TOPEKA, Kan. --- The 17th-ranked Washburn volleyball team will host a pair of MIAA opponents in No. 3 Nebraska-Kearney and Fort Hays State on Friday and Saturday respectively.
ICHABOD VOLLEYBALL STORYLINES
• The Ichabods look to extend win streak.
• Friday's match with Nebraska-Kearney is a AVCA Top 25 rematch ... Lopers took the season's first meeting 3-0.
• Saturday's match with Fort Hays State is the 89th meeting all-time ... WU tarils the series 43-45.
• Ichabods are a combined 24-14 at Lee Arena when facing UNK and FHSU.
• WU has won 11 of its last 12 home matches against FHSU.
• The Washburn volleyball program has gone 979-766 all-time and in NCAA play.
• Ichabods defeated Emporia State Tuesday, 3-2, in come from behind fashion.
• The Ichabods are listed are in the top three in four MIAA categories including opponent service aces allowed (2nd), digs per set (1st), digs (3rd) and opponents kills per set (2nd).
• Alyssa Carney leads the MIAA in total digs (330) and digs per set (5.24)... 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 20th in digs and 29th in digs per set this season (as of Sept. 28) ... her 1,679 career digs lands her 14th on the Division II active career lists and currently has her listed 39th all-time.
• Sarah Vicory is ranked among the top 10 in four MIAA catergoies including hitting percentage (3rd/.427) and kills per set (10th/2.94), points per set (8th/3.49) and tenth in total kills (169) .... as of Oct. 2, she was ranked eight in Division II for hitting percentage.
• Vicory's career hitting percentage of .353 is 7th-overall on the Division II active career list.
• Leanna Willer is foVurth in the MIAA in kills (212) and total attacks (557), fifth in kills per set (3.37) and seventh in service aces with 21 ... as of Oct. 2 she was also ranked among the top 100 nationally for total attacks (75th) and total kills (86th) ... Willer's 1,414 kills are 10th-best in the Division II career active chart (as of Sept. 28) while her 3.55 kills per set for her career is 17th ... her 4,151 total attempts has Willer listed 4th on the active career leaders and 13th all-time.
• Natalie Bates is eighth in the conference in both assists per set (7.89) and total assists with 450 ... Bates' numbers also have crack the top 200 as she sits at 144th in assists and 175th in assists per set.
• On Tuesday at ESU, 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 66-7 since 2010.
• All-time under Herron, Washburn is 155-22 in October.
• The Ichabods have lost no more than four games in October since Herron's arrival … this season the Ichabods have won 45 of 58 sets played.
RECORD CHART WATCH
• Senior outside hitter Leanna Willer sits at 1,436 kills at Washburn which ranks seventh on the all-time chart … she needs 55 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 399 total blocks are sixth all-time at Washburn ... she needs 32 more blocks to move into the top 5... with her next stop Vicory wil become just the third Ichabod in school-history to have at least 1,000 kills and 400 blocks.
• Senior setter Natalie Bates reached the 1,700-assist milestone during the Ichabods' match Tuesday against Emporia State ... she finished the night with 58 assists ... Bates is currently ninth on the Washburn all-time list.
THE OTHER TEAMS
• Nebrask-Kearney tops the MIAA standings as is third in the AVCA rankings ... Lopers on a 20-match win streak ... Fort Hays State is seventh in league standings.
• UNK defeated WU, 3-0 (25-21, 25-15, 25-20), on Sept. 23.
• WU topped Tigers in four sets (25-16, 26-22, 21-25, 25-19) in Sept. 24 meeting.
• The Lopers have three in MIAA top 10 hitting percentage ... Tara Ziegelbein (1st/.476), Annie Wolfe (2nd/.427) and Mackenzie Puckett (8th/.338) ... Ziegelbein's hitting percentage is a nation's best.
• The Tigers' attack is led by Crystal Whitten, Rebakah Spainhour and Hannah Wagy ... Whitten paces the MIAA in kills (266) and kills per set (3.97) ... Wagy has league-best in assists (734) and assists per set (11.25).
LAST TIME OUT
EMPORIA, Kan. --- The No. 18 Washburn volleyball team went the distance Tuesday evening in a 3-2 come from behind victory over Emporia State.
With the result, the Ichabods improved to 14-4 overall and 5-1 in conference play. The win also pushed the WU win streak against ESU to 15 straight.
Aside from the team outcome, the night was also special for Natalie Bates who reached the 1,700 career assists and Leanna Willer who set a school single-match record for total attempts.
With 26 ties and nine lead changes, the opening two sets were the most contested frames of the night as Emporia State (9-9, 2-4) took a 2-0 advantage after winning each set 26-24.
With momentum against them, the Ichabods began the uphill climb with a 3-1 run to begin the third stanza. The narrow margin was erased and ESU took the lead with a 6-0 spurt. The sides then began to trade points until ESU stood at 8-7.
The Hornets advantage was shorted however as Makayla Maxwell tied the set at 8-8 with one of her eight kills for the night and helped Bates record her 1,700th-career assist.
The remainder of the set stayed in flux until Washburn took control late as an 11-1 run helped it win the set 25-20 to stay alive.
After the sides jostled for control to start the fourth, the Ichabods took a 12-6 lead and momentum. Before long, Washburn widened the gap to double-digits as it cruised to a 25-17 result.
Assisted by WU three attack errors ESU took a 4-1 lead early to begin the final set. The advantage quickly evaporated behind as a 7-2 run helped the Ichabods move out front 8-6 as the teams switched sides. The Hornets continued to pester WU down the stretch as they forced ties at 13, 14 and 15 before a kill from WIller and an attack sealed the comeback effort.
In the box score, Willer finished with 22 kills, 20 digs and 85 total attempts which is a new single-match mark surpassing the previous record of 76 set by Dani McHenry (Oct. 26, 2004) and Tessa Jones (Oct. 26, 2007).
Megan Pedersen and Sarah Vicory also contributed to the effort as each finished with 18 and 17 kills, respectively. Pedersen also had a match-best .516 hitting percentage. Bates ended the evening with 58 assists and 11 digs. Alyssa Carney finished with a team-best 29 digs, while Shayla Conner chipped in with 12. Maxwell was a force at the net as she posted nine total blocks.
ABOUT COACH HERRON
• is in his 15th season at Washburn.
• has gone 439-82 at Washburn.
• has gone 202-45 in MIAA matches.
• as a college coach he is 514-111 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 187 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 will take a break from MIAA action when they take on Maryville on Tuesday, Oct. 11 at Lee Arena.
