Wichita State setter Emily Hiebert attracts the right kind of attention (+video)

Volleyball setters draw attention doing their job, which requires them to raise their hands and focus the crowd’s eyes on the ball. Watch Wichita State’s Emily Hiebert in practice, coach Chris Lamb says, and you won’t see her raise her hands at any other time.

Waving arms attracts attention and Hiebert prefers to work within the team, dedicated to making others look good while rarely standing out. A year ago, she took a personality test, as did all the Shockers. Lamb said she scored higher on the teamwork and competitiveness scales than anyone else measured by the company, which specializes in working with athletic teams.

“What we learned is that she is an extremely selfless human being, measurably less selfish than probably anybody that you know,” Lamb said. “She’s got Mother Teresa kind of selflessness. The feedback was that this person is all about others.”

As Wichita State’s season begins on Friday against Oregon State in the Rainbow Wahine Invitational, Hiebert’s play will grab more of the spotlight as she improves into more of a scoring threat. Her leadership will grow in her second season as a starter and her third at WSU. This will happen whether she likes it or not, because setters attract that kind of attention.

She knows she needs to find the right spots to speak, even if it means correcting a teammate. While she excels at leading by example, her voice is crucial to push her teammates.

“They’ve always tried to get me to be more vocal and more of a leader, even back in high school,” she said. “I feel like I’ve become more comfortable with all the girls and feel like they’re not going to get mad if I tell them to do something.”

Last season, as a redshirt freshman, Hiebert shouldered all problems with timing, routes and positioning. Most setters do. They see it as their job to boost the confidence of their teammates in almost all situations. Hiebert, this season, continues to wear that role. She is also picking the right spots to hold teammates accountable.

“She took responsibility for everything, and that has not changed,” sophomore attacker Mikaela Raudsepp said. “But she also does demand more out of her players. She is still willing to say ‘How can I fix that, how can I help you get better?’ But it’s not always ‘My fault, my fault, my fault.’ She understands that it’s not always her fault. We’re all a team.”

Lamb doesn’t force leadership roles on players. He does realize that setter, like quarterback or point guard, comes with expectations. Hiebert is more confident and more vocal this season and he is pleased with her willingness to tackle tough situations. When a teammate takes a bad route or an ill-advised swing, sometimes responsibility is shared.

“Every now and then she does bark something and it does get your attention,” Lamb said. “I feel Emily got better at understanding how hot the kitchen gets. She learned how to be in there and how to find comfort.”

The Shockers, with 13 freshmen, went 20-10 and 13-5 in the Missouri Valley Conference last season, snapping a streak of seven straight NCAA Tournament appearances. Hiebert is directing a more experienced team this season, one picked first in the MVC and one that expects to return to the NCAAs. All-MVC middle Abbie Lehman and outside hitter MaryAshton Floyd are back. They join senior middle Katie Reilly, sophomore outside hitters Jenny Whitledge and Raudsepp and junior libero Dani Mostrom as an experienced core. Junior outside hitter Jody Larson, a transfer from Oklahoma, will play all six rotations.

“We’re a year more mature,” Lehman said. “Every pratice is competitive and every one is trying to work hard for a spot on the floor.”

Hiebert’s experience means she relies less on coaches to diagnose situations. Her chemistry with Lehman, a teammate at Newton, will produce a faster tempo for WSU’s quick-hitting attacks in the middle. Last season, Lehman led the Shockers with 270 kills and hit .382 on her way to honorable mention All-American honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

“People are getting a lot more confident and comfortable with all our systems and just playing,” Hiebert said. “Our offense has been quicker. I don’t have to look to the bench all the time to see if it’s OK or if that’s the right play to run.”

Hiebert, if Lamb’s predictions are correct, will also attract more attention with more aggressive scoring and stronger blocking and more far-ranging defense. With her leading by example and with her voice, Lamb is confident the Shockers will return to NCAA play. A tough non-conference schedule, which starts with matches against Oregon State and Hawaii this weekend, will help.

“This volleyball team is as capable as doing high-level volleyball things as any team we’ve had,” he said. “Based on my measures, this team does things at a really high level for Wichita State volleyball.”

This story was originally published August 27, 2015 at 4:45 PM with the headline "Wichita State setter Emily Hiebert attracts the right kind of attention (+video)."