Wichita State volleyball avoided its first three-game conference losing streak since 2021 in miraculous fashion on Sunday afternoon in Charles Koch Arena.
Florida Atlantic University went up 2-0 in the game, but Wichita State completed the reverse sweep, winning 3-2 (19-25), (20-25), (25-14), (25-13), (16-14).
“I think Sunday matches are hard in this conference,” WSU head coach Chris Lamb said. “We had an emotional loss the other night, and just so proud to have the fortitude, as coaches say, to put together a reverse sweep. Hard to do.”
Wichita State went back to .500 overall at 9-9 with the win and improved to 4-2 in the American Athletic Conference. The Owls dropped to 10-8 overall and 2-4 in the AAC.
FAU took an early 5-1 lead over the Shockers in set one. The Shockers and Owls traded points back and forth to a 19-15 FAU score by WSU’s first timeout, a lead that FAU would not relinquish.
Service errors by the Owls gave the Shockers many of their points for the first set. Wichita State committed 10 attack errors in the first set for the second consecutive game after not reaching the number in a single set over the first 16 games of the season.
“Just sloppy, and they’re (FAU) going to let us do it,” Lamb said about the errors.
WSU played a cleaner second set as the teams moved into gridlock. Both teams struggled to get away from each other until the Owls scored four straight points to close out the second set.
Down 2-0 in the game, the Shockers made a dominant showing in the third set, including seven kills courtesy of redshirt freshman outside hitter Alyssa Gonzales. Gonzales led Wichita State with 19 total kills for the game.
“I just get so locked into the game that I don’t even pay attention to the numbers,” Gonzales said.
The third set began with a 5-0 run for the Shockers. Freshman outside hitter Nadia Wasilewski helped the Wichita State victory with four kills off the bench, including the set-ending kill.
Still facing elimination in the fourth set, Wichita State began with a menacing 4-10 deficit against the Owls. The Shockers managed to reel it back with a series of errors by the Owls to cut the gap to 11-9.
Senior middle blocker Morgan Stout would prove to be the WSU’s savior with a six-kill outing in the fourth set, including four straight to make the score 20-19, FAU.
“Gonzo (Gonzales) kept us in it, and then Morgan found a groove and made it very hard for them to keep up with us,” Lamb said.
Wichita State took its first lead of the set on the final point of the set, winning the final four points to pull off the comeback set victory.
The final set was close as no team had a lead by more than two points. Junior outside hitter Emerson Wilford came alive late in the set with three kills to send it to match point.
Stout finished the game with a kill to complete the reverse sweep, rebounding from a sloppy start.
“I kinda beat myself out a little bit if I’m not performing the way I want,” Stout said. “So going from that four-error streak to being one of the people that helps us win that third or fourth set is really complimenting to know. But (I) just want to be that person for my team that people can depend on.”
Stout ended the game with 15 kills, second on the team, and four blocks. Fifth-year setter Izzi Strand recorded 55 assists, a season-high and 16 digs.
The Shockers will look for another conference win on Friday, Oct. 18, when they travel to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The first serve is scheduled for 5 p.m.
