Volleyball | 11/7/2025 9:33:00 PM

By Paul Suellentrop
 
Chris Lamb marks kills with a red marker during practice. A good day for a Shocker means lots of red on the sheet. For Maddie Wilson, that means "Blood everywhere," which is Wichita State's new name for an old volleyball drill that teaches middles how to chop volleyballs around the block.
 
"We have to chop (the ball) to the sidelines, and we can't get touched by the middle blocker," Wilson said. "It helps me with my vision on where the block is, which is something I struggled with for a little bit."
 
Wichita State is seeing the benefits of increased use of "Blood everywhere" over the past two weeks with Wilson. On Friday, the Shockers swept short-handed ECU (25-11, 25-19, 25-14) with Wilson recording nine kills with one error on 19 swings for a .421 hitting percentage.
 
"We need to get Maddie going," Lamb said. "Nine on 19. Step in the right direction."
 
Wilson, a 6-foot-1 junior, recorded her sixth straight game with a hitting percentage at .300 or better. She has eight or more kills in five of those. The Shockers (17-8, 9-4 American) are adding to their offense with Wilson and left Emerson Wilford, who had nine kills and hit .348, providing more punch to supplement left Sydney Dunning and right-side Brooklyn Leggett.
 
Leggett led the Shockers with 12 kills and hit .375.
 
 

Getting the night started with a stuff from @allliepaulsen and @brooklynleggett pic.twitter.com/S79PGDbdoS

— Wichita State Volleyball (@GoShockersVB) November 8, 2025

 
 
"We've been trying to get matches with more than two girls on the scoreboard," Lamb said. "Little by little, that's been going well. My wish is for it to be Maddie, because we know what she's capable of. Sometimes that you find a drill that is just what that kid needs."
 
"Blood everywhere" seems to help Wilson, who gets credit for naming the drill. The Shockers start practices with that drill, which puts middles in the middle of the court taking a fast set vs. a blocker. The drill forces the middle to work around the block by chopping to the left or right, or tipping.
 
"I want her to hit with more angles because she's capable of it," Lamb said. "I wanted to hit sideways more, chopping. Every now and then you've got to tip on them. That's what we weren't doing. We were trying to swing our way out of everything."
 
More time with setter Jordan Heatherly, who joined the team in August after transferring from Memphis, is also helping Wilson.
 
"The setters have been working hard – we come in early every morning," Heatherly said. "We've been trying to get her and the rest of our hitters in the best position possible, and I think that drill is really showcasing that."
 
The Shockers handled the Pirates (11-13, 3-10) with more than offensive variety. They kept ECU scrambling all match with good serves and finished with seven aces, two each by Dunning, libero Gabi Maas and defensive specialist Grace Hett.
 
Wichita State held ECU to a season-low .049 attack percentage with Allie Paulsen recording five blocks and Maas 13 digs.
 
 

A+ defense from Gabi tonight in the sweep over ECU#FeartheWheat 🌾 pic.twitter.com/ibPXeyn66e

— Wichita State Volleyball (@GoShockersVB) November 8, 2025

 
 
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
 
Season tickets are on sale now, and season ticket renewals are available as well. To purchase, visit GoShockers.com/Tickets, dial 316-978-FANS (3267) or stop by the Shocker Ticket Office, located inside Charles Koch Arena, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.