WICHITA STATE (1-1, 0-0 American)

Friday, September 5 (11:00 a.m. CT) vs. Incarnate Word (2-1, 0-0 Southland)
Provo, Utah (Smith Fieldhouse)
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Friday, September 5 (7:00 p.m. CT) at No. 18 BYU (3-0, 0-0 Big 12)
Provo, Utah (Smith Fieldhouse)
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Saturday, September 6 (2:00 p.m. CT) vs. Northern Colorado (2-1, 0-0 Big Sky)
Provo, Utah (Smith Fieldhouse)
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Wichita State travels to Provo, Utah, for the BYU Nike Invitational, taking on Incarnate Word and host No. 18 BYU on Friday before squaring off with Northern Colorado on Saturday.

All matches will be streamed live on ESPN Plus. 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 1-1 weekend with a three-set loss to Kennesaw State and a five-set win over Arkansas.
•Libero Gabi Maas is this week's American Defensive Player of the Week.
•Redshirt senior outside hitter Brooklyn Leggett is from Draper, Utah, which is 30 minutes from Provo. Junior setter Hannah Hawkins is from Highland, Utah, which is also 30 minutes from Provo.
•Brooklyn Leggett and Gabi Maas were both named to the all-tournament team at the Shocker Volleyball Classic. Leggett averaged 3.38 kills per set, while Maas averaged 5.88 digs per set.
•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 527-251, good for a .677 winning percentage and the most wins in the American Conference.

SHOCKS IN THE NCAA STATS    
•In the Sept. 2 NCAA stat report, the Shockers are ranked 25th nationally in digs per set with 16.75. 
•Individually, Gabi Maas is fifth in digs per set with 5.88, while Maddie Wilson is 32nd in blocks per set with 1.63.

DEBUTS    
•The Shockers had multiple players make their debuts on opening weekend at the Shocker Volleyball Classic.
•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.

MAAS NAMED AMERICAN DPOW    
•Redshirt junior libero Gabi Maas has been named the American Conference Defensive Player of the Week, it was announced Monday afternoon.
•Maas led the Shockers to a 1-1 weekend at the Shocker Volleyball Classic that included a win over Arkansas who was receiving votes in the top-25 poll.
•Maas averaged 5.88 digs per set, 1.13 assists per set and 0.25 service aces per set in the two matches and earned all-tournament team honors.
•She had a career-high 28 digs and eight assists in the five-set win over Arkansas and also added two service aces. On Friday against Kennesaw State, she had a match-high 19 digs.

WEEKEND RECAP    
•The Shockers finished opening weekend at the Shocker Volleyball Classic with a 1-1 record. WSU lost in three-sets to Kennesaw State on Friday night and then defeated Arkansas in five sets on Sunday.
•Against Kennesaw State, the Shockers lost by scores of 25-27, 23-25 and 21-25. Brooklyn Leggett led the Shockers with nine kills, but the Shockers hit just .098 in the match.
•Against Arkansas, the Shockers won by scores of 25-18, 13-25, 25-19, 21-25 and 15-6. Sydney Dunning had a double-double with 20 kills and 13 digs, while Gabi Maas had a career-high 28 digs. The Shockers hit .261 as a team.

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-INCARNATE WORD SERIES    
•This will be the first meeting between Wichita State and Incarnate Word.

SCOUTING THE CARDINALS    
•Incarnate Word is 2-1 to start the season after a loss to Oklahoma and wins over Abilene Christian and Missouri State.
•Finley Evans leads UIW with 2.92 kills per set, while Calissa Allison averages 7.33 assists per set and 3.50 digs per set.
•UIW returns six starters this season from a team that finished 17-11 in 2024. 
•Head coach Gabby Ording is in her third season and has a career record of 34-28, all at UIW.

WSU-BYU SERIES    
•BYU leads the overall series with Wichita State 3-1.
•The two teams last met in 2018 in Wichita. The Cougars earned a 3-1 win. In Provo, the series is tied 1-1 with the Cougars winning 3-0 in 2018 and the Shockers winning 3-1 in 2010. 
•In the last meeting between the two teams in 2019 in Wichita, the Cougars won 3-1 by scores of 23-25, 25-16, 25-19 and 25-20. Megan Taflinger led the Shockers with 11 kills, while McKayla Wuensch had 19 assists and Kara Bown had 12 digs.

WSU-BYU MATCH-BY-MATCH
Date        Location    Results    Set Scores
9/11/2010        Provo, Utah    W, 3-1    25-19, 22-25, 25-21, 25-21 
8/31/2012         Wichita    L, 2-3    15-25, 26-24, 17-25, 26-24, 16-18 
9/1/2018        Provo, Utah    L, 0-3    16-25, 12-25, 20-25
9/12/2019        Wichita    L, 1-3    25-23, 16-25, 19-25, 20-25

SCOUTING THE COUGARS    
•BYU is 3-0 to start the season with wins over FDU, Central Michigan and High Point. The Cougars are ranked No. 18 in this week's AVCA Top-25 poll.
•Claire Little Chambers leads the Cougars with 3.80 kills per set, while Alex Bower averages 10.60 assists per set and 2.50 digs per set.
•BYU returns six starters from a team that finished 19-10 in 2024.
•Head coach Heather Olmstead is in her 11th season and has a career record of 260-26, all at BYU.

WSU-NORTHERN COLORADO SERIES   
•The Shockers lead the overall series with Northern Colorado, 3-2. At neutral sites, the series is tied 1-1. 
•The last meeting between the two teams was last season in Wichita. The Bears won the match 3-1 by scores of 25-20, 27-25, 15-25 and 25-23. Alyssa Gonzales led the Shockers with 13 kills, while Izzi Strand had 38 assists and Katie Galligan had 18 digs.

WSU-NORTHERN COLORADO MATCH-BY-MATCH
Date        Location    Results    Set Scores
9/29/2004        Wichita    W, 3-0    30-18, 30-22, 30-19 
9/10/2011    #    Fort Collins, Colo.    L, 1-3    22-25, 25-17, 22-25, 25-27 
9/2/2022     #    Omaha, Neb.    W, 3-0    25-18, 25-20, 25-18 
9/16/2023        Greeley, Colo.    W, 3-1    25-15, 19-25, 25-15, 25-16 
9/20/2024        Wichita    L, 1-3    20-25, 25-27, 25-15, 23-25 

# - neutral site

SCOUTING THE BEARS   
•Northern Colorado is 2-1 to start the season with wins over Washington and Colorado State and a loss to Colgate. 
•Alayna Tessena leads the Bears with 3.23 kills per set, while Mia Liddiard averages 9.50 assists per set and Bella LePore averages 3.38 digs per set.
•UNC returns three starters from a team that finished 28-8in 2024.
•Head coach Lyndsey Oates is in her 21st season and has a career record of 378-235, all at UNC.

UP NEXT   
The Shockers travel to Cookeville, Tenn, for the Golden Eagle Invitational, Sept. 11-12. WSU plays Radford and host Tennessee Tech on Sept. 11 and closes the tournament on Sept. 12 with Samford.