Sunday afternoon was a good example of not overlooking the team across the net.

UAB, which is at the bottom of the American Conference standings so far this volleyball season, gave Wichita State a run for its money in Koch Arena for four sets. While the Shockers pulled out the win, 3-1, they lost the second set, and the third could’ve gone either way.

The Blazers (7-11, 0-6 American) aren’t slouches, despite what their record suggests. In a way, this was a tester for WSU (12-6, 4-2 American). 

“Their (UAB’s) schedule so far is a top-half schedule (in the conference),” WSU coach Chris Lamb said. “I’m proud to say that we had better points per game, we had a better hitting percentage, we had a better kill percentage … I mean, we won at all these fun little stats. That said, it still felt pretty dicey and close at times.”

When playing teams near or at the bottom of the league, it’d be easy to let off the gas and coast throughout a match. But against a team like UAB, no points can be taken off.

“I feel like these types of games make you better, in a sense of just finding what you’re good at and sticking with it,” sophomore libero Grace Hett said. “Sometimes it’s easy to drop down (to their level), and I think that we played our game and we played clean — we played more together.”

The Shockers led across the board in the statsheet. WSU outhit the Blazers .291-to-.206, even with 10 more attacks than them (141-to-131 total attacks). 

The Shockers also played better in serving situations, making seven aces to UAB’s two. The home team also made more assists and digs than the Blazers, beating them by margins of 58-to-42 and 58-to-48, respectively.

WSU players who have been quieter up to this point in the season made an impact as well. 

Redshirt junior middle blocker Maddie Wilson swung for 11 kills on 19 attacks, good for a .526 hitting percentage. The last time she made 11 or more kills was nearly a month ago against Villanova. Redshirt freshman Sarah Musial provided relief for junior Jordan Heatherly at the setter spot, finding a career-high 18 assists on a 45% rate.

“Fifty-eight percent kills might’ve been (Wilson’s) season-high,” Lamb said. “Sarah Musial, 45 assist percentage today. Eighteen assists on 40 attempts, I mean, that’s men’s volleyball (numbers), I would be very happy with that myself. She is getting better as a setter.”

But the Shockers’ regulars did their fair share of work. 

Junior outside hitter Sydney Dunning and senior right side hitter Brooklyn Leggett provided most of WSU’s offense, racking up 19 and 12 kills, respectively. Heatherly collected a team-high 30 assists.

Dunning made the first three kills of the game in the first set and didn’t stop there, finding five more before the opening frame was over. She made nine total in both the third and final sets. In the third set alone, Leggett made six kills, which included the final two to help WSU escape it, 25-23.

For having only 18 matches under their belts together, Dunning and Leggett have become the Shockers’ premier attackers. Dunning leads the team in kills with 243, and Leggett is not far behind in second with 208.

The duo’s tandem amounts for 49.6% of WSU’s total kills so far this season.

“I love her on and off the court,” Leggett said of Dunning. “She’s super fiery on the court, and a great person off the court. I feel like all of our team’s really close, so it kind of just is a fun time with everyone.”

Game recap

The Shockers controlled the first set the entire way after the teams were tied at five points. WSU broke open a five-point lead after the tie following a 5-0 run, 10-5. 

Later on, the Shockers’ lead crept up to eight, as they used a 9-1 run to bust open a 10-point cushion, 19-9. Dunning made four kills during it, and freshman outside hitter McKenzie Jones tacked on two of her own. Musial won the set for WSU with her second service ace, 25-14.

Jones ended the match with seven kills for a .227 hitting percentage.

“If McKenzie Jones can be (Leggett’s) little sister, and hang out around 39, 40, 41% (kills), we have something,” Lamb said. “McKenzie is talented enough, this could be an amazing career.”

Momentum switched throughout the second set, and so did UAB’s game plan. Much like a loss against Tulsa on Oct. 3, the Blazers went from a 6-2 rotation to a 5-1.

“It definitely reminded me of that,” Leggett said. “UAB is really pin heavy, and they have some strong hitters on the pins, so it kind of is different that way.”

Regardless, the Shockers couldn’t keep up with them throughout, hitting just .176 to UAB’s .324 during it. The Blazers’ junior outside hitter Jorda Crook teed off for six kills, and UAB used multiple runs of 3-0 or greater to steal it, despite a late push by WSU, 25-21.

But what the Shockers couldn’t do against Tulsa when it made the switch to a 5-1 rotation was respond. Sunday was a different story.

WSU immediately jumped out to an 8-1 advantage in the third set, backed by three kills from Leggett. The Shockers held on to their big lead until later in the set, when four straight errors cracked open the door for UAB, 22-21.

Instead of crumbling under the pressure, WSU dug deep to pull out the set win, 25-23.

“It was more of a mental game,” Hett said about the third set. “We dug into it of, like, intention — going with every point with intent. They got a couple points in a row, who cares? We’re going on a run next time. That was a big thing for us.”

Similarly to the third set, the Shockers started the final frame with a couple runs of 3-0 and 4-1 to open up an 8-3 lead. But instead of allowing the Blazers to sneak back into it, they buckled down and didn’t allow much of anything. 

UAB made just nine kills and was held to a .063 hitting percentage. Runs of 5-1 and 4-1 by WSU helped to put the game out of reach. The Shockers won the frame and match, 25-13.

“I thought our serving pressure started to help us earn points,” Lamb said. “They were scrambling a little bit, and our block was getting tighter, and by that point, we had a pretty good idea of the range. So, I think serving had a lot to do with sets three and four.”

Box score breakdown

Set wins       1   2   3   4   5

WSU              X        X   X

UAB                    X

Scorelines

S1: 25-14 (WSU)

S2: 25-21 (UAB)

S3: 25-23 (WSU)

S4: 25-13 (WSU)

Leaders

Kills — WSU: Sydney Dunning (19), Brooklyn Leggett (12), Maddie Wilson (11). UAB: Jorda Crook (17), Abby Jones (13), Mia Reese (12).

Assists — WSU: Jordan Heatherly (30), Sarah Musial (18). UAB: Annastiina Tarkkanen (37), Izabella Carter (2).

Digs — WSU: Sydney Dunning (9), Emerson Wilford (9), Grace Hett (8), Brooklyn Leggett (7). UAB: Delaney Bowser (12), Jorda Crook (10), Addyson Smock (7), Annastiina Tarkkanen (6).

Points — WSU: Sydney Dunning (21), Brooklyn Leggett (14.5), Maddie Wilson (12), Emerson Wilford (8). UAB: Jorda Crook (18.5), Abby Jones (14.5), Mia Reese (12.5), Addyson Smock (4).