Complete Game Notes
SBU Bearcat Bash Website
Micro-Blogging The Blues
(Around 140-character or less tweets highlighting the season)
• The Lady Blues remained 7th in this week's national poll. This is their 110th straight ranking and 41st straight week in the top 10
• The Lady Blues were picked to win the MIAA by the conference coaches after sharing the title with UCM two straight years #ConferenceRecognition
• Coach Herron is in his 11th year with a 315-55 record. He's got 9 NCAA appearances, 4 MIAA titles and 15 All-Americans #GreatDecade
• Sr. MH
Jessica Fey was an honorable mention AVCA All-American last year. She now has 854 kills and 258 blocks #ReturningAA
• Washburn returns five all-MIAA picks from last year and all five were in the starting lineup in the opener this year #FabFive
• Washburn is 3-0 against CBU, 1-1 against TAMUK, 5-26 against Rockhurst and 1-1 against Northwestern Oklahoma #ThisWeeksOpponents
• Washburn improved to 44-0 under Herron in season-opening tournaments and he averages 9.5 consecutive wins to start each season #SolidStart
Another Weekend On The Road
Lady Blues head to Southwest Baptist for four matches at Bearcat Bash
The Lady Blues will take their 4-0 record and No. 7 ranking on the road as they face four opponents in the Southwest Baptist Bearcat Bash Friday and Saturday in Bolivar, Mo. Friday they'll play Christian Brothers at 9:30 a.m. and Texas A&M-Kingsville at 4 p.m. Saturday they'll take on Rockhurst at 9 a.m. and Northwestern Oklahoma State at 5:30 p.m.
Washburn won all four matches last week at the Palm Beach Atlantic Sunshine Classic to start the year. Christian Brothers hosted its own tournament and went 4-0 with a win over Arkansas Tech, a Washburn opponent in last year's NCAA tournament opener. The Buccaneers went 24-11 last year and lost in the first round of the NCAA South Region tournament. TAMUK also hosted its own tournament and went 4-0. The Javelinas are coming off a 15-15 season last year. Rockhurst is 4-0 after winning all its matches at a tournament at Pittsburg State. The Hawks went 16-15 last year. Northwestern Oklahoma State went 0-4 at the same PSU tournament. The Rangers are in their first year as a volleyball program.
Three days after completing action at the SBU Bearcat Bash, the Lady Blues will return home to open MIAA play against Emporia State Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Lee Arena.
110 Straight In The Polls
Lady Blues ranked seventh in AVCA preseason poll
The Lady Blues earned their 110th consecutive spot in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll as they were seventh after the first week of action. The Lady Blues have been in every weekly poll since week one of the 2004 season and they have been in the top 10 for 41 consecutive weeks going back to week one of 2009. They were tied for seventh in the preseason poll and this is the third straight year they opened the season ranked in the top 10.
The NCAA realigned its regions this year and the MIAA will be placed with the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and the Great American Conference to form the Central Region. Washburn, No. 2 Nebraska-Kearney and No. 5 Central Missouri represent the MIAA while No. 1 Concordia-St. Paul, No. 3 Southwest Minnesota State, No. 6 Minnesota Duluth, No. 12 Wayne State (Neb.) and No. 13 Minnesota State of the NSIC give the region eight teams in the top 25 and six teams that make up the top eight in the nation.
Right Where They Left Off
Lady Blues picked first in MIAA preseason poll
Washburn will start the 2012 season right where it ended in each of the last two years. The Lady Blues were picked to finish first in the MIAA preseason volleyball poll released August 8 by the conference office.
With one All-American and four others who earned all-MIAA last year, head coach
Chris Herron will begin his 11th year looking to defend the conference title. The Lady Blues earned seven of 13 first place votes with No. 2 Central Missouri getting four and newcomer Nebraska-Kearney getting two. Washburn edged UCM in voting 137-131 and the Lopers earned 129 points. Emporia State and Truman rounded out the top five.
Washburn and UCM tied for the MIAA championship last year with 17-1 records. Nebraska-Kearney also finished 17-1 in league play to win its final season in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. All three teams made it to the NCAA tournament last year.
About Coach Chris Herron
Head coach Chris Herron building solid program in 11th season
• Head Coach
Chris Herron is 315-55 (.851) in his 11th season at Washburn and 390-84 (.823) in 14 years overall as a head coach.
• He's won more games (315) in the last 11 years than any other program that has been in the MIAA during that time. Truman is second with 305.
• He's turned Washburn volleyball completely around. The program went 169-265 (.389) in its first 12 years as an MIAA school from 1990-2001 and had never been to the NCAA tournament.
• Herron has earned Washburn its first 11 NCAA tournament appearances and four conference titles.
• In his first 11 years he at least one All-American each year but his first. He has seen his players earn 15 All-America awards include three first-teamers.
• Herron won a conference title in 2002, his first year with the Lady Blues. They hosted the NCAA region tournament in their first trip to the event.
• He was named MIAA coach of the year in 2002, 2005, 2007 and 2011 and AVCA region coach of the year in 2007.
• His 2007 squad advanced out of the NCAA region tournament for the first time in school history and hosted the NCAA national tournament. Washburn made it to the semifinal and finished ranked third in the nation.
• The 1980 College of the Ozarks graduate went 75-29 in three years at Benedictine before coming to Washburn.
Recapping Last Week
Lady Blues open season with four solid wins in Florida
The Lady Blues improved to 44-0 in season-opening weekends under
Chris Herron with three wins last week in the Palm Beach Atlantic Sunshine Classic. No. 7 Washburn beat Barry, Saginaw Valley State and host Palm Beach Atlantic in three sets and beat Southern Indiana in four.
Hillary Hughes and
Jessica Fey were named to the all-tournament team for their efforts. Hughes had 3.92 kills per set and hit .306 with eight service aces. She reached double figures in all but one match with 16 against Barry. She hit .448 against Southern Indiana with 15 kills.
Fey hit .376 during the weekend with 3.38 kills a set. She added 0.54 blocks and 4.04 total points a set. She hit .480 against Palm Beach Atlantic with 13 kills and just one error in 25 tries.
Setter
Abby Wittman averaged 8.64 assists and 3.73 digs a set. She got double-doubles in the first two sets with over 30 assists in both matches and 13 digs against Barry and 12 against USI.
Net Notes
Final points...
• Freshman middle hitter
Rebecca Maasen was the only newcomer to start last weekend. She started in the first two matches and played in three. She averaged 1.33 kills and 0.33 blocks while hitting .286 to start her career.
• The Lady Blues average 9.5 straight wins to open their seasons under
Chris Herron. His largest winning streak to start a year was 15 straight in 2009.
• Herron has 390 career wins in his 14 years, putting him 10 away from 400.
• Barry was the only opponent to score more than one consecutive point to open a set last weekend against Washburn. The Buccaneers scored two straight to start the third set.
• For the second straight weekend, the Lady Blues will open play against a team nicknamed the Buccaneers. Barry was Washburn's first opponent last weekend and Christian Brothers will be the first this weekend.
Coming Up Next...
Lady Blues play home and away to open first week in MIAA
Washburn will return home Tuesday at 7 p.m. to host Emporia State in Lee Arena. The Lady Blues will then head to Truman for a 7 p.m. match next Friday. ESU opened its season 4-0 and Truman is 3-1.
