By james art 
Morgan Stout goes for a kill during the fourth set against Temple on Sept. 27. Stout scored 13.5 points a game.
After a close first two sets, Wichita State volleyball closed out the match in decisive fashion against the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) with 28 points from senior middle blocker Morgan Stout.
The Shockers won their second game of the year against UAB, 3-1 (30-28), (24-26), (25-19), (25-20).
“28 of our … 72 points came from the middle,” head coach Chris Lamb said. “It’s hard for middle centers to lead your team offensively in front of center. It takes a lot of good (to happen that way.”
With the win, Wichita State improved to 12-10 overall and 7-3 in the American Athletic Conference. UAB fell to 3-8 in AAC play.
The Blazers used three challenges in the first set, reflecting a set of challenges Friday when Wichita State beat Memphis. The Blazers won two of those challenges.
A Blazers attack error tied the set at 16-16. Stout proved to be the bulk of the offense for the Shockers, posting six kills in the set.
The Blazers took set point first, 24-23, but crucial mistakes by the Blazers allowed the Shockers to take the lead, and junior outside hitter Emerson Wilford finished the first set with a kill.
Despite the Blazers’ sloppy play, including six service errors, the Shockers had trouble getting past the team’s blocks, committing eight attacking errors in the second set.
Starting outside hitter Gracie Morrow set up the Blazers on a double hitting error. She tied the game on the next play with a kill, but a Blazers kill and a subsequent attack error by the Shockers gave UAB the set win.
The third set began with a 4-2 UAB lead. The Shockers went on a 4-0 run to make it 6-4, which was quickly answered by a 7-0 run by the Blazers, ending with a Blazer service error to make it 11-7 UAB.
Bouncing back and forth, the key contributions of young outside hitter Brooklyn Leggett and Barham provided a solid offense behind Stout.
“Izzy (Strand) told me she found a better way to set me up, and I really don’t speak setter that well,” Barham said. “But she said she got it. So hopefully it will continue to look like it did today.”
Stout’s hit was the death blow as the Shockers won the set decisively.
The fourth would start with some power from freshman libero Annalee Heliste, who made an ace on the first serve. The Shockers went on a 4-0 run to go up 6-1, starting with a kill by Stout and three straight blocks, forcing the Blazers to take a timeout.
The Blazers would score a kill after the timeout as the two teams traded points after that, but the Shockers would maintain a lead of at least three points throughout the set, never relinquishing the lead.
However, the Shockers struggled to keep up with the Blazers over the net when the blocks weren’t there, coming out strong from the back line.
The game ended on a UAB service error.
Stout had a game-high 22 kills on a .450 hitting percentage. She attributes her success to her teammate, fifth-year Strand.
“Izzy (Strand)’s pitching today was so good with us middles,” Stout said. “The outsiders, I think they kind of camped out. So it really opened up more gaps for Sarah (Barham).”
Strand finished with a team-high 44 assists.
Wichita State volleyball’s next game is on the road as it travels to the University of Tulsa for the first game of a weekend series against the Golden Hurricane. The first submission is scheduled for 6 p.m