WICHITA STATE (6-3, 0-0 American)

Thursday, September 18 (4:00 p.m. CT) vs. Drake (3-5, 0-0 MVC)
Vermillion, S.D. (Sanford Coyote Sports Center)
Live Stats // Watch

Friday, September 19 (7:00 p.m. CT) at South Dakota (6-3, 0-0 Summit)
Vermillion, S.D. (Sanford Coyote Sports Center)
Live Stats // Watch

Saturday, September 20 (11:00 a.m. CT) vs. Villanova (8-0, 0-0 Big East)
Vermillion, S.D. (Sanford Coyote Sports Center)
Live Stats // Watch
 

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Wichita State travels to Vermillion, S.D. for the South Dakota Classic Sept. 18-20. The Shockers will face Drake on Sept. 18, host South Dakota on Sept. 19 and Villanova on Sept. 20.
The matches will be streamed live on MidCoSportsPlus. Live stats for all matches can be found at shockerstats.livestats.us.

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SCENE SETTERS    
•Wichita State is coming off of a 3-0 weekend with a three-set wins over Radford, Tennessee Tech and Samford at the Golden Eagle Invitational and a three-set loss to No. 17 Kansas on Tuesday.
•WSU had 2,681 fans in attendance at the Kansas match on Sept. 16. It was the largest home attendance since 2023.
•Setter Jordan Heatherly and outside hitter Sydney Dunning were both named to the American Conference Honor Roll this week.
•The Shockers tied a program record by allowing just four points in the first set against Tennessee Tech on Sept. 11.
•The Shockers are coming off an 18-14 season in 2024 that culminated in a dominant run to the American Conference Tournament championship and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. 
•The Shockers appeared in the NCAA Tournament for the 12th time overall and the first since 2017.
•The Shockers were picked third in the American Conference preseason poll. Rice was tabbed as the conference's preseason favorite, garnering nine first place votes to South Florida's four. Brooklyn Leggett was named preseason all-conference.
•Wichita State returns three starters and the libero from the 2024 team including senior outside hitters Brooklyn Leggett and Emerson Wilford, junior middle blocker Maddie Wilson and senior libero Katie Galligan. 
•Head coach Chris Lamb is in his 26th season at the helm of the Shockers. Known affectionately as "Lambo," the veteran head coach owns a career record of 532-253, good for a .679 winning percentage and the most wins in the American Conference.

KU RECAP    
•The Shockers faced No. 17 Kansas on Tue., Sept. 16. KU swept the match by scores of 28-26, 25-14 and 25-16. Sydney Dunning led the Shockers with eight kills and 14 digs, while Jordan Heatherly had 12 assists.
•KU hit .220, while holding WSU to a .016 hitting percentage.

SHOCKS IN THE NCAA STATS    
•In the Sept. 17 NCAA stat report, the Shockers are ranked 51st in digs per set with 15.39, 66th in kills per set with 13.36, 68th in opponent hitting percentage with .172, 77th in team digs with 508, 85th in team kills with 441, 88th in match win-loss percentage with .667, and 94th in assists per set with 12.09. 
•Individually, Jordan Heatherly is 82nd in assists per set with 9.15 and 58th in total assists with 302, Maddie Wilson is 95th in blocks per set with 1.23, Gabi Maas is 79th in digs per set with 4.21 and Sydney Dunning is 77th in kills per set with 3.85 and 71st in total kills with 127.

PROGRAM RECORD    
•Wichita State tied a program record in the first set against Tennessee Tech on Sept. 11. 
•The Shockers allowed just four points in the set.
•WSU also allowed just four points to Evansville on Nov. 21, 2015.

CAREER-HIGHS    
•The Shockers had two players with career-highs at the Golden Eagle Invitational.
•Brooklyn Leggett had a career-high two assists, five service aces and nine digs against Samford and hit a career-best .786 against Tennessee Tech.
•Maddie Wilson had a career-high three service aces against Radford.

DUNNING'S HOT START    
•Junior outside hitter Sydney Dunning is off to a hot start to her Shocker career. The Cal State Bakersfield transfer has had seven matches with 10 or more kills and has also collected five double-doubles in nine matches this season.
•She collected a career-high 27 kills in the four-set win over UIW.

ENGEL'S BIG DEBUT    
•Transfer middle blocker Elinor Engel made her Shocker debut against No. 18 BYU in a big way. She had five kills on six swings and hit a career-best .833. 
•She followed that up with 13 kills on 19 swings and hit .632 in the five-set win over Northern Colorado the following day.

20 DIGS X2    
•The Shockers had two players collect 20 or more digs in the four-set win over Incarnate Word on Sept. 5. Gabi Maas had 24 digs and Katie Galligan added 23 digs.
•It was the first time that WSU had two players with 20 or more digs in the same match since Nov. 17, 2023 against Rice when Gabi Maas had 25 digs and Morgan Weber had 23 digs.

DEBUTS    
•The Shockers had multiple players make their debuts on opening weekend at the Shocker Volleyball Classic and the next weekend at the BYU Nike Invitational.
•Against Kennesaw State, transfers Hannah Hawkins, Sydney Dunning and Jordan Heatherly all made their Shocker debuts, while freshmen Olivia Cohee and McKenzie Jones both made their collegiate debut.
•Against Arkansas, freshmen Janaya Weitkemper and Jenna Cubbage both made their collegiate debut.
•Against BYU, redshirt freshman Sarah Musial made her collegiate debut, while transfer Elinor Engel made her Shocker debut.

DUNNING & HEATHERLY NAMED TO HONOR ROLL    
•Wichita State volleyball student-athletes Sydney Dunning and Jordan Heatherly have both been named to the American Conference Honor Roll for their performances at the Golden Eagle Invitational. Heatherly had one of the best weeks by an American setter, while Dunning put together one of the top offensive efforts.
•The Shockers finished the tournament 3-0 with sweeps over Radford, Tennessee Tech and Samford.
•Dunning, a junior outside hitter from McClave, Colo., averaged 4.44 kills and 2.67 digs per set, while hitting .514.
•Heatherly, a junior setter from Western Springs, Ill., averaged 11.00 assists, 1.89 kills, 0.44 service aces, 2.00 digs and 0.56 blocks per set, while hitting .556. She also guided the team to a .397 attack percentage. 

WEEKEND RECAP    
•The Shockers finished the Golden Eagle Invitational 3-0 with a three-set wins over Radford, Tennessee Tech and Samford.
•Against Radford, the Shockers won by scores of 25-17, 25-11 and 25-12. Sydney Dunning led the Shockers with 15 kills, while Jordan Heatherly had 33 assists and Gabi Maas had 12 digs.
•Against Tennessee Tech, the Shockers won by scores of 25-4, 25-10 and 25-17. Sydney Dunning led the Shockers with 13 kills, while Jordan Heatherly had 34 assists and Katie Galligan had 11 digs.
•Against Samford, the Shockers won by scores of 25-15, 25-20 and 25-12. Sydney Dunning led the Shockers with 12 kills, while Jordan Heatherly had 32 assists and Katie Galligan had 17 digs.

FRESHMAN TAKEOVER
•Wichita State is one of four teams in the country with at least 10 freshmen on the roster. The Shockers join St. Mary's, Pacific and Holy Cross as they all have 10.

WSU-DU SERIES
•Wichita State leads the overall series with Drake, 50-17. Head Coach Chris Lamb is 34-1 against the Bulldogs. WSU has won 34-straight meetings against Drake with the last Bulldog win coming in 2000. In those 34 wins, the Shockers have dropped just six sets. 
•The last meeting between the two teams was Dec. 6, 2023, in Wichita in the NIVC Great 8 with the Shockers winning 3-0.
•In that meeting, the Shockers won by scores of 30-28, 27-25 and 25-21.
•Morgan Stout led the Shockers with 14 kills, while Izzi Strand had 44 assists and Gabi Maas had 17 digs.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
•Drake is 3-5 this season with wins over Western Kentucky, North Texas and Florida International and losses to Loyola Chicago, Wright State, Miami (FL), Grand Canyon and No. 22 Utah.
•Macy Daufeldt leads the Bulldogs with 3.41 kills per set, while Kathryn Quick averages 4.63 assists per set and Gabbie Schroeder averages 3.04 digs per set.
•Drake finished 20-10 in 2024 and 16-2 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
•Head coach Darrin McBroom is in his 13th season with Drake.

WSU-USD SERIES
•Wichita State leads the overall series with South Dakota, 5-0. This will be the first meeting in Vermillion, S.D. Head Coach Chris Lamb is 3-0 against the Coyotes.
•The last meeting between the two teams was Sept. 17, 2021 in Wichita with the Shockers winning 3-2.
•In that meeting, the Shockers won by scores of 25-18, 22-25, 25-20, 18-25 and 15-13.
•Brylee Kelly led the Shockers with 15 kills, while Kayce Litzau had 42 assists and Lily Liekweg had 28 digs.

SCOUTING THE COYOTES    
•South Dakota is 6-3 this season with wins over Montana State, Prairie View A&M, Colgate, Ball State, Green Bay and Florida Gulf Coast and losses to Oregon, UCONN, and No. 17 Kansas.
•Lauren Medeck leads the Coyotes with 4.03 kills per set, while Avery Van Hook averages 10.32 assists per set and Kamryn Farris averages 5.00 digs per set.
•South Dakota finished 21-10 in 2024 and 10-6 in the The Summit League.
•Head coach Leanne Williamson is in her 12th season with South Dakota.

WSU-VU SERIES    
•This will be the first meeting between Wichita State and Villanova.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
•Villanova is 8-0 this season with wins over Santa Clara, Notre Dame, Yale, Fairfield, High Point, Temple, Delaware and Old Dominion.
•Abby Harrell leads the Wildcats with 3.97 kills per set and 2.68 digs per set, while Alyssa Nelson averages 6.26 assists per set.
•Villanova finished 17-14 in 2024 and 9-9 in the Big East.
•Head coach Josh Steinbach is in his 19th season with Villanova.

UP NEXT
•The Shockers open American Conference play Sept. 26 at UAB and Sept. 28 at Memphis.