Skip To Main Content

Wichita State Athletics

Events

Full Schedule
Up Next North Texas UTSA Volleyball Graphic

Volleyball Preview: North Texas, UTSA

11/14/2024 9:16:00 PM

WICHITA STATE (15-11, 10-4 American)

Friday, Nov. 15 (5:00 p.m. CT) at North Texas (8-17, 5-9 American)
Denton, Texas (UNT Volleyball Center)
Live Stats // Watch

Sunday, Nov. 17 (1:00 p.m. CT) vs. UTSA (9-18, 3-11 American)
Wichita, Kan. (Charles Koch Arena)
Live Stats // Watch
 

With a spot in the American conference tournament secured, Wichita State looks to end the regular season on a high note with one final road test at North Texas and the home finale against UTSA.

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

SCENE SETTERS:
  • Wichita State closes out the 2024 regular season with a road match at North Texas on Friday night followed by a Sunday afternoon tilt with UTSA on Senior Day at Charles Koch Arena.
  • First serve of the North Texas match has been moved up one hour to a 5:00 pm CT start to accommodate the Wichita State travel schedule.
  • With just one weekend remaining in the conference schedule, the top of the AAC standings have become significantly more clear. South Florida and Rice will finish 1-2 in some order, as both are 12-2 and hold the tiebreaker over 10-4 Wichita State. The Shockers can secure the #3-seed in the conference tournament with wins over North Texas and UTSA; any loss, combined with an East Carolina win, would send the Shockers to the #4 seed. WSU could also fall to #5, but would need to lose twice in combination with two Tulsa wins.
  • A switch to libero over the last four matches has sparked a run of career-best matches from junior Katie Galligan. Before donning the jersey on November 1 against Tulsa, Galligan had one career match with 20 digs; since then, she has recorded four straight matches of 20 or more, including 27 in a win over Tulsa on November 3.
  • Middle blocker Morgan Stout continued her late-season surge with excellent showings at Rice and Tulane. She put down 20 kills on 45 attempts against the Owls and followed up with 18  terminations in just three sets against the Green Wave. Stout is averaging 4.8 kills per set over the last five matches.
  • The Shockers check in second in the AAC in the latest RPI rankings. Rice tops the conference at 33, while Wichita State is next-best at 55. South Florida (57) and Tulsa (86) are also in the top 100.
LOOKING BACK:
  • Wichita State got 18 kills from Morgan Stout and held Tulane to a .188 hitting percentage as the Shockers completed a 25-22, 25-19, 25-21 sweep over the Green Wave on Sunday at Avron B. Fogelman Arena.
  • The Shockers put together a well-rounded performance, hitting .262 while out-digging the Green Wave 68-53. WSU also convincingly won the serve-and-pass battle, recording four aces to just three service errors while Tulane produced three aces to six errors.
  • WSU set the tone with a 6-1 run out of the gate, getting three kills and a block from freshman Gracie Morrow. Tulane quickly cut the deficit to one at 10-9 with a run of their own, but the Shockers never surrendered the lead. It appeared WSU would coast to a comfortable set when a Green Wave service error made it 20-15, but Tulane again strung together a rally to inch within 23-22. Consecutive kills from Stout and Morrow helped the Shockers fend off the late surge for a 25-22 victory.
  • Stout put away five more kills in the second set on just seven swings, powering Wichita State to an 11-7 lead that forced a Tulane timeout. Tulane made seven attack errors in the set, including three in a row that swelled the WSU lead to 23-17. A bad set from Tulane secured a 25-19 set and a 2-0 lead.
  • The combination of Stout and Alyssa Gonzales dominated the third set, totaling 12 kills on 22 errorless swings as the Shockers sprinted to a 16-10 lead. The advantage was still 24-17 before Tulane put together one last gasp, scoring four straight points that prompted a Wichita State timeout. A Stout swing on the 24-21 sideout was initially ruled out, but a Wichita State challenge determined that the ball deflected off the block for a match-winning kill.
WSU-NORTH TEXAS SERIES:
  • The Shockers hold an 11-5 all-time advantage against the Mean Green, including a 7-4 mark under head coach Chris Lamb.
  • Wichita State is 5-2 at home against North Texas, 2-1 in Denton, and 4-2 in neutral site matches.
  • The series dates back to the 1975 season, just the second season of Wichita State volleyball history. The Shockers dropped that first meeting in straight sets as part of the Oklahoma Invitational in Norman, Oklahoma.
  • The Shockers and Mean Green played one another three times in 2018, twice in the regular season as part of a home-and-home series and then once more in the NIVC. North Texas claimed the final two showdowns, including the postseason contest, by the score of 3-1.
  • The two programs split a pair of thrilling matches last season in  Wichita. The Shockers emerged victorious on November 3, 3-1, in a match where three of the four sets were decided by two  points. North Texas got their revenge with a reverse sweep the following day.
SCOUTING THE MEAN GREEN:
  • North Texas enters Friday at 8-17 overall and 5-9 in the AAC. The Mean Green need to win their final two matches of the regular season to have a chance at reaching the conference tournament; after Wichita State, North Texas hosts conference co-leader Rice on Sunday.
  • The Mean Green have lost seven consecutive matches heading into Friday, including defeats  to Florida Atlantic and Temple this past weekend.
  • North Texas boasts a fearsome block, averaging 2.25 rejections per set for the second-best mark in the conference. Freshman Ryann Vik leads the way with 1.08 blocks per set. Vik produced 13 block assists against South Florida on October 25.
  • Veteran hitters Coco Gillett and Aryn Johnson spearhead the North Texas attack. Johnson starred in the comeback win against the Shockers last season, notching 11 kills, 10 digs and six blocks.
  • Former Shocker setter Lauren Wheeler is on the roster for North Texas after spending two seasons with Wichita State.
  • Head coach Kristee Porter is in her third season at the helm after coaching at McNeese the previous two seasons. A four-time All-American at UCLA and a member of the USA Women's National Team from 2001-2004, Porter owns a career record of 81-107 in seven total seasons as a head coach.
WSU-UTSA SERIES:
  • The Shockers lead the all-time series against the Roadrunners 6-2, including a 4-2 mark under Chris Lamb.
  • Wichita State is 3-1 at home against UTSA, 0-1 in San Antonio and 3-0 in neutral matches.
  • The series dates back to the 1984 season, when Wichita State swept the Roadrunners at the Oral Roberts Invitational in Tulsa. The last meeting in Wichita came in 2006, a 3-1 Wichita State victory.
  • Wichita State swept two matches last season in Wichita, highlighted by a 3-1 victory on November 10 that secured 500 career wins for Chris Lamb.
SCOUTING THE ROADRUNNERS:
  • UTSA owns an overall record of 9-18, including a 3-11 conference mark. The Roadrunners have already been eliminated from conference tournament contention and will end their season on Sunday.
  • Despite the record, the Roadrunners have tallied three noteworthy wins in conference action, all at home in San Antonio. Their first AAC victory was a sweep over UAB on October 18, but the feather in the cap is a five-set win against conference-leading South Florida on October 27. On Sunday, UTSA added a sweep over Florida Atlantic to their resume.
  • Both the Roadrunners and Shockers have struggled to generate points from the service line. UTSA enters the week 302nd nationally with 1.23 aces per set, while WSU is 310th at 1.21.
  • Junior opposite and Kent State transfer Mia Soerensen leads the Roadrunners. A Second Team All-Conference selection a year ago, Soerensen is hitting .238 and averages 1.01 blocks per set.
  • Head coach Carol Price-Torok is in her third season at the helm of the Roadrunners after spending the previous six years as head coach at Bradley, where she was named the 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year. Price-Torok owns a career record of 117-141 in nine total seasons.
UP NEXT:
  • The Shockers host the American Athletic Conference tournament at Charles Koch Arena. The eight-team competition begins Friday, November 22 and concludes with the championship match on Sunday.
Print Friendly Version
Wichita State Shockers
NCAA, opens in a new tab
American Athletic Conference, opens in a new tab
Nike, opens in a new tab