The volleyball team was without starting opposite hitter, junior Sophia Rohling, against Tulsa due to injury; However, head coach Chris Lamb said even without Rohling’s presence at the net, the Shockers had plenty of reasons to win. 

“There was no magic dust; we just gotta fight,” Lamb said. “Compete. Fight. I think that was the key and they brought it out of us.”

The Shockers beat Tulsa 3-2 in five sets (20-25), (22-25), (25-15), (25-18) (15-12) on Oct. 12. Offensively, they had a total combined 62 kills. Sophomore middle blocker, Natalie Foster, had 21 kills on a .421 hitting percentage.

“I think we were getting a lot of balls up and Kayce [Litzau] was looking to set people she knew could get the kills,” Foster said. “I think that allowed for a lot of openings.”

Despite coming out with a win, junior libero Lily Liekweg, said they should have taken care of the first two sets that Tulsa claimed.

“It was ugly but we still came out with the dub, so it’s great to go into a weekend (match) that away, Liekweg said.

Up next, the Shockers will play at Cincinnati on Oct. 14. Lamb said a win is crucial so the Shockers can remain in the fourth place spot in the American Athletic Conference standings.

Ahead of them are Houston, UCF and SMU. Lamb said his team has what it takes to hang with the top teams in the AAC.

“I want that,” Lamb said. “Everybody knows it’s all up for grabs after those three. I want to be as close to that top as we can get, and I know we can do it.”

The Shockers will play three away matches including Cincinnati before coming back to Charles Koch Arena to play UCF on Oct. 30.