Wichita State volleyball kept their winning streak alive by defeating South Florida in three sets (25-21), (25-16), (25-21) on Oct. 8.
Head Coach Chris Lamb said that they have gone back to last season’s philosophy, where they were less aggressive but still had great service numbers.
“Two sweeps this weekend; sweeps are hard,” Lamb said. He said he sees improvement in their serve and pass game because if his team still struggled with this, the sweeps would not have been possible.
Sophomore libero Gabi Mass said that the team was mentally prepared to get back on their feet and lock in on passing.
In the first set, the Shockers kept the Bulls at arm’s length, but a 5-2 burst in the middle of the set allowed the Shockers to move the game to 16-11, eventually claiming the first set.
South Florida opened the set with two aces, but Wichita State came back, scoring the next three. Another 5-0 run allowed the Shockers to a comfortable 20-12 lead.
The third set saw a 18-18 deadlock, but a few service errors from South Florida allowed the Shockers to win the game.
Senior opposite Sophia Rohling led the Shockers with nine kills with four blocks. Redshirt senior Brylee Kelly and junior middle-block Natalie Foster both contributed seven kills. Senior setter Izzi Strand had 29 assists and matched Maas with 10 digs each.
Maas said that they tried to focus on the next point the whole game.
“We tried to be very confident in our abilities,” Maas said. “We are such great passers and really keeping it together on the passing line is really important … It can be a very mental game back there in the passing lane.”
Sophomore libero Katie Galligan kept up her serving game to give Wichita State two aces in the second set.
“She’s on a roll and she’s found something. It’s working for her; it’s working for us,” Lamb said. “Her results are surpassing the serving. She has made us better because she’s raised her game.”
Galligan said when she started playing volleyball, she started on the wrong foot, literally.
“I was sort of starting with the wrong foot, and I just kind of continued to step with the wrong foot, I guess,” Galligan said.
Galligan said that after coming to WSU, the team taught her an easier way to jump into her serve. Up next, Wichita State volleyball will travel to New Orleans to play two matches against Tulane on Oct. 13 at 6 p.m. and Oct. 14 at 12:30 p.m. More information on Wichita State volleyball can be found on goshockers.com.
