Wichita State volleyball leads MVC standings entering second half of season

Wichita State starts the second half of Missouri Valley Conference play with a two-game lead and evolving ideas of its best way to play.

The Shockers (16-6, 7-1 MVC) travel to Illinois State (16-6, 6-3), part of a three-way tie for second, on Friday and Indiana State (14-10, 3-6). WSU takes a five-match win streak on the road, one in which it switched to a two-setter system last weekend in wins over Bradley and Loyola.

The Shockers won with the 5-1 offense. They won with the 6-2. Coach Chris Lamb will continue to consider both.

“Our lineup switches every week, so it’s not the perfect one yet, but that’s OK because we’ll make it there,” middle Katie Reilly said.

WSU plays its next four matches on the road and won’t return to Koch Arena until Nov. 6. In addition to Illinois State, it also visits Missouri State and Southern Illinois, who are tied for fifth and equal with the second-place teams in the loss column. A good road trip puts the Shockers in a good position when they finish the regular season with four of their final six matches at home.

Lamb gave every indication of continuing to practice the 6-2 as an option to give his team more scoring punch. The rotations with McKenzie Fyfe as setter picked up late in the Loyola match and she finished with a season-high 19 assists. Emily Hiebert, who ran the offense in the 5-1, continued to score efficiently with middle Abbie Lehman in her rotation.

“It’s been good,” he said. “You can’t deny it. (Fyfe’s) half is doing just fine. Let’s remember that the Emily (Hiebert)-Abbie (Lehman) connection is the best thing going in the Valley, and that’s what Emily’s half has.”

Worth noting — Both matches will be on ESPN3.com.… The Shockers opened MVC play against these teams and defeated both 3-1 at Koch Arena. Lehman led WSU with 14 kills and seven blocks against Indiana State, its 28th straight win in the series. Reilly led WSU with 17 kills against Illinois State and Mikaela Raudsepp added 16.

This story was originally published October 22, 2015 at 2:56 PM with the headline "Wichita State volleyball leads MVC standings entering second half of season."