WICHITA STATE (9-9, 4-2 American)
Friday, Oct. 18 (5:00 p.m. CT) at Charlotte (4-15, 1-5 American)
Charlotte, N.C. (Halton Arena)
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Sunday, Oct. 20 (11:00 a.m. CT) vs. East Carolina (10-6, 3-3 American)
Greenville, N.C. (Minges Coliseum)
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Wichita State hits the road for matches against Charlotte on Friday and East Carolina on Sunday.
The Charlotte match will be streamed live on ESPN+, while the ECU contest will air free on Pirates All-Access. Live stats for both matches can be found at shockerstats.com.
SCENE SETTERS:
- Wichita State looks to entrench themselves in the upper echelon of the American Athletic Conference standings with a pair of road matches at Charlotte and East Carolina on Friday and Sunday, respectively.
- The Shockers are coming off a 1-1 week at home, dropping a four-set match to South Florida before bouncing back with a reverse sweep over Florida Atlantic on Sunday.
- The Shockers jumped 14 spots in the latest RPI rankings to 64, good for third in the AAC behind Rice (30) and Tulsa (63). The Shockers have played seven teams in the top 45.
- After a slow start offensively in non-conference play, the Wichita State attack has started to find a rhythm. WSU has posted four of their top five hitting percentages for the season over the last six matches and racked up a season-best 72 kills against Florida Atlantic.
- Redshirt freshman Alyssa Gonzales is a key reason for the offensive resurgence. The TCU transfer has averaged 3.16 kills per set with a .291 hitting percentage since the start of AAC competition.
- 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 517-245, good for a .678 winning percentage and the most wins in the American Athletic Conference.
LOOKING BACK:
- Wichita State shook off a sluggish start to roar past Florida Atlantic for a thrilling 19-25, 20-25, 25-14, 25-23, 16-14 win on Sunday at Charles Koch Arena.
- The fifth set was a microcosm of the afternoon, as neither side led by more than two points. The Shockers had a match point at 14-13, but Florida Atlantic's Valeria Rosado kept the Owls alive with a kill. On the ensuing point, Emerson Wilford sent over a free ball that landed perfectly on the back line for a 15-14 lead and another crack at match point. What followed was a frantic, near minute-long rally that included several diving digs and saves before eventually Morgan Stout tucked a cross-court swing in the back corner on the slide to deliver the win to Wichita State.
- The Shockers had 14 kills in the fifth set, hitting .353 and siding out at 85%.
- After two error-riddled frames to open the afternoon, including a first set in which the Shockers committed 10 attack errors, WSU found a different gear offensively in the third set. True freshman Nadia Wasilewski, who had played in just one previous set all season, came off the bench to fire four kills on seven errorless swings and Alyssa Gonzales ripped seven terminations on nine attempts. Katie Galligan tacked on a pair of service aces as Wichita State carved out a comfortable 17-4 lead and cruised to the 25-14 win to stay alive.
- The Shockers found themselves facing an 18-13 deficit late in the fourth frame but used a 7-2 run to pull even. Florida Atlantic inched ahead 23-21, but committed two costly attack errors to help WSU take their first lead at 24-23. Maddie Wilson delivered the winner, slamming a ball off the middle block and out to send the match to the fifth.
WSU-CHARLOTTEÂ SERIES:
- The Shockers and 49ers have just two previous meetings, a straight sets WSU victory last season in Wichita and a five-set battle in the 2002 campaign.
- WSU limited Charlotte to a -.022 hitting percentage, the first time Wichita State has forced an opponent to hit below .000 since September 26, 2016 in a three-set win over Evansville (-.043).
- The Shockers had one of their longest scoring runs of the season in the third set, outscoring the 49ers 10-0 to flip an 8-5 deficit into a 15-8 lead.
- In the 2002 matchup, 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 bring a 4-15 (1-5) record into play on Friday, having dropped eight of their last nine contests. Charlotte owns a conference win over UTSA with losses to South Florida, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Memphis and UAB.
- Charlotte is in their second season in the American Athletic Conference after spending the past decade as a member of Conference USA.
- The 49ers have struggled to generate points, ranking at the bottom of the American Athletic Conference in both hitting percentage (.181) and kills per set (10.29).
- Oklahoma transfer Kristin Birmingham carries much of the load offensively, ranking third in the conference in total points with 253.
- Charlotte does score effectively from the service line, with 112 team aces to rank second in the conference. Grad student Lara Kretschmer tops the team with 24 aces, including five earlier this season against Gardner-Webb.
- Head coach Karen Weatherington is the longest-tenured head coach in program history, now in her 10th season at the helm after previous stints at Kennesaw State and Hampton. Her 220 career victories rank third in the American behind Chris Lamb and Genny Volpe of Rice.
WSU-EAST CAROLINAÂ SERIES:
- The Shockers have never lost to East Carolina, leading the all-time series 10-0 over the course of 10 matches split between Wichita and Greenville. Including Sunday's match, just one of the last five meetings has taken place in Wichita.
- Wichita State survived a defensive slugfest last season in Greenville, besting the Pirates 25-23, 25-19, 25-23. WSU hit just .119 but held ECU to a .113 clip.
- Natalie Foster fired a career-high five aces, including two late in the third set to help secure the sweep. Morgan Stout hit a team-best .381 on 11 kills to pace the Wichita State attack. Former Shocker Lara Uyar finished with a match-high 20 digs for the Pirates.
SCOUTING THE PIRATES:
- East Carolina brings a 10-6 (3-3) mark into this week's slate, coming off consecutive road losses at Tulane and Rice. East Carolina has conference wins against Florida Atlantic, UTSA and North Texas.
- ECU has a trio of talented attackers at their disposal, led by prolific opposite Fran McBride. The graduate student leads the Pirates with 160 kills at a .344 clip, highlighted by 18 kills in the recent defeat at Tulane. Preseason AAC Player of the Year Angeles Alderete has 150 kills of her own, while Ellie Pate checks in with 141.
- The Pirates rank third in the conference with a .225 hitting percentage and second with an opponent hitting percentage of .187.
- ECU has compiled their stingy defensive numbers despite ranking near the bottom of the conference with 1.94 blocks per set and in the middle of the pack with 14.56 digs per set.
- Former Shocker defensive specialist Lara Uyar is the Pirates libero, currently leading East Carolina with 203 digs. Uyar played two seasons at Wichita State, recording 332 digs.
- Head coach Adler Augustin is now in his fifth season at the helm of the Pirates following a stint as an assistant at Stephen F. Austin. His overall record with the Pirates is 56-65.
UP NEXT:
- The Shockers return home for matches against Memphis and UAB.
