WICHITA STATE (7-4, 1-0 American)
Saturday, Sep. 23 (7:00 p.m. CT) vs. Charlotte (7-6, 0-1 American)
Wichita, Kansas (Charles Koch Arena)
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Wichita State returns to the friendly confines of Charles Koch Arena on Saturday night for the American Athletic Conference home opener against Charlotte.
The match will be streamed on ESPN+. Track live scoring at shockerstats.com.
SCENE SETTERS:
- Wichita State looks to continue their winning ways in the home American Athletic Conference opener, hosting the 49ers of Charlotte on Saturday night at Charles Koch Arena.
- The Shockers are seeking a fifth consecutive victory, a streak that WSU has not reached since the Shockers rattled off eight conference wins in a row from October 3-29, 2021.Â
- The Shockers are 4-2 in American Athletic Conference home openers since joining the league in 2017. WSU owns wins in 2017, 2018, 2020, and 2022.
- In the first round of conference play, the West Division nearly completed a clean sweep of their East Division counterparts. The West finished the day on Wednesday 6-1 with all six wins coming in straight sets; the only defeat was a five-set road loss by Tulane at South Florida.
- Saturday is Wichita State's first matchup against one of the new members of the American Athletic Conference. Newcomers UAB, Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, Rice and UTSA replaced UCF, Houston and Cincinnati, who departed for the Big 12.
- Wichita State owns a 140-40 record in home conference matches at Charles Koch Arena, good for a .778 winning percentage. The Shockers have gone undefeated at home in conference play four times in program history (2004, 2005, 2008, 2017).
- Wichita State's balanced offensive attack features five players averaging between 2.1 and 2.7 kills per set. Six different Shockers (Natalie Foster, Morgan Stout, Sophia Rohling, Emerson Wilford, Morgan Weber, Barbara Koehler) have notched double-digit kills in a match this season.
LOOKING BACK:
- The Shockers opened the American Athletic Conference slate with a road sweep in Greenville against East Carolina, downing the Pirates 25-23, 25-19 and 25-23 on Wednesday night.
- The victory was Wichita State's tenth consecutive win over East Carolina, six of which have come in straight sets.
- Wichita State's elite defensive unit held the Pirates to a .113 hitting percentage, forcing star outside hitter Angeles Alderete into seven attack errors. The performance improved the Shockers season mark in opponent hitting percentage to .151, which ranks 21st nationally.
- WSU won the first set despite hitting -.023, recording just one ace and one block. Trailing 23-21, the Shockers took the next four points to steal the opener, capped off by a solo block from Emerson Wilford.
- Middle blockers Natalie Foster and Morgan Stout put on a show, combining for 23 kills while hitting .348 and .381, respectively. Stout turned in her first perfect set of the season in the second stanza, scoring on all five of her swings.
- Foster established a new career high with five service aces, besting her previous high of three thanks in large part to back-to-back aces late in the third set. Entering the match ranked in the bottom 20 nationally in aces, the Shockers scored three of their final six points in the third from the service line.
- No individual Shocker hitter had more than 10 attempts in any set this past week.
- 10 different Shockers finished with multiple digs, led by a career-high eight ups from freshman Reagan Anderson.
WSU-CHARLOTTE SERIES:
- The Shockers and 49ers have just one previous meeting, a five-set battle in the 2002 campaign. Wichita State emerged victorious in the opening match of the NC State Outback Steakhouse Invitational, later defeating the host Wolfpack before falling to Kentucky.
SCOUTING THE 49ERS:
- The 49ers check in at 7-6 overall heading into Saturday's contest following a straight-sets defeat on Wednesday against UTSA. Charlotte opened the season with three wins at the Charlotte Invitational but dropped five of the next seven.
- Charlotte is in their first season in the American Athletic Conference after spending the past decade as a member of Conference USA.
- Charlotte has two common opponents with the Shockers, falling in three to both Northern Colorado and Colorado as part of the Colorado Classic. The Shockers beat UNC in four and were also swept by the Buffaloes.
- The 49ers lean heavily on an imposing front row that ranks 18th nationally in total blocks with 121.0. Both Sydney Baham and Lara Kretschmer average 1.17 rejections per set to crack the top 100 nationally.Â
- Libero Sophie Whalen passed the 1,000 career digs mark earlier this season. The senior had a season-best 23 digs in a five-set victory over Coastal Carolina on August 26.
- Head coach Karen Weatherington is the longest-tenured head coach in program history, now in her ninth season at the helm after previous stints at Kennesaw State and Hampton. Her 212 career victories rank third in the American behind Chris Lamb and Genny Volpe of Rice.
UP NEXT:
- Wichita State returns to the road for a crucial two-game swing against projected West Division favorites SMU. The series begins Friday night in Dallas and concludes with a second match on Sunday afternoon.
