Complete Game Notes | UNO match live stats | UCM match live stats

Previewing Washburn
The No. 9-ranked Lady Blues continue MIAA play with two tough matchups this week. Washburn will host Nebraska-Omaha on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in Lee Arena before traveling to seventh-ranked Central Missouri on Friday night for a top 10 showdown with the Jennies.
    Mollie Lacy leads the Lady Blues with 84 kills, while Breanna Lewis sports a 2.55 kills per set average. Lacy also leads the team and the MIAA with a .391 hitting percentage. Amanda Guess has registered 313 assists through 11 games for a 9.21 assists/set average. Senior libero Molly Smith leads WU with a 4.67 digs per set average (154 digs in 33 sets played). That number increases to 5.08 digs per set in MIAA play.
   
Lady Blues All-Americans to be honored pre-game
    Washburn's 2009 All-Americans, Kate Hampson and Mollie Lacy will be honored in a pre-match ceremony before Tuesday's game with Nebraska-Omaha. Hampson finished her senior season as a third-team All-American by the AVCA, while Lacy was named to the honorable mention squad following her sophomore campaign.

Scouting the Mavericks
    Nebraska-Omaha enters the week with an 8-3 overall record, including 1-2 in MIAA play. The Mavericks beat Missouri Southern 3-0 to open MIAA play before dropping a pair of games at Pittsburg State and at Southwest Baptist.
    Kayla Uhing leads UNO with 134 total kills and a 3.19 kills per set average. Emily Myers is averaging 10.14 assists per set and Angie Reicks has 189 digs (4.50 digs/set) through 11 matches.

The Series: Washburn vs. Nebraska-Omaha
    The overall series between Washburn and UNO is tied at 4-4. The Lady Blues have won the past two meetings and took two of three games last year, including a 3-1 win in the first round of the NCAA-II South Central Regional last year.

Scouting the Jennies
    Central Missouri enters the week of competition at 8-2 overall and 3-0 in MIAA play. The Jennies beat Pittsburg State 3-0 at the Peggy Martin Challenge on Sept. 10, then defeated Southwest Baptist 3-0 in Warrensburg and Pittsburg State 3-0 in Pittsburg last Saturday. UCM will open the week at Emporia State on Wednesday night.
    Paula Harris leads the Jennies averaging 3.00 kills per set, while Abby Gruenbacher chips in 2.86 kills per set. Julia Bates dishes out 10.59 assists per set and Rachel Fister is averaging 5.07 digs per set for UCM.

The Series: Washburn vs. Central Missouri
    The Jennies lead the overall series 43-9 and have won three straight in the series after sweeping two games from Washburn last year. UCM knocked WU from the South Central Regional in the first round in 2008 and scored a pair of wins last year. UCM won 3-2 in Topeka and 3-0 in Warrensburg later in the season.

Opposing Coaches
    Rose Shires is in her 21st season leading the Maverick program. She has compiled a 415-232 record during her tenure. Last season, she led UNO to a 20-14 record and a spot in the NCAA-II South Central Regional. She led the Mavs to the 1996 National Championship.
    Flip Piontek is in his second season as the head coach for UCM, but his 25th season overall with the program. He led the Jennies to a 34-5 mark in 2009 and won the MIAA title in his first season as head coach. Central Missouri is 771-181 during his time at CMSU as an assistant and now head coach.

Last Time Out
    Sept. 18, 2010 - ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- The third-ranked Washburn Lady Blues rebounded from their first loss of the season to outlast Missouri Western 3-2 (23-25, 25-9, 25-11, 21-25, 15-9) on Saturday afternoon at the MWSU Fieldhouse. Washburn will be back in action on Tuesday night when Nebraska-Omaha comes to Lee Arena for a 7 p.m. match.
    The first set went back-and-forth before Washburn (10-1, 2-1 MIAA) grabbed a 23-22 lead. The Griffons (5-6, 1-2 MIAA), however, tallied three straight points to take the opening set 25-23.
    The Lady Blues jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in set two and cruised to the 25-9 win to even the match at one set apiece. The third set was much of the same as Washburn led by as many as 15 and rolled to the 25-11 win.
    Missouri Western rallied to win the fourth frame and force a fifth and deciding set. The Lady Blues jumped out to a 4-1 lead and closed the match on a 9-4 run to get the win.
    Sophomore Jessica Fey had a game-high 14 kills to go along with a career-high 11 blocks for her first career double-double. Junior Mollie Lacy tallied 13 kills and junior Breanna Lewis had 10. Junior Amanda Guess dished out a career-high 46 assists and senior libero Molly Smith had a game-high 28 digs. Smith moved into fourth place on Washburn's all-time digs list during the game. She now has 1,592 career digs, which is 35 digs shy of third place.
    Alexandra Behnke led the Griffons with 13 kills, while three players had double-digit digs led by Meghan Voelz's 18.

Lady Blues fall six spots to No. 9 in rankings
    The Lady Blues suffered their first loss of the 2010 season last week to a ranked Truman State squad and because of that fell six spots to No. 9 in this week's AVCA coaches poll. Central Missouri moved up one spot to No. 7 and is the highest ranked MIAA team. WU will travel to UCM on Friday for a top 10 showdown.
    Emporia State moved up two spots this week to No. 11 in the rankings, while Truman jumped up three places to No. 13 following their win over the Lady Blues.
    This is the 86th straight week that Washburn has been ranked in the AVCA top 25.

Herron against ranked opponents
    Washburn will take on No. 7-ranked Central Missouri this Friday night in Warrensburg. The Lady Blues are 0-1 this season against ranked teams after a 3-1 defeat at the hands of then-No. 16 Truman last Friday.
    WU is 39-38 overall against ranked teams under Herron, but the Lady Blues are 8-19 against ranked foes away from Lee Arena and are 13-18 against top 10 teams.

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 in ninth season at Washburn
    Washburn head coach Chris Herron is 257-50 (.837) 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 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.

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. 9 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 86 straight polls.
• The No. 3 ranking last week is Washburn's highest since being ranked No. 2 early in the 2008 season.

Coming up next
    The Lady Blues return home to host the Holiday Inn/Lady Blues Fall Classic on Oct. 1-2. Washburn will square off against Dallas Baptist, a 2009 NCAA qualifier, and St. Edward's on Friday before finishing up play against Tarleton State and Angelo State on Saturday.
    MIAA play will resume on October 4 when the Lady Blues travel to Joplin, Mo. to take on Missouri Southern at 7 p.m.