Scouting the Lopers
Washburn swept UNK earlier this season at Lee Arena on Sept. 25 ... the win over the Lopers was the first nationally-ranked win for Washburn in 2015, and the first win over UNK since 2013 ... Additionally, the sweep was the first for WU over UNK since 1985, when the team's played best-of-three matches ... Washburn will enter the weekend looking for the regular series sweep, a feat last accomplished in 2013 over the Lopers ... UNK enters the weekend with a 3-2 record over the previous five matches, and is 3-0 against common oppponents with the Ichabods this season ... Kaitlynn Thomas had 12 kills against WU in the previous matchup this season, while Skyler Erickson, Annie Wolfe and Ellie McDonnell all reached double-digits in digs ... more information on series and stat leaders can be found on page one of the game notes.

Scouting the Tigers
Washburn suffered its first loss to FHSU since 2006 last month, dropping a 3-0 contest to the Tigers at home on Sept. 26 ... The Ichabods will look to get back on top in a series that they have controlled since Chris Herron's arrival (20-3) ... FHSU will play Emporia State on Friday, Oct. 9 before the Saturday contest with  WU, but enters the weekend with a 2-3 record over the previous five matches ... in the earlier match this season with WU, Whitten had 12 kills and 26 digs, while Rebekah Spainhour had 11 kills and five blocks in the middle and Flagor had eight kills, 18 digs and five blocks on the right side ... FHSU is 1-3 against WU's common opponents this season (WU is 4-0 in those matches) ... more information on series and stat leaders can be found on page one of the game notes.

Last Time Out
No. 12 Washburn Volleyball swept rival Emporia State, 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-17), in the second round of the Turnpike Tussle on Tuesday, Oct. 6 at Lee Arena ... WU swept the regular season series with ESU and has now won 13 straight against the Hornets ... Taylor Selk hit .545 with 13 kills on 22 swings, adding five digs and two block assists as well ... Leanna Willer was second on the team with 10 kills, adding eight digs and one block assist ... Sarah Vicory swung .261 and had nine kills, while Carley Swan was fourth on the team with six kills (.357 hitting percentage) and two blocks ... Defensively, Alyssa Carney and McKenzie Hartzog split the team lead in digs with 13 apiece, and Liz Powell had a double-double of 38 assists and 11 digs.

What's Next?
Washburn returns to Lee Arena for a four-game homestand after the UNK and FHSU matches that runs for two weeks in October ... MIAA opponents Northwest Missouri State, Missouri Western, Pittsburg State and Central Oklahoma will travel to Topeka for the MIAA games ... As things currently stand, the Oct. 24 homecoming week matchup with Central Oklahoma (16-1, 5-0 MIAA) would be a matchup between the top two teams in the MIAA.

Record Pace
After becoming the 19th member of the Washburn 1,000 kills club on Oct. 3, junior outside hitter Leanna Willer now sets her sights on climbing the Ichabod kills chart, while also approaching a single-season record ... if the season ended today, Willer's 4.40 kills per set average would rank her second all-time in Washburn's history behind Tessa Jones' 2007 average of 4.47 kills per set ... Additionally, Willer has 38 double-doubles in her career, which is currently fifth all-time at Washburn, and 58 double-figure kill matches, which is sixth all-time ... Through 18 games this season, Willer has 273 kills, which is second in the MIAA and first on the Washburn squad ... that pace is ahead of her 2014 efforts, when she had 204 kills through 18 games on her way to a 383-kill total on the season ... The school record for kills in a season is 657, and No. 10 on the single-season kills list is 498.

Milestone Watch
After joining the 1,000 kills club on Oct. 3, Leanna Willer will now look at becoming the ninth Washburn volleyball player to reach 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career ... Willer is just 101 digs away from the 1,000 mark in her three-year career thus far.

1,000 Kill Club
Leanna Willer entered the weekend of Oct. 2-3 needing just 25 kills to reach the 1,000 mark for her career, and came up with the magic number during the second set of Washburn's win over Missouri Southern on Oct. 3 ... Willer finished the weekend with 48 total kills and now has 1,033 for her career as she became the 19th all-time member of the Washburn 1,000 kills club.

Carney Named MIAA Specialist of the Week
Washburn's Alyssa Carney was named the MIAA Volleyball Specialist of the Week for her performance over three games last week, announced Monday, Sept. 28, by the league office ... Carney, a junior libero, averaged 7.11 digs per set in conference play for 64 total digs on the week ... Carney had 20-plus dig efforts in all three matches, finishing with 22 against Emporia State and No. 14 Nebraska-Kearney and 20 against Fort Hays State ... She also had a perfect 1.000 defensive percentage on the week while notching her third, fourth and fifth 20-plus kill efforts for the season ... The Auburn, Kan., native is now averaging 5.38 digs per set for the season, which is second in the MIAA.

National Leaders (as of Oct. 5)
Washburn ranks among the national leaders in several statistical categories, both as a team and individually.  Those lists include:
W-L Percentage 4th (0.941)
Team Attacks Per Set 6th (39.9)
Team Digs Per Set 7th (19.33)
Team Total Assists 12th (781)
Team Total Digs 13th (1,160)
Team Total Kills 13th (835)
Team Kills Per Set 17th (13.92)
Team Total Attacks 17th (2,394)
Team Assists Per Set 19th (13.02)
Team Total Blocks 23rd (136)
Total Kills Leanna Willer, 7th (263)
Total Attacks Leanna Willer, 9th (715)
Kills Per Set Leanna Willer, 9th (4.46)
Points Per Set Leanna Willer, 10th (4.97)
Attacks Per Set Leanna Willer, 12th (12.12)
Blocks Per Set Sarah Vicory, 22nd (1.1.23)
Hitting Percentage Sarah Vicory, 34th (.357)
Digs Per Set Alyssa Carney, 47th (5.2)

MIAA Leaders (as of Oct. 6)
Several Ichabods rank in the top five of MIAA statistical categories, including Sarah Vicory, who leads the conference in total blocks (74) and blocks per set (1.17) and is fourth in hitting percentage (.351) ... Leanna Willer is second the MIAA in kills per set (4.46) and kills (273).. Alyssa Carney is second in total digs (320) and third in digs per set (5.16) ... Liz Powell is eighth in assists per set (9.92) but ranks fifth in total assists (625)... Top five lists that feature Ichabods can be found on page four of the game notes.

Ranked Win A Historic One
Washburn's 3-0 sweep of Nebraska-Kearney on Sept. 25 was a historical one for the program for several reasons ... it was Washburn's first win over the Lopers since 2013, and just the third win for head coach Chris Herron while at Washburn ... additionally, it was Washburn's first sweep of UNK since 1977 ... Washburn is now 1-0 against ranked opponents this season ... information on Washburn's ranked wins can be found on page three of the game notes.

All-Tournament Performers
Washburn wrapped up invitational play last weekend at the GAC/MIAA Crossover, and saw Leanna Willer (51 kills, 30 digs) and Liz Powell (87 assists, 29 digs) earn All-Tournament honors ... it was the third All-Tournament honor for Willer this season, after she also earned the award at the Washburn Invitaitonal and the Steel & Silver Classic ... Sarah Vicory was picked MVP of the Washburn Invitational, earning all-tourney honors with Willer and Powell ... at the Steel & Silver Classic, Willer and Alyssa Carney were picked All-Tournament.

A Closer Look at the AVCA Poll 
Washburn Volleyball stayed at No. 12 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 25 Poll this week, receiving 688 voting points ... last week's poll had WU with 689 points and one first-place vote ... WU is joined in this week's poll four other MIAA schools – Central Missouri (No. 11), Central Oklahoma (No. 13), Nebraska-Kearney (No. 16) and Missouri Western (receiving votes).  Including the five MIAA schools, the NCAA Central Region has 14 teams mentioned in the AVCA rankings (and 12 in the Top 25) ... Washburn has been ranked in 153 consecutive AVCA polls dating back to 2003 ... the complete AVCA poll can be found on page three of the game notes.

Success in Season Opener
The Ichabods are 14-0 in season openers under head coach Chris Herron ... all-time, the Ichabods are 33-14 in season openers ... dating back to 1989 when Washburn joined the MIAA (and NCAA), the Ichabods are 22-5 in season openers.

No. 400
Washburn's 3-1 win over Black Hills State on Saturday, Sept. 5 was head coach Chris Herron's 400th at the school ... Herron holds an impressive 414-73 mark in his 14 seasons ... at four-year colleges, Herron is now 489-102 in 17 seasons and could reach career win No. 500 by season's end.

Who's Back
14 Ichabods return from last season, including 12 letterwinners ... two seniors, six juniors and four sophomores make up the core of the roster, with two redshirt freshman making their Ichabod debuts in 2015 ... key returners include middle hitter Sarah Vicory (2014 AVCA All-American), outside hitter Leanna Willer (Daktronics All-Region Second Team) ... setter Natalie Bates (All-MIAA Second Team) and libero Alyssa Carney (All-MIAA Honorable Mention).

Non-Conference Outlook
Washburn has 13 non-conference games schedule for its 2015 regular season, and the Ichabods have winning records in all 13 series, historically ... WU is 58-19 against its 2015 non-conference opponents, combined (and including 2015 non-conference games thus far) ... Washburn has just non-conference opponent remaining in the regular season (Maryville) ... all-time records against 2015 opponents can be found on page 4 of the game notes.

A Culture of Excellence
The Ichabods have made a habit out of appearing in the NCAA, reaching that milestone the past 11 years and 12 times under head coach Chris Herron ... additionally, Washburn has won five MIAA Championships under Herron and has its sights set on another in 2015 ... This season, Washburn returns an All-American to the court for the eighth straight year in Sarah Vicory, one of 22 all-time All-Americans at Washburn.

MIAA Preseason Poll
Washburn picked up two first-place votes and 108 total points to earn the second spot in the 2015 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll ... WU was one of three teams to earn first-place votes, joining Central Missouri, who was picked first with 119 points and nine first-place votes, and Nebraska-Kearney, picked third (98 points, one first-place vote) ... Central Oklahoma (95 points), returns the MIAA Player of the Year, and Missouri Western (84 points) rounded out the top five ... the complete MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll can be found on page six of the game notes.

Early Success / Monthly Breakdown
Under Chris Herron, WU started the season hot in the first month of play, including an 13-1 record this season and a 13-1 record in 2014 ... Washburn nearly completed the month of September undefeated, but was dealt a loss in the final game of the opening month last week ... All-time under Herron, is 211-25 in the first month of the season (August and September combined) ... The Ichabods have lost no more than four games in the first month of the season since Herron's arrival, and no more than three since 2006 ... Over the last five years (since 2010), Washburn has gone 79-8 in the first month of the season ... a more complete breakdown of the Ichabods' month-by-month success can be found on page five of the game notes.