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Natalie Foster

Volleyball Preview: Kansas Invitational

9/6/2022 1:33:00 PM

WICHITA STATE (3-2, 0-0 American)
 
Thursday, Sep. 8 (12 p.m. CT) vs. UNLV (5-1, 0-0 Mountain West)
Lawrence, Kansas (Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena)
Live Stats
 
Thursday, Sep. 8 (6:30 p.m. CT) at #19 Kansas (6-0, 0-0 Big 12)
Lawrence, Kansas (Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena)
Live Stats // Watch
 
 
The Shockers square off against a pair of prominent programs on Thursday in Lawrence for the Kansas Invitational. Wichita State will battle UNLV at 12:00 pm before tangling with #19 Kansas at 6:30. The Kansas match will be streamed live on Big 12 NOW and ESPN+. Track live scoring throughout the week at shockerstats.com.
 

SCENE SETTERS:
  • Wichita State continues their season-opening 11-match road swing with a short trip north to Lawrence for the Kansas Invitational on Thursday, a split doubleheader against reigning NIVC champions UNLV and 2021 NCAA tournament qualifier Kansas. The two squads have combined for an 11-1 record to open the season.
  • The Shockers are off to a 3-2 start in 2022 following a 1-1 showing at the Omaha Challenge this past weekend. WSU dropped a four-set decision to the host Mavericks, but bounced back the following day to record their first sweep of the season against defending Big Sky champions Northern Colorado.
  • An encouraging trend through the first two weekends is the improvement of the Wichita State blocking numbers. After averaging less than 2.00 blocks per set a season ago, the Shockers currently lead the American Athletic Conference at 2.48 rejections per set. The return to health of middles Lauren McMahon (1.33 per set) and Morgan Stout (0.75) have aided the defensive cause.
  • The Shockers are consistently winning the serve and pass battle through the first five matches. Opponents have managed just 24 aces in 21 sets against WSU while committing 54 service errors. Wichita State has erred only 34 times from the service line, while notching 27 aces.
  • Sophomore middle blocker Natalie Foster was named American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, piling up 11 total blocks over the course of seven sets against Omaha and Northern Colorado. She also hit .528 for the tournament, notching 21 total kills.
LOOKING BACK:
  • The Shockers went 1-1 at the Omaha Challenge on Thursday and Friday night in Omaha, falling in four closely contested sets to Omaha before sweeping Northern Colorado.
  • Despite outhitting the Mavericks .268 to .239 and outblocking Omaha 12 to 6, the Shockers found themselves on the short end of the scoreboard in the tournament opener, 22-25, 24-26, 25-18, 19-25.
  • Former Wichita State player Mariah Buss paced the Omaha offense with 17 kills on a .333 hitting percentage, and three different Mavericks recorded at least 14 digs.
  • Wichita State got a strong performance from outside hitter Brylee Kelly, who slammed home a team-leading 17 kills. Sophia Rohling continued her excellent start to the season with 14 terminations of her own, hitting a robust .306 on the evening.
  • The Shockers were held to a season-low two aces against the Mavericks.
  • Wichita State delivered an excellent defensive effort on Friday to sweep previously undefeated Northern Colorado, 25-18, 25-20, 25-18. The entire match featured just two lead changes, both of which took place early in the first set as the Shockers controlled the matchup from start to finish. WSU held the Bears to a .144 hitting percentage.
  • The Shockers flipped the script with a strong performance at the service line, committing only two errors while piling up seven aces.
  • Natalie Foster recorded a season-high 15 kills on just 24 swings, hitting .583 to pace the Shockers attack. Sophia Rohling also chipped in 11 kills.
  • The Shockers combined for 11 team blocks in three sets.
WSU-UNLV SERIES:
  • Thursday will be the first-ever meeting between the Shockers and Rebels.
SCOUTING THE REBELS:
  • UNLV arrives in Lawrence with a 5-1 overall record following a 2-1 showing at the Rebel Challenge in Las Vegas. UNLV nearly swept through their home tournament without a loss after comfortable defeating Weber State and St. John's, but saw a 2-0 set lead against Miami (FL) slip away for their first loss of the 2022 campaign.
  • Earlier this season, the Rebels rolled through the North Texas Invitational, downing a talented UTRGV squad in five sets before sweeping host North Texas and Jacksonville.
  • Following the Kansas Invitational, UNLV will next do battle with Idaho State, a program led by former Wichita State assistant coaches Sean Carter and Chelsea Scott.
  • The Rebels claimed the 2021 NIVC championship with a sweep of Valparaiso, completing a 28-9 season that established a new program record for single-season victories. UNLV won all five of their NIVC matches on the road.
  • Longtime Iowa State assistant coach Dawn Sullivan is now in her fifth season at the helm of the Rebels. A former player at Kansas State, Sullivan was named the 2021 Mountain West Coach of the Year after leading UNLV to an undefeated regular season title.
WSU-KANSAS SERIES:
  • The Shockers and Jayhawks have met 56 times in program history, with Kansas holding a 43-13 lead in the all-time series. This will be the third straight season the Shockers make the short trip north to Lawrence, where WSU has won just three times (1975, 1988, 2012).
  • Kansas has won 10 of the last 11 matchups, though that one Wichita State victory was arguably one of the most significant in Shocker volleyball history. In 2012, the Shockers rallied from an early deficit to knock off #20 ranked Kansas and advance to the first Sweet Sixteen in program history.
  • Last season, Kansas swept Wichita State 25-22, 25-20, 25-16 at Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena in early September, though the Shockers were without several key players due to COVID-19 protocols.
SCOUTING THE JAYHAWKS:
  • Kansas is off to a blistering 6-0 start in 2022, having dropped just a single set over the course of their first six matches. The Jayhawks are ranked #19 in the latest AVCA poll after sweeping their way through the Black Knights Invitational in West Point, New York. Kansas defeated fellow American Athletic Conference foe Temple, then followed with sweeps of host Army and UConn.
  • The Jayhawks boast one of the nation's most balanced units on both sides of the ball, with a hitting percentage of .323 that ranks sixth nationally and an opponent hitting percentage of .123 that checks in 12th in the country.
  • The Jayhawks were picked fourth in the 2022 Big 12 preseason poll after an 18-12 campaign a season ago that ended in the Sweet Sixteen. Kansas knocked off Oregon and host Creighton before falling to third-ranked Pittsburgh in the round of 16.
  • Kansas is led by decorated head coach Ray Bechard, who is now in his 25th season at the helm. Under Bechard's direction, the Jayhawks have reached ten NCAA tournaments, including the Final Four in 2015. Originally a basketball player at Barton County Community College, Bechard won more than 700 games with the Cougars and left the program with the highest all-time winning percentage among two-year college coaches (.923).
UP NEXT:
  • The Shockers have a quick turnaround heading into the weekend, following up two matches at the Kansas Invitational with a pair in Kansas City at the KC Roos Classic. Wichita State will play Northern Illinois on Saturday morning at 11:00 am, then battle host Kansas City later that day at 4:00 pm.
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