Scouting the Hornets
Washburn opens MIAA play this week with three conference matches, beginning on Tuesday (Sept. 22) at Emporia State ... ESU is 5-4 on the season thus far with wins over common opponents Black Hills State and SD Mines ... ESU lost to Augustana College, Drury and Harding (all three wins by WU) ... the Hornets are led by Emma Benton's 2.76 kills per set average, while Kimberly Bell (5.19 assists per set) and Sydney Hartman (4.00 assists/set) split time as setters ... defensively, Shayla Cotman (1.14 blocks/set) and Kelly Holden (4.54 digs/set) lead the team ... Though Emporia State leads the all-time series record, 76-36, Washburn has controlled the series of late, winning the last 11 and 20 of 26 under head coach Chris Herron ... last season, the Ichabods swept the Hornets 3-0 in home and away matchups.

Last Time Out
Washburn remained undefeated with a 3-0 performance at the GAC/MIAA Crossover in Russellville, Ark. ... Washburn swept the first day with wins over Arkansas Tech and Harding, and closed the weekend with a 3-1 win over Southern Nazarene ... Leanna Willer and Liz Powell were named to the All-Tournament team ... Willer finished the weekend with 51 kills for a 5.1 kills per set average with 30 total digs (3.00/set), while Powell had a 8.70 assists per set average (87 assists) and 29 total digs.

MIAA Leaders
Several Ichabods rank in the top 10 of MIAA statistical categories, including Sarah Vicory, who leads the conference in total blocks (63) and blocks per set (1.50) ... Leanna Willer is second in the MIAA in total kills (171) and kills per set (4.17) ... Alyssa Carney is third in total digs (205) and digs per set (5.00) ... Carley Swan is fifth in blocks per set (1.03) and tied for fourth in total blocks (41) ... Vicory is also ninth in hitting percentage (.312) ... Liz Powell is eighth in assists per set (9.05) and is fourth in total assists (380) ... Top five lists (as of Sept. 14) that feature Ichabods are below ... 
 

Rank	Name (Team)	Sets	Kills	K/S
1	Sojka,Carly (UCM)	45	196	4.36
2	Willer,Leanna (WU)	41	171	4.17
3	Jackson,Barbara (UCO)	36	133	3.69
4	Thorup,Jessie (MWSU)	37	134	3.62
5	Whitten,Crystal (FHSU)	44	155	3.52

 

Rank	Name (Team)	S	BS	BA	TB	B/S
1	Vicory,Sarah (WU)	42	7	56	63	1.5
2	Cotman,Shayla (ESU)	36	12	29	41	1.14
3	Spence,Jordan (UCO)	42	4	42	46	1.1
4	Christensen,Callie (FHSU)	23	7	17	24	1.04
5	Swan,Carley (WU)	40	3	38	41	1.03

 

Rank	Name (Team)	Sets	Digs	D/S
1	Gifford,Whitney (UCO)	40	209	5.23
2	Reilly,Annie (UCM)	45	231	5.13
3	Carney,Alyssa (WU)	41	205	5
4	Holden,Kelly (ESU)	37	168	4.54
5	Reichert,Anna (LWU)	31	140	4.52

 

Rank	Name (Team)	Sets	Assists	A/S
1	Thompson,Kourtney (UCM)	45	460	10.22
2	Davis,Katy (UCO)	40	448	11.2
3	Wagy,Hannah (FHSU)	44	446	10.14
4	Powell,Liz (WU)	42	380	9.05
5	Chohon,Jordan (MWSU)	37	377	10.19

Block Party
Washburn leads the MIAA with 2.67 blocks per set and 112 total blocks ... the closest team to the Ichabods in total blocks is Central Oklahoma with 86.5 blocks ... The Ichabods have two players averaging over 1.00 block per set: Sarah Vicory (1.50) and Carley Swan (1.03), while Taylor Selk has 0.81 blocks per set (34 total) and Leanna Willer has 29 total blocks (0.71 per set) ... in the most recent NCAA rankings released (Sept. 15), Washburn was tied for 13th nationally in blocks per set while Vicory was 17th. 

The Set Up
Returning All-Conference setter Natalie Bates made her 2015 debut last weekend in a reserved role, averaging 2.89 assists per set ... Bates has 1,042 assists for her career and an 8.14 assists per set average ... Liz Powell has been the team's primary setter through the first 11 games, averaging 9.05 asists per set with 380 total assists ... Powell has six double-doubles on the year to go with 129 digs as well (third on team).

Picking Up Where They Left Off
Returning All-American Sarah Vicory and all-region performer Leanna Willer are off to strong starts this season, picking up where they left off in 2015 ... Through 11 games, Willer is leading the team with 171 kills (4.17 per set) and is second in digs (130) ... Willer has seven double-doubles already this season and put together 20-plus kills efforts three times, most recently against Colorado State-Pueblo (20 kills) on Sept. 12 ... Vicory has 102 kills (2.43 per set) at middle hitter, including a 19-kill effort against Drury on Sept. 5 ... At the net, Vicory has added 63 total blocks (seven solo) for a 1.50 blocks per set average, and has four matches with eight or more blocks this year.

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 put at No. 7 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll this week, though the Ichabods gained 40 votes and now has 896 tallies in the rankings ... Washburn is joined by MIAA schools Central Missouri (No. 6 – 913 points), Nebraska-Kearney (No. 154– 540 points) and Central Oklahoma (No. 18 – 375 points) in the poll ... Overall, 11 teams (including Washburn) from the NCAA Central Region (in which Washburn competes) are listed in the Top 25 ... Washburn has been ranked in 151 consecutive AVCA Top 25 polls, dating back to the final rankings of 2003 ... view the entire AVCA rankings 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.

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 57-19 against its 2015 non-conference opponents, combined (and including 2015 non-conference games thus far) ... Against non-conference opponents remaining this weekend (Arkansas-Monticello and Maryville), the Ichabods are 2-0 combined ... all-time records against 2015 opponents can be found on page 4 of the game notes.

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 405-72 mark in his 14 seasons, good enough for a .849 winning percentage ... at four-year colleges, Herron is now 480-101 in 17 seasons and could reach career win No. 500 by season's end.

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 started the season hot in the first month of play, including an 11-0 record this season and a 13-1 record in 2014 ... All-time under Herron, is 209-24 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 77-7 in the first month of the season.