After a close first two sets, Wichita State volleyball closed the game out in a decisive manner against the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) with 22 kills, a career-high, by senior middle blocker Morgan Stout.
The Shockers won their second game this year against UAB, 3-1 (30-28), (24-26), (25-19), (25-20).
“28 of our … 72 points come from the middle,” head coach Chris Lamb said. “It’s hard to have middles carry your team offensively in front of the center. That takes a lot of good (for it) to happen that way.”
With the win, Wichita State improved to 12-10 overall and 7-3 in the American Athletic Conference. UAB dropped to 3-8 in AAC play.
The Blazers used three challenges within the first set, mirroring a set of challenges on Friday when Wichita State beat Memphis. The Blazers ended up winning two of those challenges.
An attack error by the Blazers tied the set at 16-16. Stout proved to be a majority of the offense for the Shockers, tallying six kills in the set.
The Blazers took set point first, 24-23, but crucial errors by the Blazers allowed the Shockers to take the lead, and junior outside hitter Emerson Wilford ended the first set with a kill.
Despite sloppy play by the Blazers, including six service errors, the Shockers had difficulty getting past the team’s blocks, committing eight attack errors in the second set.
Freshman outside hitter Gracie Morrow gave the Blazers set point on a double hit error. She tied the game on the next play with a kill, but a kill by the Blazers and a subsequent attack error by the Shockers gave UAB the set win.
The third set started with a 4-2 UAB lead. The Shockers went on a 4-0 run to make it 6-4, which was quickly answered back with a 7-0 run by the Blazers, ending with a Blazer service error to make it 11-7 UAB.
Bouncing back and forth, key contributions by junior outside hitter Brooklyn Leggett and fifth-year middle blocker Sarah Barham provided steady offense behind Stout.
“(Fifth-year setter) Izzi (Strand) told me that she found a better way to set me, and I don’t really speak setter that well,” Barham said. “But she said she figured it out. So hopefully it keeps looking the way it did today.”
A slam by Stout was the killing blow as the Shockers decisively won the set.
The fourth set started with some power from freshman libero Annalie Heliste, who aced on the first serve. The Shockers went on a 4-0 run to go up 6-1, starting with a kill by Stout and three blocks in a row, forcing the Blazers to take a timeout.
The Blazers scored a kill after the timeout as both teams traded points afterward, but the Shockers maintained at least a three-point lead throughout the set, never giving up the lead.
However, the Shockers struggled to handle the Blazers above the net when the blocks were not there, corralling hard off the back line.
The game ended with a UAB service error.
Stout hit .450 for the game. She attributed her success to her teammate, Strand.
“Izzi (Strand’s) location today was so good with us middles,” Stout said. “The outsides, I think they were kind of camping on them. So I really opened up more gaps for Sarah (Barham).”
Strand finished with a team-high 44 assists.
Wichita State volleyball’s next game is on the road as it travels to the University of Tulsa on Friday, Nov. 1 for game one of a weekend series against the Golden Hurricanes. The first serve is scheduled for 6 p.m.
