There was no post-match speech following Wichita State’s fifth-set loss to Tulsa last Saturday.
Without a word, the Shockers filed onto their bus and drove home in silence. They were stunned. After a 20-0 march to a championship last season in its inaugural season in the American Athletic Conference, WSU returned to reality last weekend with its first loss in conference play.
It was mentally and physically exhausting. WSU had prevailed in a conference record-setting first set, 41-39, but lost three of the next four and fell to 7-7 on the season. The first set was 10 points shy of a NCAA record.