After falling behind, 2-0, against Florida Atlantic University last weekend, Wichita State volleyball has won six sets in a row.
The Shockers pulled off a reverse sweep of FAU last Sunday and completed a three-set sweep on the road at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte on Friday evening (25-22), (25-16), (25-15).
The Shockers hit .272 as a team in the win, improving to 10-9 overall on the season and 5-2 in the American Athletic Conference. The 49ers, who hit .214 and made 11 service errors, dropped to 1-6 in the AAC.
Despite a sluggish start from both teams to open the first set, Wichita State went up 10-7 after a 3-0 run that was capped off by a service ace from senior libero Annalie Heliste. Charlotte answered with a 3-0 run after coercing three Shocker attack errors to tie the game at 11.
Charlotte would eventually go up 18-16 after a 4-0 run before Wichita State head coach Chris Lamb called a timeout. The Shockers trailed 22-19 after the timeout, but a late offensive spark and a 6-0 run helped Wichita State take the set.
In the second set, redshirt freshman outside hitter Alyssa Gonzales made two early kills to cap off a 4-0 scoring run, helping the Shockers take a 6-4 lead. Wichita State went on a 6-0 run and took the largest lead by any team at that point, 13-6.
The 49ers came back within 2 points, but the Shockers went on a 4-0 run to increase their cushion to 21-15. Wichita State went on another 4-0 run, capped off by Heliste’s third service ace, to take the set.
The Shockers opened the third set with two 3-0 scoring runs to take a 6-3 lead. Wichita State later went up by 6 points, 10-4, after a 4-0 scoring run.
The Shockers maintained control and eventually opened up a 10-point, 18-8 advantage after another 3-0 scoring run. Junior outside hitter Emerson Wilford ended the set and match with a solo block.
Gonzales led all players with 13 kills and hit .440. Junior outside hitter Brooklyn Leggett and senior middle blocker Morgan Stout each made eight kills and hit .333 and .316, respectively.
Wichita State volleyball will complete its North Carolina road trip on Sunday when it travels to Greenville to play against East Carolina University. The first serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
