Oct 06, 2022

🏐 WSU VB: Volleyball Preview: Memphis, SMU

Posted Oct 06, 2022 11:14 AM

Courtesy of the WSU Sports Information

The Shockers look to establish their position in the upper tier of the American Athletic Conference standings with a pair of home matches against Memphis and SMU.

Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+.

Track live scoring at shockerstats.com.

SCENE SETTERS:

  1. Wichita State continues their extended homestand, hosting the Memphis Tigers on Friday night at 7:00 pm and the SMU Mustangs on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 pm.
  2. Due to the relocated match against UCF this past weekend and the upcoming midweek contest against Tulsa, the Shockers will play six consecutive home matches. It's the first time Wichita State has played six in a row at home since the 1992 season, when the Shockers played two conference matches and then hosted the Shocker Volleyball Classic.
  3. Friday's match is Dig Pink in support of breast cancer awareness. Fans wearing pink receive $5 admission.
  4. Through two weekends of league play, the American Athletic Conference standings are already taking shape in a way that many predicted. Projected frontrunners UCF and Houston are tied atop the board at 4-0, while SMU, Tulsa and Wichita State each have a single AAC loss. Perhaps the biggest surprise thus far is Cincinnati, who were picked third but have struggled to a 3-11 (1-3) start).
  5. Last Friday's home opener against Temple brought 2,316 fans out to Charles Koch Arena, the most for a match since the 2019 season when 2,387 paid to see the Shockers battle #3 Texas as part of the Shocker Volleyball Classic.
  6. The Shockers went 8-5 at The Roundhouse in 2021, winning seven of their last nine matches. The Shockers own a .648 all-time home winning percentage (349-189-1), including a remarkable .757 mark (181-58) since the facility was officially named Charles Koch Arena in 2003. That winning percentage climbs to .790 in home conference matches.

LOOKING BACK:

  1. The Shockers suffered their first home loss of the season on Sunday afternoon, dropping three straight sets to #24 UCF by scores of 25-16, 25-14 and 25-16. The match was originally scheduled to be played in Orlando on Friday, but was moved due to the impact of Hurricane Ian.
  2. Wichita State scored the first point of the match on a kill from Brylee Kelly, but UCF went on to grab the next two points and then did not trail for the remainder of the afternoon.
  3. After holding two of the last three opponents to season-low hitting percentages, the Shockers struggled to slow down UCF's potent attack. The Knights hit .395 on the day, best by a Wichita State opponent this season.
  4. Brylee Kelly and Sophia Rohling each had a solid offensive afternoon, combining for 20 kills to pace the Shockers. Kelly hit .258 on a match-high 31 attempts, while Rohling hit .211 with eight kills.
  5. No individual player on either side recorded more than seven digs. Morgan Weber and Kayce Litzau each notched six for the Shockers, the lowest total for a match high this season.
  6. Freshman Emerson Wilford came off the bench midway through the second set and went on to record her first home kill in the third, tapping home a UCF overpass. It was just the second match action of the season for Wilford, who made her collegiate debut against Kansas on September 8.
  7. Sophomore Lara Uyar got her first action of the season as libero in the second set, donning the alternate black jersey and recording four digs and seven serve receptions.

WSU-MEMPHIS SERIES:

  1. The Shockers hold a 7-4 all-time advantage against the Tigers, including a 6-3 mark in American play.
  2. The series dates back to the 1976 season, just the third season of Wichita State volleyball history. The Shockers took down Memphis 15-12, 15-7 in that first meeting.
  3. Wichita State claimed both matches last season by 3-1 scores, highlighted by a victory on Senior Day in the 2021 season finale. Brylee Kelly and Natalie Foster matched one another's production in both matchups, going for 16 and 18 kills to spearhead the Shocker attack.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS:

  1. Memphis enters the week with an overall record of 12-5, including 2-2 in American Athletic Conference action. The Tigers were swept at home by UCF, won in five sets against South Florida, dropped a four-set decision at SMU, and then bested Cincinnati in four on the road in their most recent outing.
  2. The Tigers hosted three tournaments in the non-conference portion of the schedule, winning nine of ten combined matches at the Larry O. Finch Center.
  3. Memphis holds opponents to a .175 hitting percentage, the best mark in the conference. They have forced the opposition into 380 attack errors, 25 more than the next-closest team.
  4. Offensively, the Tigers are second-to-last in the conference with a .175 hitting percentage of their own. No Tigers rank in the top ten in The American in kills per set.
  5. Head coach Sean Burdette spent three seasons in the Missouri Valley Conference at Bradley (2008-10), and is now in his fifth season with the Tigers.

WSU-SMU SERIES:

  1. Wichita State and SMU have met 13 times in total dating back to the 1996 season, with the Mustangs holding a slim 7-6 advantage. SMU won the inaugural meeting, but WSU claimed non-conference wins in 2010 and 2012 prior to the Shockers joining The American in 2017.
  2. The Shockers are 4-6 against SMU since joining The American.
  3. WSU is 3-4 at home, 3-2 in Dallas, and 0-1 on a neutral floor against the Mustangs.
  4. The two teams have played three consecutive five-set matches. SMU rallied from a two-sets-to-none deficit for a five-set win in the most recent meeting on November 24.

SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS:

  1. SMU enters the week 10-6 overall, with a 3-1 mark in AAC play after a pair of four-set wins last week against Memphis and Cincinnati.
  2. Setter Celia Cullen directs a potent array of hitters, as the Mustangs are attacking at a .242 clip with the most total kills in the conference. Cullen ranks second in the AAC with 10.66 assists per set, with Natalie Perdue and Jamison Wheeler both in the top ten in kills per set.
  3. The SMU roster is littered with D1 transfers, including additions from Texas A&M, Michigan State, Baylor, Virginia, and Arkansas State.
  4. Head coach Sam Erger is in her first season in Dallas after eight seasons on the coaching staff at Baylor. Erger replaced long-time head coach Lisa Seifert, who stepped down following 27 seasons on the sideline for the Mustangs.

UP NEXT:

  1. The Shockers host their travel partner Tulsa in a midweek matchup on October 12, then hit the road for three straight contests against Cincinnati, Houston and Tulane.
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