TOPEKA, Kan. --- The 15th-ranked Washburn volleyball welcomes Maryville to Lee Arena on Tuesday. The non-conference match-up will begin at 6 p.m.
ICHABODS VOLLEYBALL STORYLINES
• The Ichabods look to win seventh-straight.
• This is the third meeting between the sides ... Washburn holds 2-0 series lead.
• WU is 9-0 this season when playing at Lee Arena.Â
• Washburn is 8-3 on season against non-conference opponents.
• The Washburn volleyball program has gone 981-766 all-time and in NCAA play.
• Ichabods knocked off No. 3 Nebraska-Kearney on Friday (3-1) before sweeping Fort Hays State on Saturday (3-0).
• Washburn is tied for first in the MIAA standings with UNK .... both teams are 7-1 in league play.
• The Ichabods are listed are in the top three in four MIAA categories including digs per set (1st), total digs (2nd) abd third in both kills and kills per set.
• Alyssa Carney leads the MIAA in total digs (384) and digs per set (5.49)... on Sept. 17 she tallied 37 digs in a match against Northwestern Oklahoma State to set a Washburn single-match record surpassing Erica Cowhick's 34 dig performances in Oct. 2006 and 2007
• Nationally Carney is ranked 18th in digs and 35th in digs per set this season (as of Oct. 5) ... her 1,708 career digs lands her 14th on the Division II active career lists and currently has her listed 41st all-time.
• Sarah Vicory is ranked among the top 10 in four MIAA catergoies including hitting percentage (3rd/.427) and kills per set (9th/3.03), points per set (8th/3.55) and eight in total kills (186) .... as of Oct. 5, she was ranked 15th in Division II for hitting percentage.
• Vicory's career hitting percentage of .351 is 8th-overall on the Division II active career list.
• Leanna Willer is third in the MIAA in kills (246), fourth in kills per set (3.51) and second in total attacks (642) ... she is also tied for third-most service aces with 23 ... as of Oct. 5 she was also ranked among the top 100 nationally for total attacks (38th), total kills (54th) and attacks per set (80th) ... Willer's 1,436 kills are 9th-best in the Division II career active chart and 25th all-time ... her 4,236 total attempts are third-best among active career leaders and 9th on the all-time list.Â
• Natalie Bates is seventh in MIAA in assists (543) and eight in assists per set (8.48) ... Bates' numbers also crack the top 200 as she sits at 112th in assists and 165th in assists per set.
• On Tuesday, Oct. 4 Willer set a WU single-match record for most swings (85) surpassing previous mark of 76 held by Dani McHenry and Tessa Jones.
HITTING THEIR STRIDE
• Under Chris Herron, WU has a history of hitting its stride in the month of October with a record of 68-7 since 2010.
• All-time under Herron, Washburn is 157-22 in October.Â
• The Ichabods have lost no more than four games in October since Herron's arrival … this season the Ichabods have won 51 of 65 sets played.
RECORD CHART WATCH
• Senior outside hitter Leanna Willer sits at 1,470 kills at Washburn which ranks seventh on the all-time chart … she needs 21 more to move into sixth on the all-time list … in her three full seasons at Washburn, Willer has averaged 408 kills a season (377 as a freshman, 383 as a sophomore and 464 as a junior) which would put her around 1,632 which would be third all-time at Washburn.
• Senior outside hitter Vicory surpassed the 1,000-kill plateau during the MIAA/GAC Crossover slate of games to become the 20th player in program-history to join the 1,000 kill club ... the milestone was reached on Friday, Spet. 16 against host Oklahoma Baptist ... she is now ranked 35th in NCAA Division II active careers ... Vicory's .350 hitting percent ranks second all-time at Washburn entering her final season as an Ichabod … Mollie Lacy (2008-11) recorded a .365 hitting percentage to sit on top of the all-time chart … Vicory's 403 total blocks are sixth all-time at Washburn ... she needs 28 more blocks to move into the top 5... on Friday, Oct. 7, Vicory become just the third Ichabod in school-history to have at least 1,000 kills and 400 blocks.
• Senior setter Natalie Bates surpassed both the 1,700 and 1,800-assist milestone during the week of Oct. 3 and she record back-to back 50-plus performances ... Bates' 1,826 career helpers is currently ninth-best on the Washburn all-time list ... she needs 394 more to move past Julie Sackman's mark of 2,220.
THE OTHER TEAM
• Maryville is 2-16 on the year.
• The Saints fell to WU last season at home in five sets (24-26, 25-16, 25-14, 20-25,15-9)
• Team leaders are Allison Lakin with 180 kills and 2.77 kills per set ... Kayla Buxton and Michelle Escue with 308 and 299 assists respectively ... Makayla Campbell has 205 digs.
LAST TIME OUT
TOPEKA, Kan. --- The 17th-ranked Washburn volleyball team swept Fort Hays State in a Saturday matinee by the score, 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-12) and pushed its win streak to a season-best six straight.
Sarah Vicory paced the Ichabods as she finished with a match-high .650 hitting percentage and 14 kills. Also contributing on was Taylor Selk with 10 kills, Makayla Maxwell and Leanna Willer with six apiece and Carley Swan who followed with five kills. Alyssa Carney picked up a match-best 21 digs. Natalie Bates registered her third double-double of the week as she tallied 16 digs and 34 assists.
With neither side able to sustain a long enough run to create distance, momentum remained up for grabs as the first set of the afternoon was highlighted by 18 ties and eight lead changes. Washburn (16-4, 7-1) eventually managed to string together its long run of the set as it tallied three straight to take a 22-19 lead. Keeping in step Fort Hays State (16-5, 4-4) closed the margin to bring the sides level at 22, before the Ichabods took the opener 25-22.
After conceding three straight to FHSU and losing an 18-15 advantage late into second, WU retook the lead as it scored four of the next five points to make it 22-19 before ultimately claiming a 25-21 result and taking a 2-0 match lead.
A Selk kill coupled with a Tigers handling error gave Washburn the lead early into the third set and it never looked back scoring 11 of the first 15 points. The Ichabods then pushed the gap to double-digits as a 7-0 run made it 18-5. FHSU pulled back a few points late but the effort was not effort as the 'Bods finished the sweep with a 25-12 tally.
ABOUT COACH HERRON
• is in his 15th season at Washburn.
• has gone 441-82 at Washburn.
• has gone 204-45 in MIAA matches.
• as a college coach he is 516-111 in his 18th season.
• has been named the MIAA Coach of the Year following the 2002, 2005, 2007 and 2011 seasons.
• has led the Ichabods to five MIAA regular season championships.
• has led the Ichabods to 13 NCAA postseason berths.
• his players have received 29 All-America awards, 66 all-region awards and has had 25 first team all-MIAA selections.
• his players have received 29 All-America awards, 66 all-region awards and has had 25 first team all-MIAA selections and 82 overall who have been honored as all-conference.
• has coached four CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, six CoSIDA Academic All-District selections, six MIAA Academic Excellence award winners (4.00 GPA), 29 MIAA Scholar Athletes (3.50+ GPA and all-MIAA honoree) and 121 MIAA Academic Honor Roll (3.00+ GPA) selections.
AVCA NATIONAL POLL NOTES
• Washburn has been ranked in the AVCA poll 188 times in program history which is 15th all-time in Division II history.
• The Ichabods' highest ranking was No. 2 on Oct. 18, 2010.
• Washburn has been ranked in the top 10 114 times, which is ninth all-time among NCAA Division II schools.
• Under Chris Herron, the Ichabods have been ranked in the top 10 111 times - all but one time in school history have come under Herron's leadership.
 MIAA PRESEASON COACHES POLL
• Washburn volleyball was picked first in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll, released Thursday, Aug. 11 by the conference office. Washburn received five first place votes and 110 total points, earning the top nod for the first time since 2012. Washburn finished the 2015 season at 28-6.
 WINNING
• The Ichabods have made a habit out of appearing in the NCAA, reaching that milestone the past 12 years and 13 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 ninth-straight year in Sarah Vicory and Leanna Willer, two of 29 all-time All-Americans at Washburn.
 UP NEXT
• The Ichabods resume MIAA action on Friday when travel to the Show Me State to take on Northwest Missouri before continuing onto Missouri Western on Saturday. Both matches are slated for 7 p.m.
