TOPEKA, Kan. --- The 13th-ranked Washburn volleyball team will wrap up the 2016 campaign with a pair of matches this weekend at Lee Arena. The Ichabods, who are 25-4 on the season and 14-2 in league play, open against Pittsburg State (6-22, 4-12 MIAA) on Friday before a top 15 showdown with No. 9 Central Oklahoma as their regular season finale. Prior to Saturday's match with the Bronchos, Washburn will honor and recognize its five seniors,
Alyssa Carney,
Natalie Bates,
Callie Lowry,
Sarah Vicory and
Leanna Willer. Matches are slated to start at 7 p.m., and 6:30 p.m., respectively.Â
Ichabod Volleyball Storylines
• Washburn looks to continue winning form having won its last four matches.
• The Ichabods face Pittsburg State for the second time this season ... WU has a 61-21 record all-time against the Gorillas ... last time the teams met was Oct. 21 ... Ichabods won 3-2.
• Washburn face Central Oklahoma for the second this season season ... Washburn leads the all-time series 8-6 ... teams previously met this season on Oct. 22 ... Bronchos won 3-0.
• The Washburn volleyball program has gone 989-767 all-time and in NCAA play.
• Ichabods went 2-0 last weekend as they downed Lindenwood and No. 16 Central Missouri.
• Washburn clinched a berth into the 2016 MIAA Volleyball tournament on Oct. 28
• The Ichabods and UCO are each 14-2 in the MIAA ... Bronchos possess the tie-breaker.
• The Ichabods sit atop MIAA in in digs per set (17.81) and team attacks per set (37.59) ... also ranked third in team digs (1,834), opponent hitting percentage (.131), and team kills (3rd/1,383).
• Alyssa Carney leads the MIAA in digs per set (5.34) and total digs with 550 ... on Sept. 17 she tallied 37 digs in a three-setter 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 26th in digs and 37th in digs per set this season ... her 1,928 career digs has her 14th on the Division II active career lists and currently has her listed 41st all-time.
• Carney is averaging 21.40 digs in the last five matches at a per set rate of 6.29.
• Sarah Vicory is ranked among the top five in three categories including blocks/set (5th/0.99), hitting percentage (2nd/.391) and total blocks (5th/99) .... she is ranked 7th in Division II for hitting percentage.
• Vicory's career marks have listed 7th-overall among the Division II career leaders in hitting percentage (.353) and career blocks (444).
• In the last five matches Vicory has a .356 hitting percentage and 24 total blocks ... she is also averaging 2.35 kills/set.
• Leanna Willer leads the MIAA in attacks per set (11.51) and is also among the top five in total kills (2nd/381), kills/set (4th/3.70) and points/set (4th/4.22) ... she is also ranked nationally for total attacks (11th), total kills (33rd) and attacks/set (23rd) ... Willer's 1,605-career kills are eighth-best in the Division II career active chart and 26th all-time ... her 4,780 swings is third-best among active careers and seventh on the all-time list.Â
• In the last five outings, Willer has amassed 64 kills and 45 digs ... averaging 12.80 kills and nine digs per match with per set numbers of 3.76 and 2.65 respectively.Â
• Natalie Bates is sixth in the conference in assists (864) and seventh in assists per set (8.47) ... Bates' numbers are also nationally-recognized as she sits 113th-overall in assists and 153rd in assists/set ... In the last five outings, Bates has racked up 141 assists, averaging 8.29 per set ... the senior setter also has 38 digs in that time.
Final Push
• Under Chris Herron, the Ichabods have recorded a 40-15 mark during the final month of the season since 2009.
• All-time under Herron, Washburn is 61-31 in November and has played 29 postseason matches.
• The Ichabods have lost no more than four games in November since Herron's arrival … this season the Ichabods have won 72 of 95 sets played.
Record Chart Watch
• Senior outside hitter Leanna Willer sits at 1,605 kills at Washburn for third on the all-time chart … she needs just 53 more to move into second all-time … 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 Sarah 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 ... entering her final season with a .350 hitting percentage Vicory ranks second all-time at Washburn … Mollie Lacy (2008-11) recorded a .365 hitting percentage to sit on top of the all-time chart … Vicory is tied for fourth on Washburn's all-time block list with 444 ... she needs 56 more to reach 500 and 76 shy of third ... on 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 recorded back-to back performances of 50-plus assists during the week of Oct. 3 ... Bates' 2,106 career helpers is currently ninth-best on the Washburn all-time list ... she needs 114 more for eighth on the Washburn all-time list.
• Senior libero Alyssa Carney sits at 1,699 digs for her Washburn career for fourth on the all-time chart ... Carney surpassed the 1,600 dig milestone on Oct. 23 against Central Oklahoma ... she needs 158 to move into third on the all-time list.
The Other Side of the Net
• Pittsbug State is 6-22 overall with a 4-12 MIAA record ... the Gorillas went 1-1 in their matches last week.
• PSU stat leaders: Kills, Maggie Highberger (283); Assists, Carolina VanBuskirk (813); Digs, Ashlen Schwartz (388)
• Central Oklahoma is 28-2 on the season and 14-2 in the MIAA ... the Bronchos are ranked No. 9 in the AVCA poll ... UCO enters the weekend with a seven-match win streak.
• UCO stat leaders: Kills, Taylor Bevis (371); Assists, Katy Davis (1,112); Digs, Dominique Lipari (413)
Last Time Out
WARRENSBURG, Mo. ---- The Washburn volleyball team closed out its road schedule for the season as it outlasted No. 16 Central Missouri by the score of 3-2 (19-25, 26-24, 25-15, 16-25, 15-12). With the result, the Ichabods improved to 24-5 on the season and 14-2 in the MIAA.
With a 3-0 run to move them out front the Jennies took a 4-2 lead early in the first set and never looked back. Central Missouri (19-9, 8-7 MIAA) outpaced the Washburn offense doing just enough to maintain its advantage before opening a six-point gap late en route to taking a 1-0 match lead.
The sides jostled for control early in the second set until UCM rattled off four unanswered to take a 14-11 lead. Trailing 18-13, Washburn trimmed the Jennies' lead to one with its own 4-0 run bringing the score to 18-17. UCM held its advantage as the teams exchanged scoring pushing the score to 23-20.
After a timeout from the Ichabods the teams traded points to bring the score to 24-21. Looking to take a commanding 2-0 match lead, the Jennies conceded an error and a Leanna Willer service ace keeping Washburn alive. Washburn then tied the set with a kill from Taylor Selk, before she and Makayla Maxwell teamed up for a timely block that gave Washburn a 25-24 lead. Megan Pedersen then capped the late rally and 7-1 run as she landed one of her 11 kills on the day to help Washburn claim the set 26-24 and tying the match at one apiece.
In the third, Washburn had its most efficient set of the afternoon posting a hitting percentage of .300. The frame began with a back-and-forth exchange until the Ichabods the lead for good with a 3-0 spurt making it 9-6. Central Missouri stayed within reach for the next several points until Washburn strung together four unanswered to open a 16-10 advantage. The Ichabods then followed up with a 7-3 run widening the gap to nine before capitalizing on a pair of UCM errors to make it 24-14. The Jennies made 24-15 but Selk put away one of her eight kills to helping Washburn take a 2-1 lead.
In the fourth, UCM led from the very beginning as it opened on a 10-2 tear. Back-to-back errors from Jennies trimmed lead to 10-4 but it was not enough to get the Ichabods back into it as Central Missouri cruised to a 25-16 result, forcing a fifth set.
After switching ends and trailing 10-7 Washburn erased the UCM advantage as Sarah Vicory sparked a 5-0 run moving the Ichabods out front 12-10 before they completed the late push winning the set and the match.
Kelsey Barrick paced the Washburn attack as she finished with a team-best 16 kills. Barrick also contributed defensively with four blocks. Willer recorded her 13th double-double of the season as she finished with 12 kills and 11 digs, while Vicory picked up her first with 10 kills and 10 blocks. Vicory's block total most by an Ichabod since Sept. 18, 2010 when Jessica Fey had 11. Alyssa Carney tallied a team-high 31 digs, while Callie Lowry followed with 22. Natalie Bates and Shayla Conner combined for 48 assists.
About Coach Herron
• is in his 15th season at Washburn.
• has gone 449-83 at Washburn.
• has gone 212-46 in MIAA matches.
• as a college coach he is 524-112 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 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 192 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 host their opening round match of the MIAA Tournament on Nov. 15, their has yet to be announced.
