Wichita State volleyball team relies on defense in win over USF to snap losing streak
The Wichita State volleyball team saw the potential of their defensive block this past weekend, as the Shockers snapped a five-match losing streak with a three-set sweep (25-17, 25-18, 25-17) of South Florida on Sunday at Koch Arena.
Flashes of defensive brilliance have been there throughout the season for WSU, but its youth and revolving rotation — due to injuries and COVID-19 protocol — have led to an up-and-down season to date.
On Sunday, WSU (7-6, 1-3 AAC) won its first American Athletic Conference match with one of its best defensive efforts of the season. Not only did the Shockers register nine blocks, but they also limited South Florida (6-9, 0-4 AAC) to a team .044 hitting percentage and forced 22 hitting errors.
“It starts with the block for us,” WSU coach Chris Lamb said earlier this season. “We’ve got to get it more organized. Moving two or three feet in the front row might equate to eight or nine feet in the back row. Our blockers need to help with the geometry there. We’ve got room to grow for sure, but the effort in the back row and the pursuit are very encouraging.”
WSU’s front line did exactly that against USF, as 6-foot-4 freshman middle Natalie Foster (three blocks), 6-3 freshman right side Sophie Childs (2½ blocks) and 6-2 sophomore outside Brylee Kelly (1½ blocks) were all factors at the net.
Since opposing hitters were so concerned about trying to hit around WSU’s block, back-row players like freshman Morgan Weber (11 digs), sophomore libero Lily Liekweg (10 digs) and senior Bryn Stansberry (6 digs) were able to keep balls up.
The offense ran smoothly through sophomore setter Kayce Litzau, who doled out 35 assists and led WSU to a .333 team hitting percentage. Childs led all attackers with 10 kills on a .444 hitting percentage, while Foster registered nine kills on a .412 hitting percentage and Kelly had nine kills from the outside.
“We have everything we need,” Kelly said. “We have the passing. We have the setters. We have the big offense. It just comes down to execution for us. We are still making errors we shouldn’t. Once we clean that up, I think we’re going to be hard to stop.”
It was a much-needed confidence boost after WSU allowed a 2-1 lead to slip away against Central Florida on Friday in a five-set loss (25-20, 21-25, 21-25, 25-12, 15-12).
WSU finished with just four blocks in five sets against UCF, although Liekweg (game-high 23 digs) did her best to keep balls alive for the Shockers.
Kelly was excellent on the outside for WSU, finishing with a team-high 18 kills on a .359 hitting percentage. Weber rose to the occasion in her first extended action and delivered a career-high 14 kills, while sophomore opposite Sophia Rohling and freshman middle Morgan Stout each had nine kills.
WSU will look to form a winning streak with a road swing this coming week, as the Shockers will play at Memphis (8-8, 1-3 AAC) at 6 p.m. Friday and at SMU (7-7, 3-1 AAC) at 1 p.m. Sunday. Both matches will be available to watch on streaming via ESPN+.
Hutchinson native wins second cross country title — Wichita State senior cross country runner Yazmine Wright collected her second individual title of the season this past weekend, taking first place at the Gans Creek Invitational in Columbia, Mo.
In her first 6-kilometer race of the season, Wright clocked a personal-best time of 20 minutes, 53.90 seconds to win the race by seven seconds.
“During the race I was making sure she was being patient because she has the tendency to get too aggressive early,” WSU coach Kirk Hunter told GoShockers.com. “I kept telling her to wait because you could tell she wanted to take off after the first kilometer.”
The WSU women’s team finished seventh in a 16-team field, as the other finishers were Danielle Rinn (22:03), Abeba Sullivan (22:17), Lubna Suied (22:48), Jenna Muma (22:49), McKenna Paintin (23:08), Erin Topham (23:43) and Anna Keller (24:54).
Following a team victory the week before, the WSU men’s team pulled out an impressive second-place finish in a strong, 16-team field. Jed Helker (24:12.70, eighth) notched his second top-10 finish of the year in the 8-kilometer race, followed by Adam Moore (24:24, 14th), Clayton Duchtschek (24:26, 16th), Shadrack Chumba (24:38, 25th) and Bryce Merriman (24:38, 26th).
“At the 4K mark, they were easily starting to move up and pick people off,” Hunter told GoShockers.com. “I’m extremely happy with how they’re performing as a team. Those five guys, especially, pulled it off for us and earned us a second-place trophy.”
Wichita State will return to action on Friday, Oct. 15 at the Bradley Pink Classic in Peoria, Ill.
WSU softball team beats KU in exhibition — The Wichita State softball team continued its tear this fall with a 5-1 victory over Kansas on Sept. 25 in the team’s third fall exhibition game at Wilkins Stadium.
Senior pitcher Erin McDonald was the highlight of the game, striking out seven KU hitters in three innings of relief work. Senior starter Caitlin Bingham notched a solid outing by keeping KU off the scoreboard in her three innings of work, while a trio of freshmen — Jordyn Pipkin, Alison Cooper and Kenzie Schopfer — all received work in the circle.
The offense was highlighted by a Lauren Lucas home run for the second straight game, while Zoe Jones, Lauren Mills and Bailey Urban all delivered runs home in the game.
Wichita State has three games this coming week, as the Shockers will host Seminole State at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Central Oklahoma at 6:30 p.m. Friday and Emporia State at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Women’s golfer notches another top-10 showing — Senior Louisa Brunt registered her second top-10 finish of the season for the WSU women’s golf team after firing a 2-under, 52-hole total of 214 to finish seventh at the Johnie Imes Invitational in Columbia, Mo.
The Shockers finished in a tie for fifth place with a season-best team score of 891, boosted by a strong showing from Derby native Kenni Henson, who finished 22nd with a score of 222. Other WSU scorers included Mar Vidal (225), Megan Lucas (230) and Madison Slayton (244).
The WSU women will play again at the Ozarks National Invitational from Oct. 18-20, while the WSU men’s golf team is in action Monday and Tuesday this week at the Paintbrush Invitational in Parker, Colo.
Men’s tennis duo off to strong start in fall — A pair of Shockers finished unbeaten in singles play, as the WSU men’s tennis team continued with its fall season this past weekend at the Mississippi State Invitational.
Luka Mrsic and Ray Lo, both sophomores, finished the weekend with a 3-0 record in singles, both defeating opponents from Alabama, Michigan and Tulane without dropping a set.
WSU is back in action starting Friday, Oct. 15 for the first day of the Bulldog Cup in Des Moines, Iowa.
Baseball scrimmage against Nebraska canceled — The marquee fall exhibition game for the Wichita State baseball game was nixed last week due to COVID-19 protocols. The game, originally scheduled in Lincoln this past Saturday, will not be rescheduled.
The Shockers will conclude their fall season with the annual Black and Yellow World Series, which begins with Game 1 this Saturday at 1 p.m. WSU will also play games on Monday, Tuesday and Friday next week with times still to be determined, while the series will conclude next Saturday at 1 p.m. at Eck Stadium.
This story was originally published October 4, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
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