In the crowded stands of Charles Koch Arena, Wichita State volleyball hosted the University of Kansas for their first home game of the season.
The Shockers lost three out of four sets (25-22), (25-19), (22-25), (25-23).
Senior hitter Sophia Rohling led the team with 14 kills, junior outside hitter Morgan Weber and junior middle blocker Natalie Foster both had 10 kills. Defensive specialist Gabi Maas led the Shockers with 18 pickups.
Head Coach Chris Lamb said he was proud of the team’s performance despite the loss. He said that being down by two sets but coming back and winning one made the game more competitive in the second half.
“That’s very comforting for me to know that my team will show up and compete for an hour, hour and a half, two hours if necessary,” Lamb said. “Every coach wishes they can say that and I can definitely say that.”
Junior middle blocker Morgan Stout said having such confidence in her outside hitters helped her play her best. She said she knew any pass she gave to Rohling would result in a definite kill against Kansas.
“Just having that comfort and knowing that your teammates, you can trust them and depend on them whenever it’s crunch time, is something that you really need on your team,” Stout said.
Stout and Rohling saw room for improvement in themselves during the loss. Stout said she wants to improve her blocking while Rohling wants to focus on improving her background ability.
“There were some moments where I was a little hesitant, not really knowing how to move, and it resulted in some errors,” Rohling said. “Feeling more comfortable back there and getting a few more backward things in, or a few good passing touches would be great.”
Lamb said, while there was room for improvement, the players did well blocking middle hits.
Stout said the Koch Arena crowd helped propel the team forward. The middle blocker said that type of crowd isn’t something college volleyball players usually get to experience.
“We had a great crowd come in and provided some awesome energy, and I think it contributed to how we played today,” Rohling said. “I am very thankful and so excited that we have the fans that we do.”
More information about Wichita State volleyball can be found at goshocker.com.
