Wichita State volleyball vaults up seven spots to No. 9 in latest RPI

It was a weekend celebration for the Wichita State volleyball team that spilled over into Monday.

After securing the American Athletic Conference championship with its sixth and seventh sweep in a row, Wichita State extended its winning streak to 18 matches with wins over Tulsa and Southern Methodist on Friday and Sunday.

Then the Shockers received a pleasant surprised on Monday when the NCAA released its weekly RPI report that including Wichita State at No. 9, up seven spots from last week’s rankings. Wichita State is now the top-ranked team outside of a power conference, surpassing Creighton (Big East) and Cal Poly (Big West).

The move into the top-10 can only improve Wichita State’s case for being one of the 16 schools that are chosen to host the opening rounds of the NCAA tournament. The NCAA tournament selection show is this Sunday at 8 p.m. on ESPNU.

Wichita State will host a watch party that night in the Champions Club inside Koch Arena, beginning at 7:30 p.m. The Shockers will be making their 11th appearance in the NCAA tournament.

AAC honors — Wichita State senior middle blocker Abbie Lehman was named the AAC defensive player of the week after posting averages of 2.17 blocks, 1.17 digs, and 3.67 kills per set, while hitting .500.

Senior setter Emily Hiebert was named after averaging 12.67 assists, 1.17 kills, 2.67 digs, and 1.50 blocks per set, while hitting .375.

The Shockers will play at Memphis on Wednesday, then conclude their regular season on Friday at Koch Arena with a 1 p.m. match against Memphis. Wichita State’s six seniors will be honored before the match and the team’s first conference championship in the AAC will also be recognized.

This story was originally published November 20, 2017 at 1:45 PM with the headline "Wichita State volleyball vaults up seven spots to No. 9 in latest RPI."