Floyd sparks Wichita State off the bench in win over Northern Illinois

Wichita State senior MaryAshton Floyd, an All-Missouri Valley Conference pick last season, played a minor role in the first two tournament weekends.

Minor enough that Northern Illinois coach Ray Gooden didn’t talk about her in the scouting report.

“Not at all,” Gooden said. “I don’t think she’s played the whole damn year. But she came out and did some good stuff. Lambo’s got 100 kids and they can all play.”

Lambo’s kids proved that again on Thursday in a 3-1 (24-26, 25-23, 25-16, 25-17) win over Northern Illinois in the Shocker Volleyball Classic at Koch Arena. Surviving a stumbling start, WSU’s depth, versatility and quickness overwhelmed the Huskies (3-4). After committing eight attack errors in the first set, WSU committed 11 the rest of the way, one in the third set.

With a 2-0 Thursday, the Shockers (5-3) can take restored confidence into Friday’s match against No. 21 Kentucky. On Saturday, they play Texas State and No. 7 Illinois.

“It’s a good feeling to have momentum rolling into the next couple games,” Floyd said.

Floyd and Jenny Whitledge gave the Shockers scoring to supplement middles Katie Reilly and Abbie Lehman.

Floyd, who didn’t play in the first set, came off the bench late in the second and finished with 11 kills and a .229 attack percentage. Whitledge also broke out in the second set with four kills on her way to a superb all-around night. She finished with a career-high 16 kills and a career-high 19 digs. Her .500 attack percentage — one error on 30 swings — reflected a series of smart decisions alternating between powerful swings and well-placed tips.

“You can’t do more,” WSU coach Chris Lamb said. “She’s passing. She’s digging. She’s hitting. She picked great spots as a blocker.”

Floyd entered with the second set tied 20-all and scored WSU’s next two points, one on a rocket that slammed into the body of defenseless Gonzalez. She added three kills in the third and six in the fourth. After one in the fourth, Lamb yelled “Masher” and pumped his fist to a smiling assistant coach Sean Carter.

“Some of the ways they played defense sort of set up for Masher,” Lamb said. “If Emily (Hiebert) could locate, Masher could get a few.”

Floyd is used to the role of super-sub from past seasons and she could tell Northern Illinois’ blocking schemes might give up some of her favorite shots. She hurt the Huskies down the line and, when they adjusted, tipped balls over the blockers.

“I try to visualize myself each time we’re going to play and what exactly I would do if I was in,” she said. “It was set up really nicely for me.”

The first-set errors ruined WSU’s offensive efforts even though it registered three more kills than the Huskies. The Shockers cleaned up their attack and blocking errors and controlled most of the remaining three sets.

“The turn of the match was in serve-and-pass,” Lamb said. “We were already doing the scoring. All of sudden, I thought serve-and-pass started to go in our direction. Eventually, it started to add up.”

Wichita State swept South Dakota State (25-9, 25-9, 25-22) on Thursday afternoon.

Lehman recorded 11 kills with a .647 attack percentage. Reilly and Shimen Fayad each added six kills. Hiebert had 33 assists and 10 digs. Fayad led WSU with 19 digs and had four service aces. WSU dominated the first set with seven service aces, three by Fayad. It hit .611 in the second set, recording 11 kills on 18 swings without an error.

South Dakota State (1-9) hit negative-.083 in the first set and negative-.067 in the second, totaling nine kills and 14 errors.

This story was originally published September 10, 2015 at 3:53 PM with the headline "Floyd sparks Wichita State off the bench in win over Northern Illinois."