TOPEKA, Kan. --- The Washburn volleyball team begins postseason play on Tuesday when it host Missouri Western at 7 p.m. The Ichabods secured the No. 2-seed in MIAA Tournament after knocking off nationally-ranked Central Oklahoma last Saturday.
Ichabod Volleyball Storylines
• Washburn wrapped up its regular season with a six match in streak including three wins over ranked opponents.
• The Ichabods went 2-0 against Missouri Western during the season winning each match in three sets ... this will be the 86th time the teams have met ... MWSU leads the all-time series 45-40.
• Second-straight year Washburn opens MIAA Tournament against MWSU ... Ichabods won the 2015 meeting in five sets (28-30, 25-18, 26-28, 25-15, 15-10).
• Ichabods are 14-0 at Schendel Court at Lee Arena this season.
• The winner of Washburn/Missouri Western will face winner of NW Missouri State/Central Oklahoma on Friday, November 18 ... time is TBA
• The Washburn volleyball program has gone 990-767 all-time and in NCAA play.
• Ichabods finished the regular season at 26-5 overall, 16-2 in leage play ... went 2-0 in final week of season with wins over Pittsburg State and No. 9 Central Oklahoma.
• Washburn clinched a berth into the 2016 MIAA Volleyball tournament on Oct. 28 ... secured No. 2-seed with win against UCO last Saturday.
• The Ichabods sit atop MIAA in in digs per set (17.65) and team attacks per set (37.59) ... also ranked third in team digs (1,942) and opponent hitting percentage (.129).
• Alyssa Carney leads the MIAA in digs per set (5.28) and total digs with 581 ... recorded season-high 37 digs on Sept. 17
• As of Nov. 9, Carney was nationally ranked in digs (26th) and digs per set (37th) ... her 1,928 career digs has her 14th on the Division II active career lists and currently has her listed 42st all-time.
• Carney is averaging 19.60 digs in the last five matches at a per set rate of 5.44.
• Sarah Vicory is ranked in the MIAA among the top five in three categories including blocks/set (5th/1.02), hitting percentage (2nd/.394) and total blocks (5th/109) ... among the top 10 natioanlly in hitting percentage (6th)
• Vicory's career marks have her listed 7th-overall among the Division II career leaders in hitting percentage (.353) and career blocks (453).
• In the last five matches Vicory has a .407 hitting percentage and 24 total blocks (1.33 blocks/set).
• Leanna Willer leads the MIAA in attacks per set (11.51) and is also among the top five in total kills (3rd/399), kills/set (4th/3.63) and points/set (4th/4.22) ... she is also ranked nationally for total attacks (11th), total kills (33rd) and attacks/set (23rd) ... Willer's 1,623-career kills are eighth-best in the Division II career active chart and 26th all-time ... her 4,844 swings is third-best among active careers and seventh on the all-time list.
• In the last five outings, Willer has amassed 52 kills and 45 digs ... averaging 10.40 kills and nine digs per match with per set numbers of 2.89 and 2.50 respectively.
• Natalie Bates is eighth in the conference in assists (871) and ninth in assists per set (8.38) ... 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 127 assists, averaging 7.06 per set ... the senior setter also has 42 digs in that time and five kills during that time.
Final Push
• Under Chris Herron, the Ichabods are 42-15 during the final month of the season since 2009.
• All-time under Herron, Washburn is 63-31 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 78 of 102 sets played.
Record Chart Watch
• Senior outside hitter Leanna Willer sits at 1,623 kills at Washburn for third on the all-time chart … she needs just 35 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 fourth on Washburn's all-time block list with 453 ... she needs 47 more to reach 500 and 67 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' 2,154 career helpers is currently ninth-best on the Washburn all-time list ... she needs 46 more for eighth on the Washburn all-time list.
• Senior libero Alyssa Carney sits at 1,730 digs for her Washburn career for fourth on the all-time chart ... she needs 127 to move into third on the all-time list.
The Other Side of the Net
• Missouri Western finished the regular season at 17-14 with a 9-9 mark in the MIAA ... Griffons are 4-6 on the road this season ... longest win streak for MWSU this season was six games (Sept. 9-24).
• Stat leaders: Kills, Rachel Fredrichs (331/2.90 per set) ... Assists, Kortney Blaufuss (737/9.83 per set) ... Blocks, Rachel Fredrichs (81/0.71 per set) ... Digs, Kayla Ruff (4.31/4.96 per set)
Last time out
TOPEKA, Kan. --- Paced by double-figure kills from Kelsey Barrick, Leanna Willer and Sarah Vicory, No. 13 Washburn dropped No. 9 Central Oklahoma in four sets (25-19, 19-25, 25-18, 25-20) on Saturday in its regular season finale. With the result, the Ichabods improved to 26-5 overall and 16-2 in the MIAA moving them past the Bronchos (29-3, 15-3 MIAA) for second in the standings ... After trading 25-19 results in the first two sets, Central Oklahoma jumped to a 4-2 to start the third. Washburn then overtook the Bronchos as it pushed the score to 10-5 behind an 8-1 run as it benefits from six UCO attack errors. Makayla Maxwell then landed two of her seven kills of evening to help move the set to 14-8 in favor of Washburn ... Central Oklahoma responded by trimming the lead to three thanks to a 4-1 spurt to make it 15-12. After a back-and-forth exchange brought the set to 17-14, the Ichabods then registered five of the next six points to make it 22-15 before the sides alternated scoring until Washburn tallied the final point to take a 2-1 match lead ... Back-to-back kills from Barrick and Natalie Bates helped WU claim a 6-3 lead to begin the fourth before UCO tallied four unanswered to make it 7-6. Over the stretch of the next 15 points, both sides battled to seven ties and two leads with the Bronchos coming out on top with a 15-13 lead ... WU then retook making it 17-15 as Willer accounted for two of the four points. An attack by the Ichabods late allowed Central Oklahoma to capitalize and cut the lead to 20-19 late into the set. Bronchos were unable to rally as Washburn closed out the match by scoring five of the next six points ... Barrick finished with a match-best 14 kills, while Willer and Vicory followed with 13 and 12 respectively. Willer also tallied 11 digs en route to picking up her 61st career-double. Vicory lead all players with seven blocks. Alyssa Carney anchored the backline for the Ichabods as she registered a match-best 19 digs. Natalie Bates posted 30 assists ... Collectively, Washburn scored on 56 of its 159 attacks for a .170 hitting percentage including a .302 mark in the fourth set while twice holding UCO to sub-.100 hitting during the match.
About Coach Herron
• is in his 15th season at Washburn.
• has gone 451-83 at Washburn.
• has gone 214-46 in MIAA matches.
• as a college coach he is 526-112 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 193 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.
