With the volleyball schedule officially set in stone, anticipation for the season to kick off grows, as head coach Chris Lamb’s Shockers are ready to enter into another year after being picked first in the MVC Preseason Coaches Poll.

While basketball may get more attention nowadays, the volleyball program has consistently been Wichita State’s bread and butter when it comes to winning.

Last year, for the seventh year in a row, the team made it to the NCAA Tournament. This year should be no different as the team comes off an MVC title and astounding win-loss record of 28-7.

There will be nine home matches played at Charles Koch Arena this season. While they are all conference games, they will be no less exciting as the young team — lead by one senior and four juniors — takes the court against Illinois State at 7 p.m. on Sept. 15.

Despite the exciting schedule, some fans were hoping to see WSU compete against other volleyball powerhouses that aren’t in the MVC.

“Obviously, this isn’t the home schedule that fans would have wanted,” Lamb said. “There is a reason for it.”

Because WSU is considered a mid-major college, it becomes an art form when coaches have to start scheduling games in order for the RPI to be good enough to make it to the NCAA tournament.

“Every time you put yourself out there for a non-conference match, you are putting yourself in a position to raise or lower your RPI,” Lamb said. “To play lesser teams and beat them lowers your RPI. You need a combination of a tough schedule and a win.”

To help the volleyball team through this year’s road schedule of big name schools like Baylor, Virginia Tech and Pepperdine, a new assistant coach has been brought into the mix to replace Jeff Sanders, who had been with the team for 10 years.

In the coaching transition, Lamb moved up assistant coach Matt Hoffman, who previously coached Stanford for two years. During this time, he contributed to the team’s three NCAA appearances, two elite eight appearances, and two conference championships.

With Hoffman as Sanders’ replacement, Sean Carter from Santa Clarita, Calif., has been added to WSU’s coaching staff, and will hopefully aid in another successful year for the Shockers.