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Chris Lamb

Volleyball Preview: Temple, East Carolina

9/22/2022 6:06:00 AM

WICHITA STATE (5-6, 0-0 American)
 
Friday, Sep. 23 (7:00 p.m. CT) vs. Temple (6-5, 0-0 American)
Wichita, Kansas (Charles Koch Arena)
Live Stats // Watch
 
Sunday, Sep. 25 (12:00 p.m. CT) vs. East Carolina (5-7, 0-0 American)
Wichita, Kansas (Charles Koch Arena)
Live Stats // Watch
 

The Shockers have a pair of firsts this weekend, opening both American Athletic Conference play and the home schedule with matches against Temple on Friday night and East Carolina on Sunday afternoon.

Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+.

Track live scoring throughout the week at shockerstats.com.

SCENE SETTERS:
  • Wichita State dives into conference play against Temple on Friday night and East Carolina on Sunday afternoon. After 11 consecutive matches on the road to open the season, the Shockers return to the friendly confines of Charles Koch Arena for the first time in 2022.
  • The Shockers went 8-5 at The Roundhouse in 2022, winning seven of their last nine matches. The Shockers own a .647 all-time home winning percentage (347-188-1), including a remarkable .759 mark (179-57) since the facility was officially named Charles Koch Arena in 2003. That winning percentage climbs to .792 in home conference matches.
  • Wichita State enters play on Friday at 5-6 overall  after splitting a pair of matches at the Beavercreek Invitational in Dayton. The Shockers bested 2021 NCAA tournament team Dayton in four sets on Friday, but were upended in five the following morning at Wright State.
  • The 5-6 mark is Wichita State's first losing record in non-conference play since the 2019 season, when the Shockers went 3-9.
  • Junior setter Kayce Litzau was named to the American Athletic Conference Honor Roll on Monday after dishing out 97 total assists against Dayton and Wright State (10.8 per set). Litzau ranks 58th nationally with 415 helpers on the season.
  • With 21 kills in the win at Dayton, Brylee Kelly eclipsed 700 kills for her career (now 719).
  • September 8 was the 22nd anniversary of Chris Lamb's first victory as Wichita State's head coach. He picked up a victory against Louisiana Tech to open his Shocker account, and has since gone on to record 469 wins to become the program's all-time wins leader over the course of his 23 seasons.
LOOKING BACK:
  • The Shockers picked up a quality road win at Dayton, 25-22, 25-23, 23-25, 25-18, but stumbled late in a five-set loss at Wright State, 17-25, 25-20, 25-14, 21-25, 10-15.
  • The Shockers put together their most efficient offensive performance of the season against Dayton, hitting a season-best .317 on the strength of 21 kills from Brylee Kelly. Kelly did most of her damage in the first set, when she had eight kills on ten attacks, the best hitting percentage by a Shocker in a single set this season.
  • After allowing Dayton to hit .379 and .324 in the first two stanzas, the Wichita State defensive tightened up for the final two frames. The Flyers hit .054 in the third set and .000 in the fourth, combing for 17 kills and 15 errors in the two sets.
  • The Shockers struggled mightily at the service line in both matches, setting a new season high in errors on consecutive days. Wichita State had 15 misfires against Dayton and followed that up with 16 more against Wright State, while managing only nine service aces in the nine total sets.
  • Wichita State lost despite holding Wright State to a .057 hitting percentage for the match, the lowest total by any Shocker opponent this season. No Raiders hitter posted a percentage better than .167 on the afternoon.
  • The Raiders recorded 20 team blocks, most by a Shocker opponent this season.
  • Lily Liekweg and Morgan Weber became the first two Shockers this season to record more than 20 digs in a match, as Liekweg notched 23 and Weber posted 22.
  • Middle blocker Morgan Stout entered the weekend with 17 kills in seven matches, then fired home 17 in nine sets in Dayton (7 at Dayton, 10 at Wright State).
WSU-TEMPLE SERIES:
  • The Shockers and Owls have met seven times in program history, all since Wichita State joined the American Athletic Conference in 2017. WSU leads the all-time series 5-2 after winning both matchups in 2021, highlighted by a home sweep.
  • Wichita State held the Owls to an .098 hitting percentage in the meeting at Charles Koch Arena and got a match-high 18 kills from Brylee Kelly.
  • In the season's first meeting in Philadelphia, Natalie Foster matched a career high with 18 kills to help the Shockers overcome an early deficit.
  • The Owls were the first-ever opponent for the Shockers in the American, putting up arguably the stiffest test for any conference opponent that season as WSU went undefeated in the AAC at 17-0. Temple pushed two different sets into extra points, but Mikaela Raudsepp's career-high 23 kills proved to be the difference.
SCOUTING THE OWLS:
  • After struggling to a 7-24 campaign a season ago, Temple is off to a strong start in 2022 with a record of 6-5 entering conference play. The Owls have one common opponent with the Shockers, falling in straight sets against then-20th-ranked Kansas in early September.
  • Head coach Linda Hampton-Keith is in her first season in Philadelphia, succeeding longtime Owls head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam. Hampton-Keith comes to Temple after a successful stint as an assistant coach at Louisville, where she helped the Cardinals reach the 2021 NCAA Final Four. She also has previous head coach experience at North Carolina State.
  • The Owls have battled to a winning record despite struggling to get on the scoreboard consistently. As a team, Temple ranks last in the American Athletic Conference with a .172 hitting percentage, eight points worse than the next-lowest team. Taylor Davenport supplies most of the offensive firepower, averaging better than four kills per set.
  • Samantha Jo Mikosky paces the conference with 1.22 blocks per set, and former AAC Libero of the Year Falanika Danielson is top ten in digs per set.
WSU-EAST CAROLINA SERIES:
  • The Shockers have never lost to East Carolina, leading the all-time series 7-0.
  • Last season's matchups were both highly entertaining affairs; first, a thrilling five-set, come-from-behind WSU victory in Wichita, then an incredible 29-kill performance from Brylee Kelly in Greenville to help the Shockers rally for a road victory.
SCOUTING THE PIRATES:
  • The Pirates enter the weekend with a record of 5-7, coming off a 1-2 showing at the Virginia Tournament in Charlottesville. East Carolina seeks to bounce back from a 9-20 mark in 2021, including a 5-15 record in AAC play.
  • ECU picked up wins against Furman and Norfolk State at their home tournament to open the season, then added a pair of W's against Navy and Old Dominion in Norfolk before wrapping up the Virginia Tournament with a victory over Mercer.
  • Like Temple, East Carolina's offense is in search of a spark. The Pirates head into play on Friday last in the conference in both assists per set (10.09) and kills per set (11.00).
  • The Pirates do supplement a lack of conventional scoring prowess with excellent serving numbers and a strong block. Payton Evenstad leads the circuit with 20 service aces (0.44 per set), and the Pirates are second in the AAC as a team in that category. ECU is third in blocks per set at 2.37, just 0.06 behind Wichita State.
  • Head coach Adler Augustin is now in his third season at the helm of the Pirates following a stint as an assistant at Stephen F. Austin.
UP NEXT:
  • The Shockers make the trek  to Florida for road matches at preseason conference favorite UCF and South Florida. The following week, Wichita State hosts three consecutive matches against Memphis, SMU and Tulsa.
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