The RoundHouse | 10/27/2024 5:22:00 PM
By Paul Suellentrop
Wichita State middles dominated Sunday's win over UAB, and scoring from that position was long the plan for this season.
It took longer than expected. On Sunday, middles
Morgan Stout and
Sarah Barham provided the punch coach
Chris Lamb planned for months ago.
"There's a learning curve to it," Lamb said. "Now I think we've found something. Twenty-eight of our 72 points come from a middle. Most in front of the setter. We're getting there."
The Shockers defeated the Blazers 3-1 (30-28, 26-24, 19-25, 25-20) by getting there in a big way in the fourth set.
Stout hammered in five kills and Barham three. Stout combined on three blocks early in the set. Barham added one. WSU (12-10, 7-3 American Athletic Conference) hit a match-best .360 in the fourth set to sweep the season series from the Blazers (8-13, 3-7).
Stout finished with a career-high 22 kills and hit .450. Barham added 12 kills, one off her season high, and also hit .450. She set her season-high a week ago at ECU with a .667 attack percentage.
The connection between Barham, a transfer from Wofford, and setter
Izzi Strand is sharpening. In 13 previous matches, Barham had not passed seven kills. On Sunday, the quick sets to the middle that are a Shocker trademark looked on point.
"It's definitely taken longer than I think both of us would like," Barham said. "This past week, Izzi told me she found a better way to set me. I don't speak setter that well, so I don't really know exactly what she found. Hopefully, it keeps working the way that it did today."
Last season, Strand and middle
Natalie Foster thrived on higher, slower sets. Strand had to adjust to Barham's faster pace.
"I have been searching high and low with this group," Lamb said. "That was great. It's hard to have middles carry your team offensively in front of the center. A lot of good needs to happen to do it that way."
Barham needed no time to contribute as a blocker. Scoring took more time, but Lamb was confident the Shockers could activate that part of her game.
"I didn't expect a mystery," he said. "Go pull out some
Sarah Barham video from last year. We can do that. We couldn't at first, and it nothing to do with Sarah. We're finally getting there."
Stout, who is a bouncier, rangier middle than Barham, welcomes another threat. When the Blazers focused on stopping the Shocker lefts, the middles took advantage.
"It's really good to see," Stout said. "We've got to have Sarah in. She wasn't connecting with Izzi in the beginning, and it was frustrating."
Those frustrations eased over the past week with Barham recording her two biggest games as a Shocker.
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
