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Volleyball Preview: South Florida, Florida Atlantic

10/10/2024 5:04:00 PM

WICHITA STATE (8-8, 3-1 American)

Friday, Oct. 11 (7:00 p.m. CT) vs. South Florida (8-7, 4-0 American)
Wichita, Kan. (Charles Koch Arena)
Live Stats // Watch

Sunday, Oct. 13 (1:00 p.m. CT) vs. Florida Atlantic (10-6, 2-2 American)
Wichita, Kan. (Charles Koch Arena)
Live Stats // Watch
 

Wichita State squares off against a pair of upper-division AAC foes at Charles Koch Arena, welcoming in first place South Florida on Friday and Florida Atlantic on Sunday.

Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+. Live stats for both matches can be found at shockerstats.com.

SCENE SETTERS:
  • Wichita State looks to bounce back from their first conference defeat of the season, hosting South Florida on Friday night and Florida Atlantic on Sunday afternoon at Charles Koch Arena.
  • The Shockers are one of four teams currently sitting at 3-1 in conference play, with South Florida and Rice sitting atop the standings at 4-0. Only UAB (0-4) and UTSA (0-5) are winless.
  • The initial NCAA volleyball RPI report was released Monday. Wichita State ranks third in the AAC at 78, trailing Rice (30) and Tulsa (59). This weekend's opponents, South Florida and Florida Atlantic, check in at 88 and 122, respectively. The Shockers have played seven teams in the top 45.
  • The Shockers entered AAC play having failed to reach a .200 hitting percentage in eight of their nine previous matches, including two sub-.100 showings. Wichita State found their offensive rhythm against Memphis and Temple, hitting .333 and .302, respectively.
  • Middle blocker Sarah Barham heads into the weekend 30 kills shy of 1,000 for her college career.
  • The Shockers were picked second in the American Athletic Conference preseason poll. Rice was tabbed as preseason favorite, garnering eight first place votes to Wichita State's four. South Florida was picked third and received the final first place vote. Middle blocker Morgan Stout and setter Izzi Strand were both named preseason all-conference.
  • Head coach Chris Lamb is in his 25th season at the helm of the Shockers. Known affectionately as "Lambo," the veteran head coach owns a career record of 516-244, good for a .679 winning percentage and the most wins in the American Athletic Conference.
LOOKING BACK:
  • Wichita State took two of the first three sets but could not hold off a late charge from Rice as the Owls defeated the Shockers 23-25, 25-18, 25-22, 15-25, 10-15 on Sunday afternoon at Charles Koch Arena.
  • The Owls hit .417 and .550 over the last two sets, respectively, after the Shockers had held Rice below .200 in each of the first three frames.
  • The Shockers got 13 kills apiece from Alyssa Gonzales and Morgan Stout, while Emerson Wilford finished just shy of a double-double with 10 kills and nine digs.
  • In a precursor of things to come, the Owls were able to claim a tense, back-and-forth first set with a late flurry. Wichita State had rallied from a 20-17 deficit to tie the set at 23-23 on a Brooklyn Leggett kill, but Rice got consecutive kills of their own from Lademi Ogunlana and Lola Foord to take the opener, 25-23.
  • The Shockers fired back by controlling the second set, extending the advantage to five at 14-9 and keeping the Owls at bay. Rice never got closer than three points down the stretch, and a Wilford kill wrapped up a 25-18 win that evened the match at one set apiece.
  • It was WSU's turn to win a closely contested set in the third, breaking free of a 22-22 tie with a block from Leggett and Maddie Wilson, then scoring two more via a Wilford kill and Rice attack error to take 2-1 lead.
  • It was all Rice in the fourth set, however. The Owls blitzed WSU to the tune of a 21-9 cushion, though Wichita State did fight back to within eight at 22-14 to prompt a Rice timeout. The Owls recovered to score three of the next four points, forcing the fifth set.
  • The Shockers never led in the final frame, twice trimming the deficit to one in the middle stages (7-6 and 8-7) but unable to get over the hump.
WSU-SOUTH FLORIDA SERIES:
  • Wichita State has claimed all nine meetings against the Bulls, eight of which have taken place since the Shockers joined The American in 2017.
  • The Shockers won the lone non-conference matchup in 2005, a 3-0 victory in East Lansing, Michigan as part of the Spartan Classic.
  • Wichita State has lost just a single set over the course of the nine matches (3-1 win in 2018).
  • The Shockers swept the Bulls 25-21, 25-16, 25-21 last season at Koch Arena. Wichita State out-hit South Florida .307-.130, forcing star outside hitter Buse Hazan into 12 attack errors while the Shockers committed just 10 as a team.
  • Sophia Rohling shined in the victory for Wichita State, hitting .350 on a team-high nine kills to go along with four block assists.
SCOUTING THE BULLS:
  • South Florida checks in to Wichita with an overall record of 8-7, including a 4-0 mark in AAC play following wins over Charlotte, East Carolina, Temple and Memphis. The Bulls have dropped just one set over the course of those four wins.
  • South Florida also owns the premier non-conference win for the conference in 2024, a five-set road victory against #10-ranked Florida on September 6. The Bulls played five matches against ranked teams in the non-conference portion of the schedule.
  • The Bulls are led by the setter-hitter combination of Caroline Dykes (second in the conference with 10.54 assists per set) and Maria Clara Andrade (second in the conference with 4.46 points per set). Transfer outside hitters Naiya Sawtelle and Ally Cavanaugh provide additional offensive options.
  • Former San Jose State and Cal State Bakersfield head coach Jolene Shepardson is in her fifth season at USF, the same program that she led to a pair of NCAA tournament appearances as a player (2000 and 2002).
WSU-FLORIDA ATLANTIC SERIES:
  • Florida Atlantic won the first-ever meeting between the two programs last season in Boca Raton, a five-set thriller that finished 23-25, 25-21, 22-25, 25-18, 10-15.
  • The Owls hit .526 in the fifth and deciding set, adding three aces in the frame to secure the win.
  • Emerson Wilford led Wichita State with a double-double, pounding a career-best 15 kills and 10 digs. Florida Atlantic's Valeria Rosado recorded a match-best 24 kills.
SCOUTING THE OWLS:
  • Florida Atlantic brings a record of 10-6 (2-2) to Wichita, with conference victories against Charlotte and Memphis sandwiched in-between losses to East Carolina and Temple.
  • Florida Atlantic has performed significantly better at home in Boca Raton than on the road. The Owls are 8-2 in Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena, compared to 2-4 in road or neutral matches. The Owls won 21 straight home matches from 2017-19.
  • Setter Victoria Hensley leads the conference in both assists per set (10.69) and total assists (652), ranking eighth nationally in the latter category. She is a transfer from Wofford, where she was teammates with WSU middle blocker Sarah Barham.
  • The Owls lean heavily on the production of outside hitters Katelynn Robine and Valeria Rosado, who average 3.03 and 2.72 kills per set, respectively.
  • Head coach Fernanda Nelson is in her 13th season with Florida Atlantic, having produced a record of 182-158. Nelson was a setter on the Brazilian National Team and starred at National American University, where she later began her coaching career. She made the move to FAU after four seasons as an assistant coach at Florida Gulf Coast.
UP NEXT:
  • The Shockers take to the road for conference battles at Charlotte and East Carolina.
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