The RoundHouse | 11/24/2024 4:18:00 PM
By Paul Suellentrop
The 11 NCAA volleyball banners that hang in Koch Arena – blue dot banners in the lexicon of Wichita State coach
Chris Lamb - are a tribute. They are, to Shocker senior middle
Morgan Stout, a reminder and a challenge.
"Every day when we practice, I look at it," she said. "I see all the banners up there and I'm like 'I want one.'"
The Shockers got one on Sunday with a sweep (25-22, 25-19, 25-19) over sixth-seeded Florida Atlantic in the title match of the American Athletic Conference Championship at Koch Arena. The win secured fourth-seeded Wichita State (18-13) a 12
th NCAA banner and its first since 2017.
"We just balled out," Stout said. "This has been a dream of mine ever since I got here. Being able to say I'm going to the NCAA Tournament with this team is the best feeling in the entire world."
Stout came to WSU in 2020 and spent a lot of days hoping to add one of her teams to the rafters. After they closed the regular season with two losses, they needed to regroup.
They talked through issues. They focused on the fresh start and putting it all together for one weekend.
"We had one specific goal, and it went down to every single play, every single rally, every single point," Stout said. "How you high-fived your teammates, looking at them, eye contact. Really having each other's backs. We were so solid."
Solid in almost every way and spectacular in a few.
The back-row defense and on-point scouting reports limited some of the AAC's best hitters. Stout scored in the middle in her usual dominant fashion. Setter
Izzi Strand recorded 28 digs in the tournament and directed an efficient offense. Right-side
Brooklyn Leggett came up big on Sunday. Shockers contributed throughout the roster in ways Lamb couldn't count on in previous weeks.
"We started talking about this a while ago," Lamb said. "When we get them in this gym, we've got to play our best volleyball."
The lineups and strategies that worked for a match here or a week there earlier in the season blended for a convincing run highlighted by defense and the power of low-error volleyball.
"We put the puzzle together a bunch of different ways," Lamb said. "It was good to have everybody back on the court and feeling good about each other and liking each other again. We went through a rough patch a couple weeks ago. Now we know what we're capable of when we can play hard enough."
The Shockers swept all three opponents over the weekend, including top-seeded USF in the semifinals. They held Tulsa, USF and FAU to a .115 attack percentage, highlighted by USF's season-low .112 on Saturday. The three opponents totaled 66 attack errors, 20 more than the Shockers.
FAU hit .125, its third-lowest percentage this season. The Shockers limited Katelynn Robine to eight kills and an .062 attack percentage after she dented them for 18 kills and a .222 attack percentage in the October meeting.
"Everyone just trusted each other a lot back there," libero
Katie Galligan said. "The block does a great job of setting up and slowing it down. We know we're going to get a ball right back to Izzi."
Stout, who earned tournament Most Outstanding Player honors, hit .345 in the three matches with 35 kills. She totaled 12 on Sunday and hit .478. As the team's emotional leader, she had to believe in the Shockers this weekend. She did, and everyone followed.
"We've never had a better competitor than Morgan," Lamb said. "That doesn't exist."
Leggett, who missed the final weekend of the regular season due to family reasons, finished off the Owls with 13 kills, seven in the third set. After back-to-back kills put the Shockers up 17-11, she rotated out and Lamb gave up her a hug as she went to the bench.
"The rule was, 'Izzi, if it comes out of your hand, it better end up in her hand,'" Lamb said. "That's what you do when someone gets red hot."
Leggett also scored WSU's final two points of the match.
"It was pretty special," she said. "I've had a hard year and so having great teammates and knowing they had my back was so important. Getting that last kill was so frickin' special."
From Leggett to Stout to the diggers, a lot of Shockers did special things to create a special weekend. Next fall, they will enjoy that special feeling that comes with a spot in the rafters for your team.
The NCAAl selection show is at 5 p.m., Dec. 1 on ESPN. Regional play begins on Dec. 5.
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
