WICHITA STATE (7-6, 2-0 American)
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Sunday, Oct. 2 (1:00 p.m. CT) vs. #24 UCF (10-0, 2-0 American)
Wichita, Kansas (Charles Koch Arena)
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The Shockers host #24-ranked UCF on Sunday afternoon at Charles Koch Arena, match that was originally scheduled to be played in Orlando this weekend before the landfall of Hurricane Ian.
The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Track live scoring at shockerstats.com.
SCENE SETTERS:
- Wichita State hosts a pair of matches at Charles Koch Arena this weekend, neither of which was originally on the schedule in 2022. The arrival of Hurricane Ian in Florida forced the Shockers to abandon their originally scheduled trip to Orlando and Tampa, as UCF instead comes to Wichita. The Knights play Tulsa on Friday at 4:00 pm and the Shockers on Sunday at 1:00 pm. Both matches will be classified as neutral site, with UCF acting as the home team.
- The Shockers match at South Florida has been postponed, as the Bulls were unable to make the trip to Kansas.
- Both Wichita State and UCF swept their opening weekend of conference play, two of four schools to complete the feat. One of the other two, Tulsa, will also be in action at The Roundhouse on Friday.
- UCF will be the third ranked opponent for the Shockers this season, joining Creighton (#18) and Kansas (#19). The Knights swept Kansas earlier this season in Lawrence.
- The Shockers went 8-5 at The Roundhouse in 2022, winning seven of their last nine matches. The Shockers own a .649 all-time home winning percentage (349-188-1), including a remarkable .761 mark (181-57) since the facility was officially named Charles Koch Arena in 2003. That winning percentage climbs to .794 in home conference matches.
- 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 471 wins to become the program's all-time wins leader over the course of his 23 seasons.
LOOKING BACK:
- The Shockers swept Temple and East Carolina to open AAC play at Charles Koch Arena, besting the Owls 25-13, 25-21, 25-15 and the Pirates 30-28, 25-15, 25-22.
- The Shockers controlled the match on Friday from start to finish, as there were just two total lead changes. The lone exception was the opening of the second set, when Temple grabbed a 12-6 lead and later led 19-14. WSU closed the set on an 11-2 run, then did not trail in the third stanza.
- For the second consecutive match, Wichita State set a new season-best in opponent hitting percentage. The Shockers defense held Temple to a .000 mark (29 kills, 29 errors), including a negative hitting percentage in the first set.
- The Shockers had a sideout percentage of 84% in the first set (11-13), their best mark in any frame this year.
- Temple managed just a single service ace against the Shockers while committing six errors from the line.
- Six different Shockers recorded three or more kills, led by Brylee Kelly's nine, Natalie Foster's eight, and Sophia Rohling's seven.
- Wichita State received national attention for the final point of the second set. Two incredible digs from Annalie Heliste kept the play alive, then Kelly capped the extended rally with an emphatic solo block. The play was shared by NCAA Volleyball on social media, and as of Monday night had been viewed more than 125,000 times.
- Morgan Weber matched her career high with 14 kills on Sunday, hitting .619 on her 21 attempts. She became the first Shocker hitter this season with a perfect set, going 6-for-6 on swings in the third.
- WSU set a season high with 18 first set kills.
WSU-UCF SERIES:
- UCF leads the all-time series with the Shockers 4-2, with all six matches in American Athletic Conference play.
- The Knights have won four straight matches in the series, including a pair of sweeps in 2021. The two contests were markedly different, as the Shockers held a two-sets-to-one lead in Wichita on October 1 before the Knights rallied to win in five, then UCF cruised to a three-set victory in Orlando 30 days later.
- Those two losses bookended a season-best eight-match winning streak for Wichita State.
- UCF was the only conference foe to push Wichita State to five sets during the Shockers undefeated run through the American in 2017. The Knights led 2-1 in Orlando, but the Shockers bounced back to take a comfortable fourth set, then got five straight kills from Abbie Lehman in set five to escape with the win.
SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS:
- UCF has won four consecutive AAC championships, with a staggering 61-3 mark in conference play from 2018 onward. The Knights lost twice to Cincinnati during the 2019 regular season, and once at home to Houston in 2021. Only Houston, Cincinnati and Wichita State took more than one set from the Knights last season.
- UCF is off to a 10-0 start in 2022, including Power Five wins over Syracuse, Kansas State, Miami and Kansas. The Knights swept two home tournaments and then the Jayhawk Classic in Lawrence before picking up road wins at Memphis and SMU to open AAC play.
- The Knights possess one of the most potent offenses in the country, ranking second nationally with a .314 hitting percentage, seventh with 13.24 assists per set, and ninth with 14.27 kills per set.
- All-American McKenna Melville ranks second in the country in points per set (6.04), while middle Abby Hansen is 12th with a .427 hitting percentage. Melville is on pace to be a five-time honoree to the All-AAC First Team, and has been named conference Player of the Year in consecutive seasons.
- Head Coach Todd Dagenais is now in his 15th season leading the Knights, and is the program's all-time wins leader. He has guided UCF to five NCAA tournament appearances.
UP NEXT:
- The Shockers will stay at home for three more matches in the friendly confines of Charles Koch Arena, hosting Memphis, SMU, and Tulsa. All told, Wichita State will play six consecutive matches at home, including the rescheduled contest with UCF.
