Volleyball out of first place for the first time since joining AAC

Evan Pflugradt, Sports Editor|September 30, 2018

Wichita State’s Tabitha Brown spikes the ball during their game against Tulane on Friday evening at Koch Arena. (Sept. 21, 2018)

Wichita State Head Coach Chris Lamb called his team “vulnerable” ahead of Saturday’s game at Tulsa.

The Shockers lost in five sets in a lengthy contest with the Golden Hurricane.

Shocker volleyball is now out of first place in the American Athletic Conference for the first time in program history. The Shockers are in a three-way tie for third place.

Selena Favela
Wichita State libero Kara Brown digs the ball during the game against Memphis.

Since joining the American Athletic Conference, WSU volleyball had not lost a conference match. WSU cruised through AAC play last season with a perfect 20-0 record. They started conference play this season by defeating Tulane and Memphis.

Tulsa is tied with Central Florida for first place, each with a 3-0 record. WSU travels to UCF next Sunday.

Lamb said ahead of Saturday’s game that “scoring was down” and that the team was not “defending at the highest level” against AAC competition.

The loss Saturday loss did not come without broken records.

WSU outlasted Tulsa in the game’s first set, rallying from six points down to win the set 41-39. The set was is the longest in program history.

Sophomore libero Giorgia Civita recorded a career-high 42 digs in the game — ranking third in school history for a five-set game.