SW Oklahoma State Bulldogs (0-0)   Bill Greehey Arena San Antonio, Texas Fri., Sept. 3 12:30 p.m.

St. Mary's Rattlers (0-0)   Bill Greehey Arena San Antonio, Texas Fri., Sept. 3   8 p.m.

Maryville Saints (0-0)   Bill Greehey Arena San Antonio, Texas Sat., Sept. 4 10 a.m.

Wheeling Jesuit Cardinals (0-0)   Bill Greehey Arena San Antonio, Texas Sat., Sept. 4 5:30 p.m.

Complete Game Notes

Previewing Washburn
The No. 6-ranked Washburn Lady Blues kick off their 2010 campaign with four games at the St. Mary's Invitational in San Antonio, Texas. The Lady Blues return 12 letterwinners and six starters from the 2009 squad that finished 33-5 overall and ranked No. 8 in the country after advancing to the NCAA-II South Central Region semifinals.

Scouting the St. Mary's Invitational Opponents
The four teams that Washburn will play in the St. Mary's Invitational went a combined 52-79 in 2009 with Wheeling Jesuit the only team to post a .500 or better record. WJU, in fact, went 35-5 overall, including 14-0 in West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) and qualified for the 2009 NCAA tournament. SW Oklahoma State was 6-28 overall and 3-10 in Lone Star Conference action, while St. Mary's finished 7-22 overall and 6-8 in Heartland play. Maryville University was 4-24 overall and managed one win (1-13) in GLVC action.

The Series: Washburn vs. St. Mary's Invitational Opponents
The Lady Blues are a combined 3-0 against the four teams they will play at the St. Mary's (Texas) Invitational in San Antonio. Washburn is 1-0 against SW Oklahoma State, beating the Bulldogs 3-1 at last year's Lady Blues Fall Classic. WU is 2-0 against St. Mary's with the last meeting taking place in 2003. This will be the first meeting with both Maryville and Wheeling Jesuit.

Lady Blues start season ranked No. 6 in the country
    A 33-5 season and a No. 8 final ranking coupled with the return of 12 letterwinners and six starters give the Lady Blues high expectations for the 2010 season. Washburn is ranked No. 6 in the AVCA preseason coaches poll. This is the highest preseason ranking for the Lady Blues since 2008 when they were preseason No. 2. Central Missouri was the highest ranked MIAA team at No. 5, followed by Emporia State (12), Pittsburg State (19) and Truman (25).

Washburn picked second in MIAA preseason coaches poll
    The Lady Blues were picked to finish second in the MIAA in the preseason coaches poll. Washburn returns 12 letterwinners and six starters from a team the went 33-5 last year and advanced to the school's sixth straight NCAA tournament. Defending champion Central Missouri was the choice to repeat this year. UCM received 10 of 11 first-place votes and tallied 100 points. WU received the other first-place tally (coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams) and had 91 points total. Emporia State was picked third, followed by Pittsburg State and Truman State.

Herron begins ninth season at Washburn
    Washburn head coach Chris Herron brings a 247-49 (.834) record into 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 national tournament and they had a .389 winning percentage in 12 years as an NCAA-II school. Herron has won 83 percent of his games and has led WU to the NCAA postseason seven of his eight years, including the last six in-a-row, and he has led WU to its first two MIAA titles.

Herron unbeaten in season openers
    Chris Herron is 8-0 in season openers at Washburn, having won all eight in season-opening tournaments on the road. Washburn has won its last 12 season openers with the last loss coming in 1997 against Mesa State.

Season Preview:
Coming off their sixth-straight NCAA tournament appearance and the school's seventh overall, the Lady Blues volleyball team looks to make it seven straight trips to the postseason as they enter the 2010 season.
Washburn returns 12 letterwinners and six starters from the 2009 squad that advanced to the South Central Region Semifinals before falling to the eventual national runner-up. Washburn started the year with 15 straight wins, the most consecutive wins to start a season in school history, the Lady Blues won a school-record 16 matches in the MIAA to finish in second place and finished the season 33-5 overall with at least one All-American for the seventh straight season.
If they want to continue that reign of success, the Lady Blues will have to replace the most decorated setter in school history. Kate Hampson finished her career as Washburn's all-time leader in assists and assists per set and ranks second all-time in the MIAA in career assists.

The Outside Hitters:
Helping to lessen the blow of losing their setter, the Lady Blues return nearly every hitter from the 2009 team. On the outside, Washburn returns sophomores Hillary Hughes and Jessica Kopp, along with juniors Courtney Wallman and Jennifer Kolarik. Former all-region player and and two time all-MIAA selection, senior Ashley Shepard suffered an off-season knee injury and will miss most of the season.
Hughes finished fourth on the team with 248 kills and was fifth with 2.28 kills per set as a freshman.
Kopp came on strong at the end of her freshman campaign and finished with 140 kills, including a double-double performance in the NCAA regional semifinals.
Wallman finished 2009 with 61 kills, while Kolarik had 25, but also had 21 service aces, third best on the team. Both players should push for more time in 2010 along with newcomers Kelsey Lewis and Aubri Renshaw.
Lewis, a Topeka, native, was a first team all-city selection all four years in high school and was a three time all-conference choice. She was named city MVP and league MVP two times and helped Washburn Rural capture the State Championship as a senior.
Renshaw was a member of the 2009 Missouri All-Star team and was a first team all-conference, all-district and all-region selection following her senior year at Raymore-Peculiar High School.

The Middle Hitters:
The Lady Blues return three players in the middle that saw significant action in 2009. Leading the way is returning All-American Mollie Lacy. Lacy led the team with 380 kills, 2.99 kills per set and led the MIAA and finished fifth in NCAA-II with a .405 attack percentage, setting a single-season school record in the process. She was a first team all-MIAA, all-region and honorable mention all-American last year.
Sophomore Jessica Fey was fifth on the team with 211 kills as a first-year player and senior Kelci Wigger tallied 101 kills and 66 blocks during her junior campaign. McKayla Gowen will push for time as well after sitting out her first season as a redshirt.

The Rightside Hitters:
Junior all-region selection Breanna Lewis returns to head the rightside hitters. She was second on the team with 287 kills and had 77 blocks a season ago. Fey will most likely split time between the middle and rightside as she did during her freshman season.

The Setters:
If the Lady Blues want to get back to the NCAA tournament for the seventh straight time they will need someone to step up and fill the void left by Hampson's departure. Junior Amanda Guess is the only returning player who has seen action at the setter position. She totaled 88 assists in 45 sets serving as Hampson's backup last season. Abby Wittman will push for playing time as well after sitting out last season as a redshirt.

The Liberos/Defensive Specialists:
Two time all-MIAA honoree Molly Smith returns to anchor the Lady Blues' defense. She tallied 584 digs and 4.60 digs per set last season. Smith is currently eighth on Washburn's career list with 1,438 digs. Sophomore Tessa Brophy will challenge Smith after recording 346 digs during her freshman season. Sami McHenry will be in the mix after sitting out last season as a redshirt. Courtney Churchman joins the Lady Blues after graduating from Park Hill South High School where she was a Missouri All-Star, team MVP, a three time first team all-conference selection and a two time honorable mention all-state pick.

The Schedule:
The schedule is once again loaded with tough games, including the rugged MIAA schedule. Washburn opens the season on September 3-4 at the St. Mary's (Texas) Invitational. The Lady Blues will also travel to the Missouri-St. Louis Triton Classic on September 10 and 11 and will once again host the Lady Blues Regional Crossover on October 1 and 2.
The home-and-home MIAA slate begins on September 14 with a home match against Northwest Missouri State. Three of the Lady Blues' first five conference matches are against teams that qualified for the NCAA tournament in 2009 and there are match-ups with seven teams overall that qualified for last season's tournament. Five MIAA teams finished 2009 play ranked in the AVCA top 25, proving yet again that the MIAA is one of the toughest conferences in all of NCAA Division II.

Notes of Interest:
• Chris Herron is 8-0 in season openers and WU has won its last 12.
• The last time Washburn lost its season-opener was a 3-1 defeat to Mesa State in 1997.
• Washburn is ranked No. 6 in the AVCA preseason 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 83 straight polls.
• Washburn opens the season with eight straight matches away from Lee Arena, the Lady Blues started the 2009 campaign with 13 straight matches away from home, going 13-0 in those contests.

Coming up next
    The Lady Blues will continue their season-opening road swing at the Missouri-St. Louis Triton Classic on September 10 and 11. Washburn will battle Arkansas-Fort Smith and Harding on Friday, before wrapping up play on Saturday against Southern Indiana and Illinois-Springfield. The Lady Blues return to Lee Arena for their first home match of the season against Northwest Missouri on Tuesday, September 14.