Nine months ago, confetti covered Koch Arena’s floor after Wichita State’s volleyball team swept through the American Conference tournament.
Friday night’s season-opener was far from last November’s celebration, as the Shockers were swept on their home court against Kennesaw State (27-25), (25-23), (25-21).
“We couldn’t score tonight at all,” head coach Chris Lamb said. “The kill percentage was 27%, I’ll go back later and see how serve and pass went. We may have won the serve and pass game, but they beat us at defense, and they crushed us offensively.”
The Owls blitzed Wichita State on offense, racking up 48 kills to the Shockers’ 33. Kennesaw State’s senior Manu Johnsen and junior Olivia Burrage combined for 25 of the Owls’ kills and hit a combined .351 for the game.
“They were very busy and scored at a high rate,” Lamb said. “Even though we kept most of their team down, most of our team was very, very low.”
The Owls hit .189 for the game, but Wichita State only managed a fraction of that at .098. In 123 total attacks, the Shockers tallied 21 errors.
“It was a lack of firepower, for sure,” Lamb said. “At the level that we play, that’s a requirement.”
Lamb said that despite losing by an average of six points per set, the defensive back line during the game kept the team in most of the frames. In her return after missing all of last season with an injury, junior libero Gabi Maas tallied a game-high 19 digs, and senior libero Katie Galligan corralled eight of her own. The team made 60 total digs compared to Kennesaw State’s 55.
“It kept us in it, but you’re just playing with fire,” Lamb said about out-defending opponents. “The defensive effort and serving might have been a strength tonight, but if we don’t find points fast, it’s going to be awhile.”
Set one came down to the wire, as the teams traded the lead seven times and tied 16 times throughout. WSU ultimately allowed 19 kills and 20 points, hit .109 as a team, and despite pushing it to multiple extra points, lost the frame, 27-25.
Junior outside hitter Sydney Dunning came alive during a 6-1 run in the second set, smacking two kills to give the Shockers a 10-4 lead. The wheels stopped spinning later in the set, as multiple 4-0 Owls runs helped the away team take the lead, 17-16. WSU couldn’t hang on and lost the set, 25-23.
A 5-0 Kennesaw State run in the third set forced WSU to call a timeout, and out of it, the Shockers answered with a 5-0 run of their own to take a 9-8 lead. The set became a back-and-forth until the Owls went on a 4-0 scoring run to take a four-point lead, 20-16.
Galligan said the team had to remind themselves they can only control what they can during the timeout before the Shockers’ 5-0 run.
“The mindset right there is, you stop them now,” Galligan said. “And one point at a time, you come back. (It was) a good thing that we went on that 5-0 run, just too late in the game to let that happen.”
WSU clawed back to two points multiple times after that — 20-18, 21-19, 22-20, 23-21 — but it wasn’t enough as Kennesaw State won the set, 25-21, to seal the sweep.
“I just think that things didn’t click tonight, but it’s game one,” Galligan said. “The good news is, we have another game Sunday. It’s time to reset.”
Wichita State will get a day of rest before playing its next game on Sunday against Arkansas at 1 p.m. The Razorbacks swept WSU last season.
