Shockers not satisfied in their volleyball sweep of Temple

It was a somber atmosphere at the post-match press conference, as Wichita State senior Mikaela Raudsepp solemnly dissected her team’s performance against Temple on Sunday at Koch Arena.

“We expect greatness from each other and we expect greatness from ourselves,” Raudsepp said. “When we aren’t playing great, we know it and we know that have to fix those things. We practice every day to do this thing and when we aren’t playing well … well we’re not going to be happy with it.”

Wichita State won, by the way. The No. 21-ranked Shockers registered another home sweep, dispatching Temple 25-22, 25-16, 25-23 in front of 2,254 fans to improve to 14-0 in the American Athletic Conference and 22-3 overall.

But simply winning isn’t enough anymore for this team. Coach Chris Lamb sat back and beamed with pride as Raudsepp explained that this team holds itself to higher standards.

“Eighteen seasons ago while a match was going on I heard players on my bench talking about a party somewhere on campus or in town that was happening later that night,” Lamb said. “That was during the match. Now here we are after a big win and these girls aren’t throwing a party.”

With six games remaining in the regular season, Wichita State is one win closer to securing its first American title. The Shockers (14-0) hold a two-match lead over Southern Methodist, and the two will meet in Dallas on Nov. 19.

But winning a conference championship wasn’t on anyone’s minds following the victory over Temple.

Statistically-speaking, Wichita State did not struggle in any one category on Sunday. The Shockers hit .297 as a team, had a sideout percentage of 66.6, and finished with more digs (57-45) and blocks (18-9) than Temple.

“I think it’s just scratching and clawing for those extra points,” Raudsepp said. “I don’t think it was any one specific thing that we didn’t do well. We just weren’t playing like we have been.”

“It’s like in golf,” Lamb said. If you win, but don’t get a good score, then how do you feel about it?Competitors want to play well and they want to win too, but we have a group of girls here that were kind of somber and they obviously had a discussion. We’re better than this.”

It was pointed out that one cause might be that AAC teams are seeing Wichita State for the second time this season and are finding ways to muddle what the Shockers like to do.

“I think that’s going to be good for us in the postseason,” senior setter Emily Hiebert said. “It makes us have to work harder to figure out how to still win.”

Abbie Lehman finished with a match-high 15 kills on a .577 hitting percentage, while Raudsepp and Tabitha Brown combined for 18 kills. Temple’s offensive attack limited libero Giorgia Civita’s effectiveness, but the Shockers succeeded defensively with a team approach with Civita (12), Hiebert (12), Gabi Mostrom (11), and Hanna Shelton (11) all finishing within one dig of each other.

Wichita State played just a total of three points trailing in the match — all three coming early in the first set. The Shockers were either tied or in the lead for the match’s final 128 points.

“This is so hard, what these guys are doing right now,” Lamb said of Wichita State’s winning streak. “Runs are hard. Expectations are tough. You want to stop and smell the roses, too. You’ve got to have it in you to be thankful that you’re surrounded by winners and people willing to help us get wins.”

But he’s also happy that this team isn’t settling as it heads into a road swing at East Carolina (18-9, 9-5) on Friday and at Cincinnati (10-15, 8-5) next Sunday.

“For me, it keeps both hands on the wheel,” Lamb said. “I like having both hands on the wheel. I like paying attention to details.”

This story was originally published November 5, 2017 at 3:22 PM with the headline "Shockers not satisfied in their volleyball sweep of Temple."