Volleyball 11/30/2017 4:17:00 PM

RADFORD OPENS NCAA TOURNAMENT AGAINST WICHITA STATE ON FRIDAY

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WICHITA, Kan. – The Big Dance begins on Friday evening as the Radford volleyball team will open the first round of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament against Wichita State at 9 p.m., ET inside Koch Arena in Wichita, Kan.

SETTING THE STAGE
• Location: Wichita, Kan. (Koch Arena)
• Time: 9 p.m. ET
• Live Stats
• Watch Live
• Tickets
• Match Notes

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS (25-4, 13-3 BIG SOUTH)
• The Highlanders (25-4, 13-3 Big South) clinched an NCAA Tournament bid with a thrilling four-set victory over High Point in the Big South Tournament on Nov. 19.
• Maddie Palmer tied a career-high 26 kills in the match and was named Big South Conference Tournament MVP. Also garnering all-tournament team honors were Haley Kleespies and Valerie Gonzalez.
• The conference tournament victory was the second in Marci Jenkins Byers career at Radford and it will be the second NCAA Tournament appearance for Radford in the last five years (fourth in program history).
• The Highlanders have faced USC, Colorado State and Minnesota in previous years and are looking for their first tournament win.
• Radford has the defense to do so this season ranking 10^th in the nation holding opponents to a .149 hitting percentage.
• Led by Big South Conference Player of the Year, Palmer, the Highlanders have 1,424 kills this season and are 10 away from cracking the top 10 single season list at Radford.
• However, the team's .251 hitting percentage is already second in a single-season at Radford and is currently the best since 2001.
• Mallory McKnight has a team-high .316 hitting percentage and is averaging 2.07 kills per set.
• Defensively, seniors Palmer and Kaylor Nash are neck-and-neck with 379 and 371 digs respectively.
• Big South second-teamer, Kleespies, leads the Highlander offense averaging 10.23 aces per set and has a quiet seven double-doubles this season.
• The Highlanders already have one win against teams that finished the regular season undefeated in conference play (High Point, 19-0 Big South).
• Facing three teams that will compete in the NCAA Tournament this season (High Point, Miami (OH) and ETSU), the Highlanders went 2-3 against those teams.
• Radford jumped to number 60 in the final RPI poll, which is the highest in program history.

SCOUTING WICHITA STATE (28-3, 20-0 AMERICAN)
• Series: First Meeting
• Wichita State earned the American Athletic Conference automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after scorching through the conference with a 20-0 record. The team only lost five sets in conference play with three of five coming against UCF.
• The Shockers are making their 11th NCAA Tournament appearance (2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017)
• Wichita State has played seven teams in this year's NCAA field and has a record of 4-3: ETSU (1-0), Marquette (1-0), Miami (Ohio) (1-0), Oregon (0-1), Cal Poly (0-1), Creighton (1-0) and Iowa State (0-1).
• The team from Wichita is a 16 seed for the first time in school history and hosting for the first time in school history.
• WSU holds a 7-10 record in the NCAA Tournament and is 6-4 in the first round, 1-5 in the second round and 0-1 in the regional semifinals.
• The Shockers are on a 20-match winning streak, which is the third-best in school history.
• Wichita State has five players that earned all-conference honors including the Player of the Year (Abbie Lehman), Setter of the Year (Emily Hiebert) and Coach of the Year (Chris Lamb).
• Lehman leads the squad with 3.68 kills per set and a .446 hitting percentage. She has tallied 383 kills this season. She is slightly in front of Tabitha Brown with 372 kills.

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Players Mentioned

#5 Valerie Gonzalez: RS; 6' 1"; Junior

#3 Haley Kleespies: S; 5' 8"; Junior

#9 Mallory McKnight: MB; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#18 Kaylor Nash: DS; 5' 9"; Senior

#20 Maddie Palmer: OH; 6' 0"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#5 Valerie Gonzalez
: 6' 1"; Junior
: RS

#3 Haley Kleespies
: 5' 8"; Junior
: S

#9 Mallory McKnight
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: MB

#18 Kaylor Nash
: 5' 9"; Senior
: DS

#20 Maddie Palmer
: 6' 0"; Senior
: OH