State, Lamb says, "I was the guy who
made all the noise, ran around, dove
into bleachers, ran through people to
get the ball."
Sara Younes is a powerful, fearsome hitter for WSU's record-setting volleyball team, but on one particular night last spring, she was the one scared.
Returning from a road trip, Younes, along with several teammates she rooms with, became unnerved by reports of the return of BTK, a notorious serial killer who haunted Wichita in the 1970s. What to do? Call Coach Chris Lamb, of course.
"We were all just freaking out, so Chris came over and searched our house," Younes says. "Most coaches wouldn't do that. He looks after us, kind of like a dad."
Protecting his players from things that go bump in the night is simply one example of Lamb's devotion to his players. "He puts in so much time it's amazing," Younes says. "He's got a lot of energy. He's just go, go, go all the time."
The program, which had shown steady improvement during Lamb's first three seasons, enjoyed a breakout year in 2003. The Shockers went 21-10 overall — the school's first 20-win season since 1992. In addition, Wichita State posted 13 Missouri Valley Conference victories, the most in the 28-year history of WSU volleyball.
"I feel like we're more than a couple years ahead of schedule," Lamb says. "We're in that top 25-45 range where so many good programs hang out. I'm like, man, we're part of an impressive group."
And the Shockers are continuing their record-setting ways so far this season. As of Oct. 9, they have posted 11 straight wins, including a 3-0 victory at Northern Iowa that ended the Panthers' 74-match home winning streak — the nation's longest active streak and the second longest of all time.
WSU volleyball's climb has been anything but easy, Lamb admits. When he arrived at WSU after spending 1998-2000 as an assistant at the University of Arizona, the Shockers were buried in the RPI ratings. Of 308 teams in the nation, WSU was ranked 279th.
"It was almost embarrassing to say I was the volleyball coach," Lamb recalls. "People were afraid to ask how the season was going because they just assumed we were terrible. There was a sense of apathy. The players knew they were gonna lose, so they just let it happen. And early on, I felt like we were the stepchild of the athletic department, but we got ourselves out of that."
Under Lamb, the team produced records of 8-23, 11-16 and 18-13 before the noteworthy season a year ago. As the wins have mounted, enthusiasm has clearly spread. The Shockers averaged a school-record 949 fans per home match last season, and total attendance of 12,338 was also a program high.
Not that the 39-year-old Lamb is satisfied. "The hardest part is changing perception," he says. "I still think we're one of the best-kept secrets in the nation, but we're also one of the best-kept secrets in our own area, our own region."
Lamb's energy and love for the sport of volleyball is clear. The whiteboard behind his desk in Koch Arena is filled with scribbles — volleyball plays, inspirational messages, workout plans. His wife, Shannon Hoyt Lamb, is an assistant coach, and the couple has a 6-month-old daughter, Gracie, whom Lamb already sees as a talented player.
Ask him about his own volleyball career and he can't help but grin at the memories. A speedy 5-foot-9 setter who played at Sonoma State and on a top-rated club team in California, Lamb stood out on the court — not for his natural ability but because of his desire. "I was the guy who made all the noise, ran around, dove into bleachers, ran through people to get the ball," he says with a smile. "I was the most hustling guy out there."
His knowledge of volleyball allowed him to make a seamless transition from playing the game to teaching it. After starting out as a coach at El Molino High School in Forestville, Calif., he moved on to stints as an assistant at Cal-State Bakersfield and Arizona. He was also head coach and founder of the Empire Volleyball Club, an organization that routinely produced dominant teams in various age groups in California.
From those volleyball hotbeds in the west Lamb arrived in Wichita, where the sport is often an afterthought. "This," he says, "is not an easy place to have a dynasty." But that won't keep him from trying.
