Northwest Missouri Bearcats (9-9, 5-5 MIAA) Bearcat Arena Maryville, Mo. Tues., Oct. 19 7 p.m. Live Stats

No. 11 Truman State Bulldogs (19-3, 8-2 MIAA) Lee Arena Topeka, Kan. Fri., Oct. 22 7 p.m. Live Stats

Missouri Western Griffons (9-10, 5-5 MIAA) Lee Arena Topeka, Kan. Sat., Oct. 23 6 p.m. Live Stats

Complete Game Notes

Previewing Washburn
    The No. 2-ranked Lady Blues have three games on the docket this week. Washburn will travel to Maryville, Mo. on Tuesday night to battle the Bearcats of Northwest Missouri State before returning home to host a pair of games this weekend. WU will host No. 11 Truman on Friday night in the “Think Pink” game to raise breast cancer awareness. That game is slated for a 7 p.m. start. The Lady Blues will then entertain Missouri Western on homecoming Saturday at 6 p.m.
    Junior Breanna Lewis is leading the Lady Blues with 194 kills and is averaging 2.77 kills per set, while hitting .370. Junior Amanda Guess leads the team with 681 assists and averages 9.33 per set. She pairs with Abby Wittman to dish out 13.38 assists per set for the Lady Blues. Senior libero Molly Smith is averaging 4.94 digs per set to lead the team.
    
Scouting the Bearcats
    Northwest Missouri comes into the game at .500 with a 9-9 overall mark and 5-5 in MIAA play. The Bearcats were 1-2 last week falling at Missouri Western and Truman before beating Missouri Southern in Maryville.
    Alex Hanna leads NWMSU averaging 3.06 kills per set with 205 kills. Sara Falcone has a team-high .241 hitting percentage, while as a team, the Bearcats rank seventh in the MIAA with a .193 hitting percentage. Laira Akin is averaging 9.88 assists per set and Paige Spangenberg has a team-high 4.42 digs per set average.

The Series: Washburn vs. Northwest Missouri
    The Lady Blues hold a 33-18 advantage in the series with the Bearcats. Washburn has won eight straight in the series and 18 of the past 19 meetings after a 3-0 sweep in Topeka on September 14.

Scouting the Bulldogs
    Truman State enters the week at 19-3 overall, 8-2 in MIAA play and ranked No.  11 in the country after going 3-0 last week. TSU recorded wins over Nebraska-Omaha, Northwest Missouri and Missouri Western.
    Megan Sharpe leads the Bulldogs with 2.66 kills per set and had a game-high 14 kills in Truman's 3-1 win over Washburn back in September. Sharpe is also hitting a team-best .350. Ashley Petak (5.66) and Kylie Easlon (4.29) combine to dish out 9.95 assists per set. Casey Bruno leads the team with a 4.21 digs/set average.
    The Bulldogs are second in the league, behind only Washburn, in holding their opponents to a .137 hitting percentage. They also rank first in services aces, averaging 1.65 per set.

The Series: Washburn vs. Truman
    The Bulldogs lead the overall series 35-10 after a 3-1 win in Kirksville back in September. Washburn had won three straight meetings before the loss and has won five of the past seven.

Scouting the Griffons
    The Griffons enter the week at 9-10 overall and 5-5 in conference play after splitting a pair of matches last week. MWSU beat NWMSU 3-2 before falling 3-1 to Truman.
    Kelli Sicner leads the team with a 2.53 kills/set average, but hits just .148. Alexandra Behnke leads the Griffons with a .207 hitting percentage. Stephanie Hattey (5.15) and Lauren Burbach (4.50) combine for 9.65 assists per set. Britny Pearl leads MWSU with a 4.44 digs per set average.

The Series: Washburn vs. Missouri Western
    The Griffons lead the overall series with Washburn 43-30, but the Lady Blues have won the last 17 meetings and are 17-0 against Missouri Western under Chris Herron.

Opposing Coaches
    Jessica Rinehart is in her first season leading the Northwest Missouri program.  She looks to get the Bearcats above .500 for the first time since 2000. 
    Ben Briney is in his second season as the head coach of Truman State.  He has a career record of 43-16. Last season, he led the Bulldogs to a 24-13 record and a spot in the NCAA-II South Central Regional.
    Cory Frederick is in his second year as the head man of the Griffon volleyball program. MWSU was 11-22 in his first season.  He led Park University to the NAIA Men's Volleyball National Championship back in 2008.

Last Time Out
    Oct. 15, 2010 - TOPEKA, Kan. -- The No. 4 ranked Lady Blues jumped out to a two sets to none lead and then held off No. 15 Emporia State 3-2 (25-20, 25-18, 22-25, 19-25, 15-11) on Friday night at Lee Arena. Washburn will be back in action on Tuesday night at Northwest Missouri State at 7 p.m.
    The opening set had eight ties and two lead changes before Washburn (21-1, 9-1 MIAA) grabbed control with a 4-0 run to go up 18-17. After ESU (16-4, 7-2 MIAA) tied the score the Lady Blues rattled off five straight points and then closed out the set 25-20.
    Washburn grabbed control early in set two with a 5-0 run to go up 10-5. The Lady Blues extended their lead to as many as seven before closing out the set 25-18. WU held an early 9-7 lead in set three as they looked for the sweep, but the Hornets responded with a 9-2 run to snatch the lead. Washburn closed to within one at 23-22, but couldn't get over the hump as ESU tallied two straight points to stay alive.
    Emporia State took control early in set four and held off a Lady Blues rally to force the fifth and deciding set. Washburn jumped out to an early lead in set five and never looked back. The Lady Blues got ahead  7-2 and closed out the match at 15-11 on a kill by Breanna Lewis.
    Lewis led Washburn with a career-high 23 kills as she hit .409. Aubri Renshaw recorded her third double-double of the season with 15 kills and a career-high 17 digs. Hillary Hughes notched her fourth double-double with 10 kills and 11 digs. Amanda Guess dished out 36 assists and had 10 digs for her eighth double-double, while Abby Wittman tied a career-high with 31 assists marking the first time in school history that two players had 30 or more assists in the same game.
    Molly Smith was everywhere for the Lady Blues defense as she moved closer to the MIAA's top 10 for career digs with a season and match-high 36. She is now 20 digs shy of 10th place on the conference's all-time list.
    Brittney Miller led Emporia State with 18 kills, while Ting Liu had a match-high 49 assists. Jordan Lockwood and Paige Vanderpool had nine kills apiece for the Hornets, while Meg Schwartz led four Hornets in double figures with 21 digs. Lockwood had 17, Jocelyn DeMotte 16 and Vanderpool chipped in 13.

Lady Blues match highest ranking in school history
    The Lady Blues went 2-0 last week with a win over then-No. 15 Emporia State and moved up to No. 2 in this week's AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll. The No. 2 ranking matches the highest ranking in school history last reached on September 8, 2008. Central Missouri is the next MIAA team at No. 7. Truman, who comes to Lee Arena on Friday night, dropped one spot to No. 11 and Emporia State moved up three spots to 12th.
    This is the 90th straight week that Washburn has been ranked in the AVCA top 25.

Lady Blues: Statistically speaking
    Washburn ranks second in the MIAA as a team with a .275 hitting percentage, but the Lady Blues rank first in the conference holding their opponents to a .114 hitting percentage. WU also leads the MIAA in assists per set at 13.31 and digs per set at 17.32. Washburn is third in the league averaging 14.19 kills per set, but lead the league with 2.29 blocks per set.
    Individually, Breanna Lewis is third and Mollie Lacy is fourth in the MIAA with hitting percentages of .370. and .367, respectively. Amanda Guess is sixth in the league averaging 9.33 assists per set and Molly Smith is second in digs at 4.94 per set.
    Additionally, Breanna Lewis' 23 kills against Emporia State is the fifth highest individual total in the MIAA this season.

Can you dig it?
    Senior libero Molly Smith is sitting in third place on Washburn's career digs list with 1,794 career digs. She is 63 digs shy of second place on the career list, which is held by Monica Miesner. Erica Cowhick is WU's all-time leader with 2,464 career digs.
    Smith is closing in on the MIAA top 10 for career digs as well. She is 20 digs shy of 10th place on the conference's career top 10 list.

Herron against ranked opponents
    The Lady Blues are 2-1 this season against ranked teams after their 3-2 win over then-No. 15 Emporia State on Friday night. Washburn fell to then-No. 16 Truman 3-1 on September 17 in Kirksville and beat then-No. 7 Central Missouri 3-1 in Warrensburg on September 24.
    The Lady Blues 41-38 overall against ranked teams under Herron. The Lady Blues are 26-12 against ranked opponents inside Lee Arena.

Herron in ninth season at Washburn
    Washburn head coach Chris Herron is 268-50 (.843) in his ninth season at Washburn after moving into first in career wins at WU in 2007. He is a three-time MIAA coach of the year and was named AVCA South Central Region coach of the year in 2007
    Herron has been a huge part of the Lady Blues program turn-around. Before he came to WU in 2002 the Lady Blues had never gone to the NCAA tournament and they had a .389 winning percentage in 12 years as an NCAA-II school. Herron has won 84 percent of his games and has led WU to the NCAA postseason seven of his first eight years, including the last six in-a-row, and he has led WU to the first two MIAA titles in school history.

Think Pink game set for Friday night
    Washburn's home match with Truman State on Friday, October 22 has been dubbed the “Think Pink” game to raise breast cancer awareness. Pink Washburn volleyball t-shirts will be handed out to the first 100 fans through the doors and there will be a silent auction to help raise money for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Notes of Interest:
• Chris Herron improved to 9-0 in season openers and WU has won its last 13 dating back to 1997.
• The last time Washburn lost its season-opener was a 3-1 defeat to Mesa State in 1997.
• The Lady Blues improved to 36-0 in season-opening tournaments under Chris Herron.
• Washburn is ranked No. 2 in the AVCA coaches' poll. The Lady Blues finished the 2009 season ranked No. 8 in the nation. The Lady Blues have been ranked in the top 25 in 90 straight polls.
• The No. 2 ranking matches the highest in school history. Washburn was ranked No. 2 in the 2008 preseason poll and held that ranking through the first two weeks of the season.

Coming up next
    The Lady Blues have two games on the slate next week. They will start the week on the road on Tuesday at Nebraska-Omaha at 7 p.m. before returning home to host  No. 7 Central Missouri on Friday night at 7 p.m.