Senior volleyball player Sophia Rohling, known for her killer kills, achieved her 1,000th kill at Friday evening’s match against the University of North Texas.
The Shockers capped the personal victory with a win over the Eagles after four tense sets: (25-19, WSU), (25-23, North Texas), (25-23, WSU), (27-25, WSU).
“I think we left a lot of digs out there, but that speaks to (the Eagles) physical attacking,” Head volleyball coach Chris Lamb said. “(I’m) just proud of my team for being dipped down a couple of times and grinding our way back.”
Rohling had 18 kills and 31 attacks during the game. She said she stayed positive when her team was down.
“I think it’s good to have high energy in those stressful situations; that helps us move on,” Rohling said.
Junior middle blocker Natalie Foster had 15 kills during the game. She received a couple of overpasses that she said brought up her and the team’s confidence.
After the first set, the Shockers were able to move where they needed before the ball was on their side.
“I think we did a great job too with the scouting, knowing where attackers were going to be taking their swings, lining up those pins for sure,” Foster said.
Rohling said this was a matter of execution.
“We know what they were gonna do, and we know what we could do,” Rohling said. “It was just a matter of playing volleyball.”
Lamb is now one game away from reaching his 500th win at Wichita State, but the coach said he hasn’t been chasing “arbitrary” goals. Instead, he has been focused on rating percentage index (RPI) and putting good teams in front of his players.
“I love our RPI over the last 20 years,” Lamb said.
