Abbie Lehman Chaffin is part of the 2023 Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Fame induction class. The class will be inducted on Sat., Jan. 14.

One of Wichita State's greatest setter-middle combinations enjoyed a long history, one that Pittsburg State basketball almost tore apart.

Abbie (Lehman) Chaffin considered herself a basketball player and a likely future Pittsburg State Gorilla before her senior year at Newton High School. She attended the Wichita State volleyball team camp that summer and Shockers coach Chris Lamb dramatically changed his recruiting evaluation for the class of 2013.

"I had their team on my court in the morning and I just couldn't believe Abbie Lehman was the same Abbie Lehman moving around the volleyball court," he said. "What happened between volleyball season her junior year and summer camp half a year later? All of a sudden, she seemed to have clicked with volleyball stuff."

In his office, a whiteboard listed 50 middles ranked for recruiting. Lamb moved Chaffin, 6-foot-3, from off the board to No. 3, behind two future Big 10 middles.

"Then, I found myself competing against Division II Pittsburg State for basketball, vs. Division I for volleyball," he said. "She didn't look powerful. All of a sudden, she started looking powerful."

Emily Hiebert, Chaffin's setter at Newton and soon-to-be Shocker teammate, remembers Shocker coaches pulling Chaffin aside for a closer look. Hiebert was already headed to Wichita State.

"That summer changed everything," said Chaffin, one of five 2023 inductees into the Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Fame.

That day gave Hiebert and Chaffin five more years together (both redshirted in 2013) and kept the Shockers atop the Missouri Valley Conference and led them into the American Athletic Conference. At Newton, they carried the Railers to second place in Class 5A as juniors and back to state as seniors.

"She is crazy athletic, and she wants to win, wants to learn," Hiebert said. "We took in everything the coaches said to us from the beginning."

Chaffin's blend of agility, size and power combined with her connection with Hiebert gave the Shockers four seasons of dynamic scoring in the middle.

Chaffin earned honorable mention All-America honors four times and AAC Player of the Year honors in 2017. She was named All-Missouri Valley Conference three times and AVCA All-Region four times. Her academics and athletic ability combined for a spot on the Senior CLASS Award All-American second team.

The speed of the sets from Hiebert to Chaffin tormented defenses. Lamb, five years later, says other setter-middle combos don't work that quickly.

"It takes work to play that high and that fast," Lamb said. "We stuck with it. I have not seen the fast offense with quick hitters since those two graduated. People aren't even trying."

The Shockers won the MVC regular-season and tournament titles in 2015 with Chaffin and Hiebert as sophomores. They rallied from a 2-1 deficit to beat No. 21 Kentucky and defeated Kansas State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, one of Chaffin's favorite memories. In 2016, Wichita State finished second in the MVC and won the tournament title to return to NCAA play.

In 2017, the Shockers dominated the AAC with a 20-0 debut record – one match went to five sets - and hosted NCAA play for the first time in program history. A non-conference win over No. 8 Creighton also stands out.

"I remember those big games and remember those experiences fondly," Chaffin said. "My senior year when we went undefeated in conference, and also getting to host – that's the biggest one. There were a lot of seniors on that team, and we were all clicking as a group. We were close on and off the court."

Chaffin is an assistant coach at Bethel College and for the Shockwave Volleyball Academy. She uses some of the blocking schemes and free ball plays she learned from Lamb. She hears Lamb's voice telling her to put her elbow back when she instructs attackers.

"Seeing the girls get better and enjoying the sport – it makes me miss playing a little bit less," she said.