Wichita State volleyball team builds new lineup

Playing the expectations game with Wichita State volleyball is tricky business.

The Shockers lost their top three scorers and setter Chelsey Feekin, co-Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year with middle Ashley Andrade. That, plus the presence of one senior on the roster, seems to signal a step back, if not an outright rebuilding job.

But while the Shockers aren’t ranked nationally, MVC coaches did vote them first in the preseason poll. In their minds, the rebuilding job is already done. That fits with what junior middle blocker Katie Reilly wants her team to believe.

“People are going to underestimate us, probably, because we have lost so many,” Reilly said. “That’s the great part about people underestimating us — when we show them up, that’s going to be an awesome feeling.”

The Shockers open the season on Friday against No. 19 Kentucky in the Bluegrass Battle in Lexington. Coach Chris Lamb knows his setter will be redshirt freshman Emily Hiebert, although the skills of freshman McKenzie Fyfe cause him to consider running a two-setter system. Reilly, who played on the left last season, moves to middle blocker. Junior Ashlyn Driskill moves to the right from the left. Familiar faces such as Dani Mostrom and Gaby Urban return in the back row, where several newcomers are pushing for playing time.

Lamb’s prime concern is the left and right sides. Last season’s team thrived on a devastating middle attack, where Reilly and redshirt freshman Abbie Lehman must replace Andrade and Elizabeth Field. Lamb and his coaching staff look at three-day and eight-day averages for his scorers and the fluctuations are keeping his lineups uncertain. With Driskill on the right, junior MaryAshton Floyd, redshirt freshman Jenny Whitledge and freshman Mikaela Raudsepp are in the mix to score from the left.

“A lot of young players are climbing the ladder at different skill sets,” Lamb said. “We’re still searching for consistency. We still have two- and three-person battles going on at several spots.”

Driskill recorded 261 kills last season, fourth on the team, with a .165 attack percentage. Reilly had 249 kills and a .156 attack percentage. They are WSU’s known quantities, and both will play multiple positions. Driskill is moving to the right, in large part to protect her left knee. She missed spring practices after surgery on the knee. Landing on two feet often, as a right, takes stress off the knee.

“She doesn’t put herself nearly at as much risk,” Lamb said. “This is good for her right now.”

Driskill, from Valley Center, didn’t play right in club or high school. Lamb also likes her on the right because it can take better advantage of her blocking skills. The adjustment comes from the approach and her hand position.

“I feel like I get all my power on the (left) from running into the ball,” she said. “On the right side, you run straight into it more. I’m better thumb-down (from the left) and when I do pinky-down (on the right), it just feels different on my arm.”

Lamb won’t rule out a return to the left for Driskill, but her home is on the right entering the first weekend.

“We can set long balls back to her and it plays to her strengths,” Lamb said. “She has more time to load up and block, and she’s a physical blocker when she’s got time.”

Reilly is more at home with her new spot. She played the middle in high school and club. WSU uses faster sets with its middles than most places, so she is adjusting from the long, looping balls to the split-second timing needed with Hiebert. Reilly’s height (6-foot) will force her to use her quickness against middles who will often tower over her by three or four inches.

“Emily is working her tail off to connect with me,” Reilly said. “It’s going to be interesting, depending on how tall the other side is, because I am a little smaller.”

The inexperienced Shockers will learn college volleyball on the road and against a difficult schedule. They don’t play a home match until the MVC schedule starts on Sept. 19 against Illinois State at Koch Arena. After this weekend’s trip to Kentucky, WSU plays tournaments at Texas State and Creighton.

This story was originally published August 26, 2014 at 1:38 PM with the headline "Wichita State volleyball team builds new lineup."