The American Conference slate began for Wichita State with a road win at UAB Friday night.
The Shockers (9-4, 1-0 American) won in four sets against UAB (7-6, 0-1 American), 3-1.
Wichita State will end a brief road trip to open conference play against Memphis on Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Shockers took the first point in conference play on a kill by junior Maddie Wilson. Wilson finished the game with nine kills on a .643 kill percentage.
Wichita State made a 6-0 run in the first set to take a 13-6 lead. The Shockers’ presence at the net shook UAB off their game.
Four Shockers had a hand in at least five blocks, including Wilson, senior Brooklyn Leggett, sophomore Allie Paulsen and freshman McKenzie Jones. Jones had a career-high eight kills on the night to add some scoring punch for the Shockers, something head coach Chris Lamb said is much needed for the team.
“McKenzie Jones had something to say there,” Lamb said to ESPN+. “She hit .294 basically in her first (game). She’s played a few minutes, but 8-on-17, I’ll take hitting .294 on the night. We’re hoping that adjustment will buy us a few more points.”
Efficient offense by the Shockers made the difference in scoring against UAB early in the set, including a hit percentage that topped .700 at one point. But after being down by seven, UAB manufactured a 5-0 run to tie it up at 18.
UAB then made a 3-0 run to take the lead, 23-21. The teams swapped places from the front half, with the Shockers looking less and less confident in their system. Bad passes and serve receptions did not do any favors.
The Shockers regained their composure after Lamb called a timeout. Leggett made the final kill of the first set, closing out a 5-1 run to win, 26-24.
High-flying attacks and frenetic pace by the Blazers offense broke through Wichita State’s defense at the net in the second set. Despite the flashiness, the Shockers were never far behind, staying within two points.
“We’ve been living and dying by two-point scores,” Lamb said.
Despite sporting a .438 hitting percentage in the first set, Wichita State struggled to get their attacks off in the second set, falling to .265.
With low scoring numbers, the Shockers did not bring enough firepower and lost the frame, 25-23.
After losing the arms race in the second, Wichita State took more offensive opportunities in the third. Swinging hard and swinging often, the Shockers matched the Blazers’ fiery pace, forcing UAB to take an early timeout at 8-3.
“Sydney (Dunning) just keeps getting it done for us,” Lamb said. “Sydney and Brooklyn, we ask them to do a lot, and tonight, they were holding their own.”
No longer timid, the Shockers dominated the third set through the middle, to take a dominant 25-16 stand, holding UAB to a .243 kill percentage to the Shockers’ .436.
Much of the same can be said for the fourth set as Wichita State dominated in a 25-15 set win, taking the match. Running out of fuel, the Blazers burned out while WSU took advantage of the fatigue.
“What our preseason taught us is we might not have enough with what we were doing,” Lamb said. “It was good, but it wasn’t great, so we kind of rolled the dice for this weekend. We’re trying to find a few more points.”
Dunning made a team-high 14 kills to go with a .206 hitting percentage. Leggett followed suit with 12 of her own, while hitting .357. Five other Shockers recorded kills.
Junior Jordan Heatherly found 28 assists, a game-high, and junior Hannah Hawkins made 18.
