2023 NIVC Tournament

[WuDrWu]

That number surprises me. It felt like double that at least to me in person.

i know I’ve been to matches this season with fewer butts in seats, no doubt.

[Critter's Pa]

That number surprises me. It felt like double that at least to me in person.

i know I’ve been to matches this season with fewer butts in seats, no doubt.

Lowest attendance this year was 477 against Tulsa at 1:30 on a Friday. The attendance at the Tulsa conference games was 1376 and 1371. I'm certain the time of the game is a reason for the lower number.

The 712 attendance number for the Arkansas State match seemed low. The attendance of the UMKC-Tulsa match before was 400. More than 312 people showed up when the Shockers took the floor, so I think that 400 was not added to the people that came in after the UMKC-Tulsa match. I can't account for every person, but I doubt many left. I bet the number of people in seats was closer to 1112 than 712.

I agree that the 804 announced attendance seemed low. I think that number would be improved with more advertisement of the postseason games. One of the reasons WSU is in the hunt to host games is because of attendance. 944 watched Montana State play at Wyoming. Clemson at UTEP drew 3217. We should be drawing better than 804.

[flyingMoose]

Georgia Southern 0-3 USF
22 12 24

[Critter's Pa]

USF will be playing at UTEP on Sunday the 10th at 2:30 CT.

[1972Shocker]

That number surprises me. It felt like double that at least to me in person.

i know I’ve been to matches this season with fewer butts in seats, no doubt.

I was a little surprised by that number myself. However after looking at a replay of the game and freezing the stream when shots of the crowd appeared and looking at that more deliberately I think the attendance of 804 nay be accurate.

Plus for these special events it is just a matter of counting tickets sold. Not a particularly tough thing to do.

[WuDrWu]

I'm not questioning the number at all, it's just my perception. Clearly that perception is altered by years of hearing 2k announced when only 1k+ actually were there in person. A reminder of how many people buy tickets and do not go (I am not complaining about those folks....they are important and appreciated).

It would be nice for a good crowd to support these young ladies Saturday. Their match vs Drake was a joy to watch and the team is playing very well right now.

[1972Shocker]

I'm not questioning the number at all, it's just my perception. Clearly that perception is altered by years of hearing 2k announced when only 1k+ actually were there in person. A reminder of how many people buy tickets and do not go (I am not complaining about those folks....they are important and appreciated).

It would be nice for a good crowd to support these young ladies Saturday. They match vs Drake was a joy to watch and the team is playing very well right now.

Yes it would. They deserve it. While this is not Nebraska vs Texas level volleyball it is pretty good. The Drake match was about aS competitive as you can get and very entertaining. The thing you get with teams like the Shockers and Drake is a lot of great defensive plays since you generally don't have Jordan Thompson level of elite attackers on the floor and you have to win in different ways. Plus we have all these Shocker fans bitching about the cost of MBB game tickets. The volleyball games are available for $9 bucks ($7 if your are an old fart like me).

Make it a Shocker afternoon on Saturday if you are heading to the SDSU game at IBA. Take in the Volleyball game. Plan a leisurely meal downtown or at your favorite restaurant and then head to the SDSU game.

[WuDrWu]

Speaking of good volleyball.....Texas v Tennessee last night was a fantastic battle. 3+ hours of elite level volleyball.

[Veritas]

Speaking of good volleyball.....Texas v Tennessee last night was a fantastic battle. 3+ hours of elite level volleyball.

And you watched it? All 3+ hours? Incredible testament to being a true sports fan regardless of what is playing. Unless it involves WSU, I couldn’t care less about women’s VB, SB, or track, or swimming/diving, etc. I will watch (time permitting) my favorite college FB and BB teams but that is a very small select number.
Good for you.

[JayPak]

Good luck in the NIVC final four. Go hang a banner!

[flyingMoose]

Shockers 83% v Montana State

UTEP 77% v USF


Montana State and USF were Pablo underdogs last week yet each won on the road.

[1972Shocker]

WICHITA STATE (24-8, 15-4 American)

Saturday, Dec. 9 (1:00 p.m. CT) vs. Montana State (24-8, 12-4 Big Sky)
Wichita, Kan. (Charles Koch Arena)
Live Stats // Watch

SCOUTING THE BOBCATS:

• Montana State brings an identical 24-8 record into Saturday's match, including a 12-4 mark in Big Sky play that was good for a second place tie in the regular season standings and the best conference finish in program history.
• The Bobcats had never reached the postseason prior to this year.
• The Bobcats have won 10 of their last 11 matches. The lone defeat was a five-set thriller with Weber State in the Big Sky tournament championship; Montana State led two sets to one and had a 12-8 edge in the decisive fifth set, but Weber State closed out the match with a 7-1 run to earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
• Montana State has bounced back from the heartbreaking defeat to win three straight NIVC matches away from home. Most recently, they rallied past Wyoming in five sets thanks to a tremendous performance from Kira Thomsen, who had 24 kills, 10 digs, 3 aces and 3 blocks.
• Thomsen and opposite Jourdain Kamps were each named First Team All-Big Sky. The duo has combined to score nearly 50% of the Bobcats points this season.
• The Bobcats do damage at the service line, averaging 1.69 aces per set to rank 75th nationally. They racked up seven aces on Wednesday night at Wyoming.

[1972Shocker]

RH: Lamb Built Program On Getting Points Where Many Do Not

Many volleyball teams think of the position as a middle blocker, with a heavy emphasis on the block.

"Lambo likes to consider us middle attackers," Wichita State middle Natalie Foster said.

Foster sums up a significant story in coach Chris Lamb's 24 seasons at Wichita State. When Lamb arrived, he came with a plan to take an underutilized position and produce scoring. While he couldn't recruit the physically imposing outside hitters who dominate college volleyball, he could turn average athletes into valuable scorers in the middle.

The Shocker middles are in the spotlight again as Wichita State (24-8) plays Montana State (24-8) in the semifinals of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship at 1 p.m. Saturday (ESPN+) at Koch Arena. The winner advances to play either USF (22-11) or UTEP (24-9), who play Sunday.

Wichita State advanced with a sweep of Drake in which Foster hit .522 with no errors for 12 kills and middle Morgan Stout added 14 kills and a .444 attack percentage. In a sweep of Arkansas State to open NIVC play, Stout hit .750 with no errors for nine kills and Foster contributed eight kills, also with no errors, and hit .500.

"I love the fact it creates a balanced offense," Lamb said. "You're always setting the lefts. You always can set your lefts. But I want teams to have to prepare for the fact the Shockers can get a lot of kids on the scoreboard."

This season, Foster leads WSU with 343 kills and Stout is third with 286. Foster (650) and Stout (634) rank second and third in attempts behind opposite Sophia Rohling's 783.

With that heavy usage comes a variety of sets that the Shockers also say is unusual. Strand estimates Wichita State uses at least seven plays to set the middles, while most schools use four.

"They're just always confused where it's going to be," Strand said. "We have so many different types. When I got here, I was definitely overwhelmed at how many sets we have."

[1972Shocker]

Plus we have all these Shocker fans bitching about the cost of MBB game tickets. The volleyball games are available for $9 bucks ($7 if your are an old fart like me).

Just bought my NIVC Semifinal ticket (my wife is working). They raised the price to $10 for this game with not senior option. Or at least that what it said on the select your ticket screen. However, after adding to the cart they charged $11 for the ticket and I paid the #2 fee for the mobile ticketing options. Still not a bad entertainment value in this day and age. Perhaps having it on a Saturday instead of weekday influenced this decision.

Hopefully, we have a decent crowd. However, if the Shocks beat Montana State and UTEP beats USF I would anticipate UTEP would host the championship game. UTEP has averaged 2,387 fans vs the Shocks averaging 664 over the first 3 years. UTEP tickets priced $ higher than Shocker tickets. Getting our butts kicked by a C-USA team is not a good look for the vaunted Shocker fan base. Another sign perhaps that the Shocker fan base is on the decline or simple stressed for time and money. Or maybe it's all the illegals in El Paso that's jacking up their attendance.

[1972Shocker]

Montana State has a nice following of enthusiastic fans in the house.