Scouting the Lopers
Washburn continues MIAA play this weekend with two home conference matches, beginning on Friday (Sept. 25) against Nebraska-Kearney ... UNK is ranked No. 14 nationally in the AVCA Top 25, and is 11-2 on the year with a 1-0 record in the MIAA ... The Lopers defeated Fort Hays State, 3-1, in the conference opener on Sept. 22 ... UNK is one of two schools in the MIAA that WU does not have a winning record against under Chris Herron ... WU trails in the all-time series, 8-29, and has won just two of nine since 2002 (when Herron arrived) ... UNK and WU have had zero common opponents this season ... last season, UNK defeated twice in conference play, 3-0 in Kearney, Neb., and 3-1 in Topeka ... this will be the first ranked opponent the Ichabods will face in 2015.

Scouting the Tigers
Washburn closes the weekend of MIAA play on Saturday (Sept. 26) against Fort Hays State in Topeka ... FHSU is 8-5 on the season with a 0-1 record in the MIAA (heading into the weekend) after dropping the conference opener to Nebraska-Kearney, 3-1, in Hays, Kan. ... Though Washburn trails in the all-time series history, 41-44, the Ichabods have been dominant under Chris Herron, winning 20 of 22 matchups since 2002 ... WU has won the last 19 contests ... Southern Nazarene is the lone common opponent between the Ichabods and Tigers this season thus far (though FHSU will play Emporia State on Friday prior to the WU matchup), and both team's beat SNU, 3-1 in neutral site contests ... last season, WU swept the Tigers twice in home and away conference matchups.

Last Time Out
 No. 7 Washburn opened the MIAA portion of its 2015 volleyball campaign with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-13) sweep over rival Emporia State on Tuesday, Sept. 22 ... Willer and Vicory each finished with 11 kills on the night, as Willer added eight digs and Vicory had three blocks ... Selk (who led the team with four blocks) and Paige Regnier each had six kills ... Liz Powell had another double-double at setter, finishing with 26 assists and 10 digs ... libero Alyssa Carney had 22 digs to lead the team.

MIAA Leaders (as of Sept. 23)
Several Ichabods rank in the top 10 of MIAA statistical categories, including Sarah Vicory, who leads the conference in total blocks (66) and blocks per set (1.47) ... Leanna Willer is second in the MIAA in total kills (182) and kills per set (4.14) ... Alyssa Carney is second in total digs (227) and digs per set (5.16) ... Carley Swan is fourth in blocks per set (1.02) and third in total blocks (44) ... Vicory is also eighth in hitting percentage (.314) ... Liz Powell is eighth in assists per set (9.05) and is fifth in total assists (406).

Block Party
Washburn leads the MIAA with 2.62 blocks per set and 118 total blocks ... the closest team to the Ichabods in total blocks is Emporia State with 88 blocks ... The Ichabods have two players averaging over 1.00 block per set: Sarah Vicory (1.46) and Carley Swan (1.02), while Taylor Selk has 0.84 blocks per set (38 total) and Leanna Willer has 30 total blocks (0.68 per set) ... in the most recent NCAA rankings released (Sept. 21), Washburn was tied for 7th nationally in blocks per set while Vicory was tied for 19th. 

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 12 games, averaging 9.02 asists per set with 406 total assists ... Powell has seven double-doubles on the year to go with 139 digs as well (second 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 12 games, Willer is leading the team with 182 kills (4.17 per set) and is third in digs (138) ... 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 113 kills (2.51 per set) at middle hitter, including a 19-kill effort against Drury on Sept. 5 ... At the net, Vicory has added 66 total blocks (seven solo) for a 1.47 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 12-0 record this season and a 13-1 record in 2014 ... All-time under Herron, is 210-24 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 78-7 in the first month of the season.

Milestone Watch
 

Kills
Milestone	Name	# To Go
100	Natalie Bates	40
	Carley Swan	26
200	Paige Regnier	48
	Taylor Selk	61
400	Korie Thompson	31
700	Sarah Vicory	35
1,000	Leanna Willer	58

 

Digs
Milestone	Name	# To Go
100	Sarah Vicory	20
	Paige Regnier	36
	Taylor Selk	42
200	Callie Lowry	77
500	Natalie Bates	197
	McKenzie Hartzog	261
	Liz Powell	281
1,000	Leanna Willer	120
	Alyssa Carney	277
	Korie Thompson	431

 

Assists
Milestone	Name	# To Go
200	Alyssa Carney	62
1,000	Liz Powell	372
1,500	Natalie Bates	453

 

Blocks
Milestone	Name	# To Go
100	Carley Swan	17
	Korie Thompson	28
	Taylor Selk	37
200	Leanna Willer	86
300	Sarah Vicory	26

 

Service Aces
Milestone	Name	# To Go
50	Alyssa Carney	15
	Korie Thompson	16
	Callie Lowry	28
	McKenzie Hartzog	32
	Liz Powell	32
	Natalie Bates	35
100	Leanna Willer	44