Prior to the season, Wichita State volleyball was picked to finish second in the American Athletic Conference, while the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) was predicted to end up last.
The matchup between the teams on Friday night matched what one would expect given the preseason predictions, with the Shockers winning a 3-0 sweep on the road (25-15), (25-22), (25-22).
Wichita State remained unbeaten in AAC play at 3-0 (8-7 overall) while the Blazers remained winless at 0-4 (5-10 overall). Wichita State notched its first sweep of the season, having won the two previous conference matchups in four sets.
The Shockers continued a run of solid offensive efficiency in the conference, ending with a .333 hitting percentage as a team and converting on 43% of kill attempts while holding UAB to .185 and 38% marks.
The Blazers committed 21 attack errors to the Shockers’ eight, 12 service errors to WSU’s five and three blocks to Wichita State’s nine.
Redshirt freshman outside hitter Alyssa Gonzales continued her hot streak, leading the team with 10 kills on a career-high .476 percentage. Fifth-year setter Izzi Strand was a menace defensively with five block assists — a season-high — and six digs.
The two teams traded kills in the first set with neither unable to take more than a 2-point lead. The score was tied at 14, but from there, the Shockers ran away with the set on an 11-1 run.
The second set followed a similar script at first. UAB went on a 7-1 run to take an 11-10 lead and hung around long enough to keep the score tied at 19.
Wichita State closed the set by taking three of the last four points. In the set point, senior middle blocker Morgan Stout mishit a kill attempt that found the UAB side of the net anyway. It was a bright spot in an otherwise nondescript day for Stout, ending with five kills on a .188 percentage — although she did have three service aces.
UAB took an 11-8 lead in the third set, forcing Wichita State head coach Chris Lamb to call the Shockers’ first timeout of the game. From there, the Shockers responded with a 7-3 run to take their first lead of the set, 15-14.
With Wichita State ahead 18-15, the teams had the longest rally of the night. The Shockers were in control throughout the rally, with UAB fighting off attack after attack until Strand finally landed a kill.
From there, WSU closed out the game in a workmanlike fashion, ending with a kill from junior outside hitter Brooklyn Leggett.
The Shockers will go from taking on the worst predicted AAC team to the best on Sunday afternoon when they play Rice University in Charles Koch Arena. The first serve is scheduled for 1 p.m.
