Wichita State volleyball starts its longest home-friendly stretch on Friday (7 p.m.) against East Carolina at Koch Arena. If the Shockers (8-8, 3-2 American Athletic Conference) are going to make a run toward repeating as American champions, this is a critical weekend.
East Carolina (12-4, 4-1) is tied for second in the American with Tulsa. On Sunday (1 p.m.), the Shockers play Cincinnati (14-4, 5-0), which is tied for first with Central Florida. Cincinnati outside hitter Jordan Thompson, the 2016 American Player of the Year, leads the nation with an average of 6.07 kills a set and 431 total kills.