Volleyball | 9/1/2025 12:59:00 PM

By Paul Suellentrop
 
Even with the brilliance of middle Morgan Stout, aided by all-conference setter Izzi Strand, Wichita State spent much of last season winning matches on the margins. The Shockers hoped to play clean volleyball, defend well, and induce the opponent into errors that could get them to 25 points and cover up a lack of offensive pop.
 
On Sunday, coach Chris Lamb talked about firepower with a smile after the Shockers defeated Arkansas 3-2 (25-18, 13-25, 25-19, 21-25, 15-6) in the Shocker Volleyball Classic at Charles Koch Arena.
 
"It's pretty neat to have the feeling like we can get up and we can take shots with some pretty powerful women over there," Lamb said. "That's a team with a lot of firepower. We outscored them."

 The Shockers (1-1) recorded 64 kills to 60 for Arkansas and out-hit the Razorbacks (1-1) .261 to .220. Last season, on their way to the NCAA Tournament, the Shockers outscored and out-hit 12 of their 32 opponents, six times against winning teams. They won six times while recording fewer kills than their opponent.
 
That's a tough way to win matches, especially against good teams.
 
 

Big block from Maddie and Brooklyn and we take a 13-5 lead pic.twitter.com/TZHNFjWHXO

— Wichita State Volleyball (@GoShockersVB) August 31, 2025

 
 
The Shockers are a mere two matches into 2025, and they struggled mightily to score in an opening loss (3-0) to Kennesaw State. The win over Arkansas, fueled by going with one setter instead of rotating two, gives Lamb hope that they can score their way to more victories.
 
"We've been searching for points around here for a little while," he said. "If that is the lineup, it worked, and we have things to build with that."
 
The Shockers reset with a lot of talking and quick walk-through on Saturday. On Sunday, they jumped on the Razorbacks for a first-set victory with Sydney Dunning and Brooklyn Leggett shining. They dominated the fifth set by spreading the ball around and hitting .500. Emerson Wilford came off the bench to contribute two kills.
 
"We can't be stuck on a loss against Kennesaw State," libero Gabi Maas said. "We have so much confidence in our coaches to give us great information that we can take out there and win games. We know we're going to take losses this year, but we know we need to respond well to those and keep moving forward."
 
Dunning led the Shockers with 20 kills, while hitting .312. Leggett added 18 and a .279 attack percentage. Lamb stuck with setter Jordan Heatherly and the offense clicked.
 
"The energy prior to even stepping on the court, it was completely different than our game on Friday," Dunning said. "I knew we were going to come out with fire and a whole different set-up. We weren't good on Friday. We didn't meet our expectations, and we were going to meet them."
 
On Friday, with two setters, the Shocker hit .098 and recorded 15 fewer kills than the Owls, who lost 3-1 to Arkansas on Saturday. On Sunday, the offense ran smoothly with good passing getting the ball to Heatherly in position to feed Leggett and Dunning in good spots.
 
 

That's a big swing from our setter 👀 pic.twitter.com/LW243vcM8l

— Wichita State Volleyball (@GoShockersVB) August 31, 2025

"I have nothing but confidence in those two," Heatherly said. "They showed out. If I'm out of system, or I'm off the net, I have nothing but confidence in them that they'll go up there and they'll try to rip it."
 
Lamb described Friday's offense as running uphill on snow. What worked in practices, he said, wasn't ready for a good opponent.
 
"I thought we were very static in our 6-2, everything was linear," he said. "The 5-1 actually had more motion in it than that 6-2. That gives the other team something to think about."
 
Dunning, a transfer from Cal State Bakersfield, hit .043 on Friday, totaling four kills on 23 swings. On Sunday, she scored from a variety of spots and angles, syncing up well with Heatherly for her 20 kills on 48 swings. Heatherly, a transfer from Memphis, finished with 50 assists, nine digs and two aces. She recorded two kills in the fifth set, one a vicious swing early that overwhelmed the defender and another to put WSU up 9-4 and force an Arkansas timeout.
 
"It's amazing – just to be in front of this crowd, I'll start there," Dunning said. "Jordan's amazing. I have never had a setter that I could depend on like this. I know what I'm getting."
 
Leggett should also know what she is getting. While Lamb works to develop more depth and more swings for his middles, she will stay busy. She and Dunning dominated the first set, combining for 13 kills, to get the Shockers off to a strong start.
 
"We're expecting Sydney and Brooklyn to do that," Lamb said. "I had to tell Brooklyn the other day, 'Look, girlfriend, you are going to be 1A and 1B on everybody's scouting report. You're going to have to weather through a tough game one, figure out how you're going to respond, and be there."
 
Lamb said he entered the weekend thinking his team had a high floor and an uncertain ceiling. The two matches opened the door to him considering he has a team with a higher ceiling than he thought, if it can continue to improve.
 
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.