Wichita State volleyball looks to start new winning streak at home this weekend
The Wichita State volleyball team will look to build another winning streak with its latest home swing at Koch Arena when the Shockers host Houston at 7 p.m. Friday and Tulane at noon Sunday.
WSU (14-7, 8-4 AAC) has shot to third in the American Athletic Conference standings thanks to a recent eight-match winning streak that came to an end this past weekend in a three-set loss to first-place Central Florida on the road.
The Shockers will have a chance to move into a tie for second place with a victory over Houston (19-5, 9-3 AAC) on Friday, as WSU will have a chance at redemption after falling to the Cougars in three sets at the start of conference play.
A key player to continue WSU’s recent strong play will be Natalie Foster, the 6-foot-4 freshman middle blocker who has thrived in an expanded role as the team has faced several injuries at her position. During WSU’s eight-match winning streak, Foster delivered 100 kills (3.03 per set) with a .399 hitting percentage.
Foster plays the “M2” position for WSU, which is the team’s second middle blocker away from the setter in the 5-1 offense, a role that typically goes overlooked for most teams. But WSU coach Chris Lamb has a history of turning those players into stars with Foster poised to be the next in line.
“Most coaches run their offenses where that position gets the least amount of work, but we’ve had girls like Sarah McGee and Abbie Lehman who have led our team in attempts,” Lamb said on his radio show. “Natalie Foster is starting to ratchet herself up there. If you write down all of her M2 responsibilities on a piece of paper, tell me who’s doing more in our conference right now than Natalie Foster?”
A four-set loss to Tulane started WSU’s 0-3 mark in conference play and the Shockers will have another chance to redeem one of their losses when the Green Wave (14-10, 7-5 AAC) come to Koch Arena on Sunday.
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