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**dregn** · June 14, 2007, 09:59 PM

wow, now that's a great schedule...should be a fun and interesting year. I'm excited for my first year as a season ticket holder. Hopefully I can convince some of my new co-workers to head to the games also. Think I'm going to take a page from 72's book and buy several tickets and give some away each game to try and create new fans. To bad I just started a new job or I'd have to consider a trip to Hawaii.

**rrshock** · June 14, 2007, 10:09 PM

Re: Mark Your Calendars Now!

Originally posted by 1972Shocker

I've said it before and I'll say it again--if you have never been to a Shocker VB match than you are really missing out on a lot of fun, entertainment and Shocker excellence.

:posterwu: :goshocks: :posterwsu:

But the most important thing you left off your list would be the SCENERY!!!! Very, very nice.

VB games are great to get to. I wish I had seen more than I have. I will try to get out there this year sometime. A schedule like this could propel a team into the top 25 very quickly.

Also, how are the teams like DePaul, Denver and Auburn?

**rrshock** · June 14, 2007, 10:13 PM

Here's the direct link. It didn't work for me.

Volleyball

http://www.goshockers.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7500&KEY=&SPID=2838&SPSID=61209

The official Volleyball page for the Wichita State Shockers

**SpanglerFan316** · June 14, 2007, 11:57 PM

I have not yet received my renewal form for VB season tickets. How about you?

**1972Shocker** · June 15, 2007, 10:26 AM

Originally posted by SpanglerFan316

I have not yet received my renewal form for VB season tickets. How about you?

Nope, not yet!

**1972Shocker** · June 15, 2007, 11:02 AM

Re: Mark Your Calendars Now!

Originally posted by rrshock

Also, how are the teams like DePaul, Denver and Auburn?

Depaul looks to be the weakest among this group. They were 5-25 last year and graduated 3 seniors from a roster of only 9 players.

Auburn was 13-18 overall and 5-15 in the SEC. Their non-con schedule was a mixed bag but I did not see any impressive victories. They graduated their two tallest players, a 6'3" middle and a 6'2' outside.

Denver was 19-12 last year, 12-6 (2nd) in the West Division of the Sun Belt Conference. They graduated only one senior.

I would think that the Shockers would be the solid favorite to win this Tournament at Denver.

**1972Shocker** · June 15, 2007, 11:52 AM

The strength of the Shockers 2007 non-con schedule is Cal Poly and K-State in the Shocker Volleyball Classic, the Hawaii Tournament and perhaps ORU.

Cal Poly was 23-6 last year and lost to Cal in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament. They had wins over UNLV, Hawaii, Oregon State, ORU, Texas and Hawaii. They played a very good schedule including losses to #1 Nebraska, Pepperdine and Minnesota. They graduated 2 seniors, their 5th best hitter and a seldom used backup setter. Cal Poly will be very strong and perhaps the favorite to win the Shocker Classic.

K-State struggled in a good Big XII conference last year. However, the did defeat WSU in a close match at Manhattan early in the year. They were a young team last year and despite a poor Big XII record, they were competitive in most of their matches. I expect K-State to be a very tough match.

Obviously, the Hawaii Tourmanment provides a tough challenge for the Shocks, especially when they play Hawaii in front of 7,000+ fans.

Last year #11 Hawaii lost to #4 UCLA in the regional finals.

Santa Clara was 20-8 last year and lost to Missouri in 3 competitive games in the 1st round of the NCAA Tournament. However, Santa Clara did graduate 3 key players. A 6'4" MB who was their leading blocker and 2nd leading hitter, thire starting Setter and their starting Libero. However, California teams are generally able to reload, so I expect Santa Clara to be a strong opponent.

ORU in Tulsa on October 16th will also be a tough match. The Shocks lost to ORU at home last year 3-1, although Abby Harsh was unable to play that night and it was the 1st start ever for Kayla Stout.

Also ORU did graduate 5 Seniors including their Top 3 attackers and about 70% of their 2006 kills.

**1stThings1st** · June 20, 2007, 10:04 PM

The teams in our tournament (WSU, Cal Poly, K-State) are excellent volleyball teams which are consistantly in the top 30. I hope the fans support this tournament the way the baseball and basketball fans have. It is our chance to see volleyball played at the highest level in the country. Lets hope the U markets this tournament and we average 5,000 fans - It can happen.

**1972Shocker** · June 21, 2007, 05:05 PM

Originally posted by 1stThings1st

The teams in our tournament (WSU, Cal Poly, K-State) are excellent volleyball teams which are consistantly in the top 30. I hope the fans support this tournament the way the baseball and basketball fans have. It is our chance to see volleyball played at the highest level in the country. Lets hope the U markets this tournament and we average 5,000 fans - It can happen.

I agree, it can happen. Furthermore, it should happen. The BIG QUESTION is will it happen.

Obviously, Men's Basketball is the king of sports at WSU and rightly so. Baseball is a solid second. The majority of these fans have shown little inclination to support less visible programs in general or women's sports in particular. Nothing particularly unusual about that. Most of us have limits on what we can do financially and have a lot of choices to pick from.

Volleyball has shown tremendous growth over the last 5 years. However, there are still probably only about 2,000 hardcore WSU Volleyball fans. This really isn't too bad as we have been in the Top 15 in attendance the last couple of years.

Whether we can grow much from these levels remains uncertain. You have the fact that it is a women's sport at WSU and therefore of little interest to a fairly significant group of fans. The scheduling is kind of screwy, because of the Sports' need to minimize travelling costs (at least in the MVC). In addition, VB tends to compete locally with high school football and regionally and nationally with college football on the tube with most matches scheduled on Friday and Saturdays.

The casual sports fan will see Cal Poly on the schedule and give a great big yawn or maybe even a laugh, despite the fact that Cal Poly is a very strong Volleyball program.

K-State should draw a record crowd, especially considering we could draw a significant number of K-State fans. I will be dissappointed if we don't break the 5,000 attendance barrier for this match.

I continue to hold out hope that we will continue to add significant numbers of VB fans from our Men's Basketball and Baseball fan base, but realistically I think this might require a team hosting and winning a regional championship and getting into the Sweet 16 of the NCAA VB Tournament.

How the University of Hawaii has managed to attract average crowds for women's VB in excess of 7,000 per match is quite amazing. I think that is probably well beyond our reach at WSU.

It would be a great achievement if we could boost our average attendance into the 3,000 per game area. I think that's possible over the
next 5 years if Chris Lamb can keep things cranking at a nationally competitive level.

:goshocks:

**rrshock** · June 21, 2007, 06:50 PM

15th in the country is something in it's own. Can't complain much about that. No one is going to pass Hawaii in this category. Marketing does need to be done though. They really don't need to market Men's bball, as it markets itself pretty easily. Baseball needs some, but still it does market itself to an extent too. Money does need to be put into marketing VB and WBB at WSU. A higher attendance can only help with recruiting and actually winning too.

**WstateU** · June 21, 2007, 07:11 PM

Originally posted by rrshock

15th in the country is something in it's own. Can't complain much about that. No one is going to pass Hawaii in this category. Marketing does need to be done though. They really don't need to market Men's bball, as it markets itself pretty easily. Baseball needs some, but still it does market itself to an extent too. Money does need to be put into marketing VB and WBB at WSU. A higher attendance can only help with recruiting and actually winning too.

I like the idea of increased marketing for Women’s VB... marketing tall good looking blondes with long legs sounds intriguing to me.

:D

**SubGod22** · June 21, 2007, 07:13 PM

I'd like to be in on that marketing plan. I'll take lots of pics, do interviews, get phone num..........

I'll help :D

**rrshock** · June 21, 2007, 08:57 PM

Originally posted by SubGod22

I'd like to be in on that marketing plan. I'll take lots of pics, do interviews, get phone num..........

I'll second that motion.

Originally posted by WstateU

I like the idea of increased marketing for Women’s VB... marketing tall good looking blondes with long legs sounds intriguing to me.

On second hand, they should be able to market themselves very well. But some help for the Athletic Dept. couldn't hurt. :D

**1972Shocker** · June 22, 2007, 10:10 AM

I think they actually pushed Women's BB pretty hard last year with the team picked in the pre-season #2 in the MVC.

Unfortunately, the team flopped coming in 9th and played relatively poorly overall. This pretty much caused the marketing to blow up in the face of the Athletic Department and perhaps ended up doing more harm than good.

I think Shocker fans will support the Women's Basketball team if they put a quality product on the floor. Establish a quality product first, then you can do some marketing.

Volleyball has established a quality product capable of competing at the national level. This is where to put your marketing dollars for now.

If we could boost our average attendance to 3,000 per game we would be near the Top 5 in the country.

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