Volleyball Preview: AAC Championship – Wichita State Athletics

WICHITA STATE (15-13, 10-6 American)

Friday, Nov. 22 (7:30 p.m. CT) vs. Tulsa (18-10, 10-6 American)
Wichita, Kansas (Charles Koch Arena)
Live Stats // Watch
 

Wichita State hosts the American Athletic Conference Championship at Charles Koch Arena beginning Friday, November 22. The #4-seeded Shockers take on #5-seed Tulsa in the opening round at 7:30 pm.

All matches of the tournament will be streamed live on ESPN+. Live stats for both matches can be found at shockerstats.com.

SCENE SETTERS:

• Postseason volleyball comes to Wichita as the Shockers host the American Athletic Conference Championship at Charles Koch Arena. The tournament begins Friday, November 22 at 11:00 am CT and concludes with the championship match on Sunday, November 24 at 12:00 pm CT.
• WSU is the #4 seed; the Shockers host #5 seeded Tulsa in the tournament’s opening round on Friday at 7:30 pm CT.
• Wichita State and Tulsa are meeting for the second consecutive year in the postseason. The Shockers defeated the Golden Hurricane 3-1 in the second round of the 2023 NIVC.
• #3-seed East Carolina takes on #6-seed Florida Atlantic in Friday’s tournament opener at 11:00 am CT. #2-seed Rice then squares off against #7-seed North Texas, who defeated the Owls in the regular season finale to reach the postseason. Regular season champion South Florida is the #1 seed and will take on #8-seed UAB at 5:00 pm, followed by the Shockers and Golden Hurricane in the nightcap.
• The conference has not held a postseason volleyball tournament since the 2020 championship season, which took place in the spring of 2021. The Shockers did not participate in the 2020 tournament or the 2019 edition; UCF won both championships.
• Wichita State placed two players on the American All-Conference First Team announced Thursday. Setter Izzi Strand and Morgan Stout, who were both Second Team honorees in 2023, each earned a spot in their final seasons with the Shockers. Stout leads all middle blockers nationally in kills per set (3.10) and ranks second at the position in points per set (3.90) hitting a team-best .316 in the process. Strand continues to pile up assists at a dizzying rate, ranking 11th nationally with 1,119 helpers entering play on Friday.

LOOKING BACK:

• Morgan Stout set a new career high with 23 kills, but Wichita State came up short against UTSA on Sunday afternoon, 25-23, 21-25, 20-25, 24-26.
• The Shockers held on to win a tightly contested first set, separating late thanks to three straight kills from Stout that gave WSU a 20-17 edge. Three more Stout kills got the Shockers to 23-21, then she fired a service ace for good measure to give WSU several chances at set point. UTSA scored twice to stay alive, but an Alicia Coppedge service error secured a 25-23 opening set win.
• The Roadrunners claimed a quick 13-7 lead in the second set but Wichita State battled all the way back to even the score at 18-18. UTSA used a decisive 3-0 run to grab control back and eventually put the set away via a kill from Caroline Krueger.
• Wichita State faced another big deficit early in the third set, but this time UTSA was able to keep the Shockers at arm’s length. The Roadrunners built an 18-12 cushion that the Shockers eventually trimmed down to four, but UTSA’s Mia Soerensen delivered one of her 21 kills to clinch the set and a 2-1 lead.
• A thrilling fourth set came down to the wire, with alternating points from 20-20 to 24-24. UTSA’s Kai Bailey gave the Roadrunners match point at 25-24, and a misfire from Alyssa Gonzales on the ensuing point nailed down a 26-24 win and the match for UTSA.
• The Roadrunners hit .275 compared to .196 for Wichita State and notched five aces to two for the Shockers. Bailey led all players with eight blocks and UTSA libero Peyton Turner had a match-high 21 digs.
• Stout led all scorers with her 23 kills, hitting .429, while Gonzales chipped in 13. Izzi Strand dished out 48 assists and Katie Galligan recorded 19 digs.

WSU-TULSA SERIES:

• The Shockers hold a 43-15 lead in the all-time series. At one point, WSU won 23 of 24 matches in the series from 1985 to 1996.
• WSU is 9-0 against the Golden Hurricane in Wichita since joining the AAC and 6-2 in Tulsa.
• The Shockers won both matches against Tulsa during the regular season, each by 3-1 margins.
• In the first meeting at Tulsa, the Shockers set a four-set season high with 15 blocks. Four different WSU players had four or more block assists, led by Morgan Stout’s six.
• In the return match in Wichita, Brooklyn Leggett poured in a career-high 22 kills and Katie Galligan had a career-best 27 digs to lift the Shockers to a 12th straight win against the Golden Hurricane.
• Wichita State’s last home loss to Tulsa came in 1980. The Shockers are 24-2 all-time against the Golden Hurricane in Wichita and have won 21 straight.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN HURRICANE:

• The Golden Hurricane bring an 18-10 overall record to Wichita, including a 10-6 mark in American Athletic Conference play. Tulsa has won three of their last four matches following the consecutive losses to Wichita State on November 1 and 3.
• Tulsa is looking for their first win at the American Athletic Conference Championship. The Golden Hurricane qualified for the 2019 competition but fell 3-1 to eventual champion UCF in the opening round. Tulsa’s last conference tournament championship came in 2012 as members of Conference USA.
• The Golden Hurricane are one of the surprises in the conference after they were picked 10th in the AAC Preseason Poll. Tulsa was faced with the loss of three-time First Team All-Conference outside hitter Kayley Cassaday, who finished her career with 1,913 kills to rank second on the Tulsa career leaderboard.
• Senior libero Marta Pecalli spearheads an excellent defensive unit. The Italian passed 2,000 career digs  earlier this season and was named the AAC Libero of the Year on Thursday. As a whole, the Golden Hurricane rank 20th nationally in digs per set (17.01), while Pecalli is 31st individually (4.83).
• Tulsa’s balanced offense is led by Southern Illinois transfer Tatum Tornatta (3.26 points per set, .209 hitting percentage).
• Head coach Lauren Ramatowski is in her second season with the Golden Hurricane, coming off an 18-15 debut campaign. A Kansas State alum, Ramatowski spent one season at her alma mater as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator before taking over the reins at Tulsa. She coached previously at Arkansas, Washburn, Houston Christian, UTRGV and Truman State.

UP NEXT:

• The Shockers either advance to meet the winner of the South Florida-UAB match or conclude the 2024 season.