MaryAshton Floyd settles in for WSU volleyball

Two weeks ago, Wichita State volleyball players declared the Shockers weren’t going to lose another home match.

That was an easy statement to make facing Indiana State the next night. It looks a little bolder when Northern Iowa is the opponent. The Shockers (9-5, 3-1 Missouri Valley Conference) will try to snap a five-match losing streak at Koch Arena against the Panthers (8-6, 3-0) on Friday.

WSU opened MVC play with a 3-0 loss to Illinois State at home on Sept. 19. They rebounded to sweep Indiana State and did the same on the road against Bradley and Loyola. The pledge to defend Koch Arena gets its toughest test against UNI, which has won 11 of the past 13 matches against the Shockers.

“This is our home,” junior middle blocker Katie Reilly said. “We were taking pride in saying ‘No, this is our court.’ Obviously, I can’t predict we’re never going to play bad here, but it was more about having a sense of pride and not a letting a team come in here and thinking they can show us up.”

With a three-match win streak, the Shockers are feeling better about themselves and their ability to play with a sense of urgency from the start. The win streak coincided with junior MaryAshton Floyd’s resurgence at outside hitter. In the past three matches, Floyd is hitting .377 while averaging 3.12 kills and 1.38 digs a set. Against Indiana State, she set a career-high with a .467 attack percentage and matched it against Bradley. She played all six rotations against Loyola and matched her career high with nine digs.

“I feel much more comfortable when I stay in six rotations,” she said. “It helps me get more of a flow and a comfort. I like hitting out of the back row, and it opened up more scoring opportunities for me.”

Floyd provided several good moments during her first two seasons, but didn’t earn a regular spot in the rotation. This season, more consistent playing time is helping her confidence and production. Her ability to take good swings during rallies and scrambles, when sets aren’t perfect, is keeping her on the floor. She is also going back to her favorite shot, directing the ball off the blocker’s outside hand for a point.

“I’ve been working more on my high cross-court shot,” she said. “I’ve been able to score high off the hands. I’ve been mixing up my shots short and deep, not just roll-shotting to not make an error, but doing it to score.”

Floyd’s aggressiveness and shot selection when the play breaks down and her setter is on the run helped WSU hit a season-high .353 against Bradley.

“She’s taking big swings and not being afraid to make an error,” Reilly said. “She’s been doing a great job of getting her feet under the ball and swinging high, good technique, but also at a rate that can score and not just to get it in.”

Coach Chris Lamb isn’t surprised by Floyd’s production. As a freshman and sophomore but she often showed flashes of potential. With other options on the left, Lamb didn’t have to let her play through ups and downs

“I think we’ve known for a while that if Masher could ever get in there and own it, that life would get easier,” Lamb said. “We would give her chances and she wouldn’t be successful and we’d made quick switches. I know if that we would have ever just left her in she would have been much more comfortable.”

In her third season, Floyd, from Fort Worth, is experienced enough to hold her spot. She is playing the best defense of her career and doing more vocally to get the Shockers organized.

“We get to give her exactly what she wants and needs, which is ‘You’re in,’” Lamb said. “In less-than-perfect situations, she’s playing more aggressively. She’s learned how to change her routes. She’s learned how to see more. She’s learned how to wait. It all gets easier.”

Worth noting — Northern Iowa leads the MVC in digs at 17.75 a set and ranks sixth nationally.… Sophomore middle Autumn Alitz compiled a .571 attack percentage with 22 kills in a sweep of Drake and a 3-2 loss to Iowa State. She had a career-high 12 kills and seven blocks against the Cyclones,… Reilly ranks fourth in the MVC with a .347 attack percentage,… WSU plays host to Drake (9-5, 1-2) on Saturday. The Shockers own a 27-match win streak over the Bulldogs.

This story was originally published October 2, 2014 at 7:11 PM with the headline "MaryAshton Floyd settles in for WSU volleyball."