferred other motivations.
 
"I didn't give Mikaela Raudsepp stats her senior year," Lamb said. "There's a lot of girls I will keep numbers away from, because they just don't digest it well. We'll find other ways."
 
For Rohling, that means focusing on her arm strength. Hit the ball hard and live with the result.
 
"I've been able to focus on this year, this team," she said. "This year, I'm not scared of not being able to play. It's easier just to be me and play."
 
The win over Iowa State might be seen as a confidence-builder for the Shockers. Rohling agrees, with the warning that much work remains.
 
"It sets the marker that we can do it," she said. "I know we have the ability."