The RoundHouse | 11/21/2023 4:22:00 PM
By Paul Suellentrop
Freshman
Sophia Rohling recorded her first college kill in the first set at No. 8 Penn State in 2019.
"Trial by fire," she said. "Learning how to swim in the waves."
Five years later, Rohling is nearing the end of her career as one of the American Athletic Conference's top opposites. She will remember her time as a Shocker for facing those trials and growing from a young player afraid to make mistakes to one confident and aggressive.
"I've gotten so much mentally tougher," she said. "I used to basically, like crumble, mentally crumble, and start making a ton of errors. Now I make those same errors and I push back and I get back in my groove."
The Shockers (20-8, 14-14 AAC) play their final regular-season home match against UAB (5-25, 3-15) on Wednesday (7 p.m., ESPN+). Rohling,
Morgan Weber,
Kylie Marneris,
Lauren McMahon and
Brylee Kelly will be recognized before the match.
Coach
Chris Lamb pushed Rohling to be the "protagonist" in each match so that the opposing team remembered her. She leads the Shockers with a career-high average of 2.97 kills a set and is hitting a career-high .297.
"I think a switch went off for her a year ago," Lamb said. "It was worth working extra hard, because if she could jump a little higher and reach a little higher, she could get over people. You've got to get there and be physical. She's improved at that, for sure."
Rohling, a 6-foot-3 lefty, recorded 14 kills and hit .500 in a win at AAC champion SMU, the only conference loss for the Mustangs. She had 19 kills in a win at Tulane and 18 in a win over North Texas with a .452 attack percentage. She is on track for all-conference honors a third time and will remember her senior season as the time when battling through injuries, demanding classes and the highs and lows of competition created one of the conference's best.
"Hitting the ball hard," she said. "I've started learning how to use the block more. I was a block-avoid for a very long time. I'm becoming better, refining my skills."
She also nurtured freshman middle blockers
Natalie Foster – also on her way to all-conference honors – in the fall of 2020. After a practice, she invited Foster to lunch and cooked stir fry with sausage and peppers.
"Of course, I loved it," Foster said. "I think she saw I was more on my own that year. It resonated with her. We've been by each other's side the past four years."
Rohling's physical talents and her early success – first-team all-conference as a sophomore – set expectations high for her from Lamb. He considers her talented enough to play professionally overseas.
"Steady improvement all these years," Lamb said. "We've talked about her being a dominant player on your team three out of five days. If we play four sets in a match, two or three of those ought to be her one of the better attackers on the floor."
Rohling chose to swim in these volleyball waters from a young age growing up in a volleyball family. Her two older sisters played in college and Deanna Rohling, her mother, coached high school volleyball for 16 years – 10 at Thayer and six at Neodesha.
"(Sophia) always played at an older level," Deanna Rohling said. "She blended in with her height and being left-handed. Those are unique qualities."
While Deanna did not coach Sophia, Sophia grew up at practices and matches and always loved the sport.
"It was just about having fun," she said. "I always wanted to spend time on the court with a ball, getting better."
Rohling targeted NCAA Division I volleyball and wanted to play within driving distance of Thayer. To elevate her recruiting profile, she drove two hours each way to play club volleyball in Wichita. Belinda Rohling, who played at Newman and lives in Wichita, coached one of her club teams.
"I was born into it,"
Sophia Rohling said. "(Belinda) knew me and knew my potential. She knew my attitude and could push me harder."
At a Wichita State camp, former assistant Donnie Wallace introduced himself to Deanna Rohling and asked about Sophia. That led to Lamb's scholarship offer. The family hasn't missed a home match during their daughter's time at Wichita State.
"With Sophia, everything has always been such a challenge and she was always up for the challenge," said Deanna Rohling, who graduated from Wichita State in 1994. "She's always wanted to get better and always very passionate about it."
Those challenges extended to her mechanical engineering degree. An internship with Textron Aviation last summer turned into a job as a structure tests engineer after college.
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
