How undefeated WSU volleyball is defying the odds to play great defense
Wichita State played tremendous defense over the weekend, the main reason why the Shockers opened the season with a 3-0 record and three quality RPI victories.
“We have a lot of new people passing, we have players playing new jobs for the first time, there’s just a lot going on for us right now,” WSU volleyball coach Chris Lamb said. “Defense has basically been the one constant for us through the whole thing.”
Against three 2017 NCAA Tournament teams, WSU’s defense maintained a .207 opponent hitting percentage and limited opponents to 11.1 kills per set.
These numbers are even more impressive considering WSU’s defense is accomplishing all of this essentially without a block. Believe it or not, but WSU’s defense has produced just 14 blocks through 14 sets this season, good for dead-last in the American Athletic Conference.
“It’s very concerning,” Lamb said. “I’m not disappointed at the way we’re blocking. I like what we’re doing, I’m just disappointed it’s not leading to more numbers. It’s not like this is the smallest team I’ve ever had. We’ve been less capable as blockers than what I have right now and had better numbers.”
It’s true that WSU doesn’t lack terribly in size. Middles Abby Pugh and Emma Wright and outside Alex Koon are all 6-foot-3, while rotation regulars Tabitha Brown (5-10), Megan Taflinger (6-0) and Chase Jackson (6-1) aren’t exactly short either.
The lack of blocking success (WSU has just one stuff block so far) could be a result of playing quality competition. But even then, WSU has been out-blocked 37-14 in its first three matches.
“We’ve been practicing on it a lot and I feel like we have the players to (have a good block),” Wright said. “We work a lot on making scrappy plays, but I guess it hasn’t clicked yet. The back row has been really good about that since our block has been kind of lacking.”
The pleasant surprise of the season so far has been the improved back-row defense from Brown, an honorable mention All-American outside hitter last season. The senior is second on the team in digs with 2.5 per set, while another outside, Koon, is also chipping in along with setters Kali Eaken and Jordan Roberts.
But the star for the Shockers has been libero Giorgia Civita. The sophomore from Milan, Italy, has been superb this season, as she has already twice set a career-high with 34 digs in a match and has recorded 95 digs total, which equates to nearly seven per set.
“Giorgia has had more time in the gym at a high level than most Division I players,” Lamb said. “She was basically a pipeline kid for the (Italian) national team. She’s seen ball speed her whole life. She’s a great hand-eye coordination kid and a high-IQ kid, so she can anticipate well and when you anticipate you’re that much faster and that much more ready.”
But for WSU to reach its potential this season, the block must improve.
When asked what must get better, Lamb chuckled because it reminded him of when he was an up-and-coming coach and he asked the same question to legendary Stanford coach Don Shaw.
“He said, ‘Lambo, you need two things,’” Lamb repeated. “You need to get taller and you need to get older.
“Well, everybody gets the tall part now, but it really is true that you become better blockers as you become older. Right now we’re really young. It will get better the more we play.”