WICHITA STATE (23-8, 15-4 American)
Wednesday, Dec. 6 (6:30 p.m. CT) vs. Drake (24-10, 14-4 Missouri Valley)
Wichita, Kan. (Charles Koch Arena)
Live Stats //
Watch
Wichita State welcomes long-time Missouri Valley Conference foe Drake to Charles Koch Arena on Wednesday night for Round 3 of the NIVC.
The match will be streamed on ESPN+. Track live scoring throughout the evening at shockerstats.com.
SCENE SETTERS:
- Wichita State seeks to continue their postseason run and punch their ticket to the NIVC semifinals, hosting Drake on Wednesday night.
- The Shockers have never won three matches in a single postseason tournament before (not counting conference tournaments). The two wins against Arkansas State and Tulsa represent Wichita State's longest run in the NIVC after going 1-1 in 2018 and 0-1 last season.
- Wichita State and Drake have a long history against one another dating back to the Shockers time in the Missouri Valley Conference. The two teams have met 66 times, with Wichita State holding a 49-17 lead in the all-time series.
- Wednesday's matchup is a meeting of two top remaining RPIs in the NIVC bracket (Drake 54, Wichita State 62). St. John's entered the tournament with the best RPI at 46, but the Red Storm were eliminated in the second round by American Athletic Conference member South Florida.
- Wichita State had two players represented on the AVCA North All-Region Team, the first time since the 2017 season that the Shockers have had multiple representatives. Middle blocker Natalie Foster earned a First Team spot for the second consecutive season and setter Izzi Strand was tabbed Honorable Mention.
- The Shockers have won 11 home matches this season, their most since the 2017 campaign. Should Wichita State continue to host and win the final three matches, they would match the 1992 team for the most home wins in program history (14).
- Wichita State is the nation's only team with three players who have 1,000 career kills all at a single school. Foster, Brylee Kelly and Sophia Rohling all reached the milestone this season.
LOOKING BACK:
- Wichita State advanced to the Great 8 of the NIVC with a Round 1 win over Arkansas State in straight sets, 25-17, 25-20, 25-19, and a four-set win over Tulsa, 25-12, 15-25, 25-16, 25-21.
- The pair of wins marks the first season with two postseason victories since the Shockers advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in 2012 (not counting conference tournaments).
- In the win against Arkansas State, the Shockers had five players with seven or more kills, led by nine apiece from Barbara Koehler, Morgan Stout and Sophia Rohling. As a team, Wichita State hit .308 with just 10 attack errors.
- The Shockers also did damage at the service line, firing six aces in the three sets. Five different players recorded at least one, while Stout notched back-to-back aces during a key run late in the third set.
- Sophomore Katie Galligan made her first start of the season at libero against the Red Wolves and delivered 11 digs. She followed up that performance with a career-high 20 ups against Tulsa in Round 2.
- Wichita State's win over Tulsa was the 20th consecutive victory for the Shockers over the Golden Hurricane in Wichita and the 10th straight overall.
- The Shockers held Tulsa to a -.062 hitting percentage in the first set (9 kills, 12 errors).
- Middle blocker Natalie Foster posted nearly identical lines in both matches, recording eight kills without an error and four blocks.
- In addition to 40 assists and six kills, setter Izzi Strand established a new season high against the Golden Hurricane with 17 digs, one off her career best.
- Sophia Rohling spearheaded the WSU attack with a team-high 15 kills, including five in the fourth set.
WSU-DRAKEÂ SERIES:
- The Shockers lead the all-time series against the Bulldogs 49-17 in a series history that dates back to the 1976 season.
- Head coach Chris Lamb lost his first meeting against Drake on September 15, 2000 and has not lost to the Bulldogs since. Under Lamb's direction, the Shockers have defeated Drake 33 straight times.
- Over the course of the last ten matchups, the Bulldogs have claimed just two sets. The last meeting between the two programs came in 2016, before the Shockers departed the Missouri Valley Conference for The American.
- The Shockers set several school records in a 2003 victory against the Bulldogs (30-17, 30-13, 30-17). WSU hit .583 for the match, best in program history, and also notched 19 service aces, their most in any three-set match.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS:
- Drake brings a 24-10 overall record to Wichita, finishing second in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 14-4 mark. The Bulldogs lost a heartbreaking five-set match in the MVC Tournament championship to regular season champ UNI.
- The Bulldogs swept Chicago State and DePaul in the opening two rounds of NIVC play in Des Moines.
- Drake advanced all the way to the NIVC Final last season, beginning their tournament run with two wins in Wichita against Weber State and Grand Canyon. The Bulldogs hosted the championship match, falling in four sets to Boston College.
- Three Bulldogs were named the AVCA All-Midwest Region team on Tuesday. 2023 MVC Libero of the Year Jada Wills and First Team All-Conference outside hitter Taylor Oberpriller were First Team selections, while the program's career kills leader Haley Bush snagged an Honorable Mention spot.
- Drake was listed as one of the First 8 Out on the NCAA selection show, narrowly missing out on an at-large berth. The Bulldogs played a challenging non-conference schedule that included matches against NCAA tournament teams Marquette, Dayton, Western Kentucky, Washington State and Iowa State.
- The Bulldogs possess a stifling defense that holds opponents to a .161 hitting percentage, thanks in large part to 17.42 digs per set (eight-best nationally).
- Head coach Darrin McBroom is in his 11th season in Des Moines. The 2020 MVC Coach of the Year, McBroom won 322 matches at the NJCAA level with MCC-Longview and Iowa Western.
UP NEXT:
- The Shockers either advance to the Fab Four of the NIVC on December 7-10 or conclude the 2023 season.
