Scouting the Lady Lions
Lindenwood is eighth in conference standings entering the weekend with a 4-9 MIAA record ... Washburn has never lost to the Lady Lions, winning all four matchups dating back to 2012 when the series began ... LWU is 2-3 in its last five contests, with wins over McKendree and Pittsburg State ... last time out, LWU dropped a close five-set match with then-No. 12 Central Oklahoma on Halloween ...  more information on series and stat leaders can be found on page one of the game notes.

Scouting the Jennies
Central Missouri sits fourth in the MIAA standings at 10-3 in the MIAA and has clinched a spot in the conference tournament ... Central Missouri holds a 50-14 advantage in the all-time series and is ahead, 18-13, in the series while Chris Herron has coached the Ichabods ... in the last five matchups, Washburn has won two and the teams split 3-0 sweeps at home and away in 2014 ... UCM is 4-1 in its last five contests with the only loss coming against Nebraska-Kearney on the road ... Saturday's game will be the fourth against a ranked opponent this season ... WU holds a 2-1 record in ranked games (results on page three) ... more information on series and stat leaders can be found on page one of the game notes.

Last Time Out
No. 10 Washburn completed the regular season sweep of Missouri Western on Saturday, Oct. 31, winning the Halloween matchup, 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-20) ... Leanna Willer entered the night 12 kills away from 1,000 for her career and finished the night with 14, joining Washburn's 1,000 kills/1,000 digs club as the ninth member ... Korie Thompson and Willer had double-doubles for the Ichabods ... Thompson had 10 kills and 21 digs, leading the team in the defensive category ... Willer joined Thompson with 10 kills and had 14 digs ... Two other Ichabods – Alyssa Carney and Shayla Conner – had double-digit digs, finishing with 12 and 10, respectively ... Swan, Selk, Barrick and Sarah Vicory each had two block assists, as Selk and Vicory tied for third on the team with seven kills each and Barrick and Swan added six each ...  Liz Powell led the team with 22 assists to go with six digs.

Senior Day
Saturday's matchup with the Jennies is the final home game of the regular season for Washburn, and the Ichabods will celebrate Senior Day prior to the match ... WU has three seniors on this year's roster, Korie Thompson, McKenzie Hartzog and Liz Powell ... Thompson has averaged 1.37 kills and 2.76 digs per set, starting 21 of 27 matches for the Ichabods this season ... Hartzog has appeared in all 27 games for Washburn this season, starting one, with 15 service aces and a 2.03 digs per set average ... Powell has started all 27 games at setter for the Ichabods, tallying 887 total assists with a 9.34 assists per set average, adding 19 service aces (second on the team).

What's Next?
Washburn enters the final weekend of regular season play in the hunt for the MIAA Regular Season Championship, traveling to Pittsburg State and Central Oklahoma ... WU and PSU will face off on Friday, Nov. 13 before the season finale pits the Ichabods against the Bronchos on Saturday, Nov. 14 ... should the MIAA standings order stay the same, Saturday's matchup will decide the regular season conference title and which team will hold the No. 1 seed entering the MIAA Tournament, which begins Nov. 17 at home site matchups.

NCAA Tournament Outlook
Washburn Volleyball debuted at No. 5 in the first edition of the NCAA Central Region rankings, released Wednesday, Nov. 4 ... This is the first of three rankings leading up to the NCAA Central Region Tournament, held Dec. 3-6 at the top-seeded school ... The Ichabods, ranked ninth nationally, are 25-2 in regional and NCAA Division II games, and are the only team listed in the rankings to play an entire regular season against regional opponents ... The top four teams in the rankings match the top four from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll from Nov. 2, as Concordia-St. Paul, Southwest Minnesota State, Wayne State (Neb.) and Northern State are ranked ahead of Washburn in the Central Region poll ... Four teams from the MIAA follow Washburn, as Central Oklahoma, Central Missouri, Nebraska-Kearney and Missouri Western are ranked Nos. 6-9 ... The final NSIC team in the poll, Minnesota-Duluth, is 10th ... The Central Region is made up of teams from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA), the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) and the Great American Conference (GAC) ... Automatic bids are granted to the winners of the postseason conference tournaments, with the final five seeds handed out on an at-large basis ... the complete first edition of the NCAA Central Region Rankings can be found on page three of the game notes.

Locked Down
Washburn has secured its spot in the MIAA Tournament and is currently fighting for the regular season title and No. 1 seed ... The Ichabods are tied atop the MIAA standings with Central Oklahoma at 12-2 in conference play ... The MIAA did not play a conference tournament last season ... the last time WU was the No. 1 seed in the MIAA Tournament was the 2007 season ... there are four games remaining in the regular season, with the season finale pitting WU and UCO against each other on Nov. 14.

Bods Go Undefeated in Non-Conference Play
Washburn closed out its non-conference portion of the 2015 regular season on Tuesday, Oct. 27 with a 3-2 win over Maryville ... that victory moved the Ichabods to 13-0 on the year in non-conference games ... WU went undefeated against regular season non-conference opponents last season as well, and hasn't dropped a regular season, non-conference match since Sept. 20, 2013 ... all-time records against 2015 opponents can be found on page 4 of the game notes.

Ichabods Sweep Oct. 26 MIAA Athletes of the Week
Washburn's Leanna Willer and Alyssa Carney swept the MIAA Athlete of the Week awards, announced Monday, Oct. 26 by the conference office ... Willer was named the MIAA Hitter of the Week while Carney was tabbed as the MIAA Specialist of the Week ... Willer had 21 kills (3.50 per set) and 27 digs (4.50 per set) and Carney averaged 6.17 digs per set (37 total digs) with three service aces over the weekend.

Willer joins Ichabods' 1,000 Kills/1,000 Digs Club
Leanna Willer entered the Oct. 31 match with Missouri Western just 12 digs away from No. 1,000 for her career and finished the night with 14, surpassing the mark ... Willer joined the 1,000 kills club on Oct. 3 as the 19th member, and is now the ninth Ichabod all-time to record 1,000 digs and 1,000 kills in a career.

Climbing Charts
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 4.11 kills per set average would rank her fifth all-time in Washburn's history ... Additionally, Willer has 43 double-doubles in her career, which is currently fifth all-time at Washburn (No. 4 has 55), and 67 double-figure kill matches, which is tied for fifth all-time (No. 4 has 70) ... Through 27 games this season, Willer has 386 kills, which is second in the MIAA and first on the Washburn squad ... that pace is ahead of her 2014 efforts, when she had 336 kills through 27 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 ... Willer is also now 17th on the career kills list with 1,146 kills, just two kills behind Mandi Cox, who finished her career with 1,148 kills ... Willer's career kill standings can be found on page five of the game notes.

New Kid on The Block
Sarah Vicory became the newest member of Washburn's 300 block club last Friday, Oct. 23 against Pittsburg State with a two-block effort ... Vicory is the 17th all-time at Washburn to achieve the feat, and now has 312 in just her third season as an Ichabod ... Vicory will now look to climb the career blocks record list, with No. 10 (Susan Waller) sitting at 364 career blocks ... Vicory is on pace to join the 1,000 kills club sometime next season, as she sits with 799 so far for her career ... if she achieves that feat, she'd be the 20th member of the kills club and the 11th all-time at WU to have over 1,000 kills and 300 blocks in a career.

Eyeing No. 500
With four games remaining in Washburn's regular season schedule (and a berth to the MIAA Tournament nearly solidified), head coach Chris Herron is three victories away from career win No. 500 at four-year colleges ... Herron won his 400th game at Washburn earlier this season and is 497-103 in 17 seasons with the Ichabods ... entering the 2015 season, Herron ranked 16th among winningest active coaches in all NCAA Divisions (I, II and III) and  16th all-time overall ... In Division II alone, Herron entered 2015 eighth among active coaches and sixth all-time overall

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 became the 19th all-time member of the Washburn 1,000 kills club.

Career Milestones
Several Ichabods have broken career milestone markers this season ... Taylor Selk reached the 200-kill mark against Nebraska-Kearney on Oct. 9 ... Carley Swan had her 100th career kill on Oct. 10 at Fort Hays State and her 100th career block on Oct. 16 against Northwest Missouri State ... Korie Thompson recorded career kill No. 400 on Oct. 10 at Fort Hays State, her 500th career dig on Sept. 5 at home against Drury and her 700th career dig on Oct. 27 at Maryville ... Liz Powell took over the starting setter role as a senior this season and recorded her 1,000 career assist on Oct. 23 against Pittsburg State ... a milestone watch list is available on page five of the game notes.

Can You Dig It?
Washburn's Alyssa Carney's average of 5.28 digs per set leads the Ichabods this season, and if the 2015 campaign ended today would place her fifth on the school's single season digs per set record list ... Carney has reached double-digits in all 27 games this season for digs, and dating back to last season has reached that mark in 32 straight games ... she has nine 20-plus dig efforts and two 30-plus dig matches ... Her career-high is 31 against Drury on Sept. 5, and she finished with 30 on Oct. 27 at Maryville ... with four games remaining, she has already matched her dig total from last season (496) and could move into the Top 10 for single-season digs at Washburn (No. 10 has 576).

A Closer Look at the AVCA Poll
Washburn Volleyball moved up one spot to No. 9 (783 total points) and garnered two first-place votes in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 25 Poll, released Monday, Nov. 2 by the organization ... Washburn was ranked 10th in last week's poll with 752 points ... The Ichabods are one of six NCAA Central Region teams listed in the top 10, with 13 total teams in the poll ... Concordia-St. Paul, Southwest Minnesota State, Wayne State (Neb.) and Northern State hold the top four spots in the poll, and WU is just ahead of Minnesota Duluth, which sits 10th ... From the MIAA, Nebraska-Kearney is No. 12, Central Missouri is No. 13 and Central Oklahoma is No. 15 ... Washburn has now been ranked in 157 consecutive polls dating back to 2003 ... the complete AVCA poll for is available on page three of the game notes.

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.

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 422-74 mark in his 14 seasons ... at four-year colleges, Herron is now 497-103 in 17 seasons and could reach career win No. 500 by season's end.

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 2-1 against ranked opponents this season, picking up a Top 10 victory over then-No. 10 Central Oklahoma on Oct. 24 ... 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.

Success in Season Openers
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.

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).

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
Under Chris Herron, WU has a history of starting 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.